It was Great North Run weekend in Newcastle, with plenty of goodgymers running and cheering, so turn out in the park was low. But me and Amy still managed to help out with litter picking and removing two elderberry bushes in Harbottle Park. This will open up the park taking away the places for hiding anti-social activities and dumping litter and allow the birch trees to get more moisture from the soil and grow.

We started off with a quick litter pick around the children’s play area, removing plenty of plastic bottles, lighters and broken glass. Once it was clear we moved on to the gardening.

We cut down two elderberry bushes using trimmers, loppers and little saws. The bushes had elderberries on and this gave us the thought ‘was this bush the same as the one for elderflower cider?’ Apparently so! This brought us on to discussing making elderberry gin, wine or jam. Unfortunately, none of us currently have these skills!

We had unearthed a lot more rubbish which was lodged in the bushes we had just cut down, so we did a final litter pick to remove it and clean up the area. We brushed the path and it seems a lot wider and more accessible than when we had started.

It you want to get involved in helping out with Newcastle parks we are back at St Lawernce and Harbottle Park in three week time!

Well done everyone who ran the Great North run and the everyone who was on the GoodGym cheer station!