2 Goodgym runners joined in with several local volunteers of all ages for the Stephen's House Gardening Day.

We met at the compound next to the children's playground to pick up gloves, tools and several large logs. We then set off across the park to the pond near the Spike Milligan bench where we got to work preparing the area for local school groups to do pond dipping.

The main job involved clearing an area near the pond by weeding and relocating the plants growing near the water. We then used the logs to construct a barrier to close off the flower beds from the area set aside for the children's activities.

We also brought over some rotten minibeast-laden stumps from another area to lay nearby the pond for the children to turn over and inspect.

Once the area was prepared, we continued weeding in the rest of the area near the pond, including digging up some bothersome bindweed. Finished up with a HUGE bag of weeds which we brought back to the compound to empty.

Mission went great as the other volunteers were very friendly and welcoming and the sun even came out during the final hour of the work. All agreed that we had made a big improvement to the area and we were all welcomed to come back again.

After we finished I got a chance to learn about the fascinating history of the house and the park and grabbed a cheeky snap with Spike himself!