On a Sunday morning, with definitely a little bit of spring in the air, a group of 10 GoodGymers headed up to Stoke Newington Common. With Stoke Newington Common Users Group and our friends at Tree Musketeers we'd be helping with a spot of hedge construction.

We started with a detailed briefing, that taught us the benefits of hedges having different levels (fewer things getting shaded out), the creatures that would benefit (foxes, slow worms and - ideally - hedgehogs) and the value of the adjoining railway sidings as a nature corridor.

Then it was straight to the job, using an array of secateurs, loppers and saws to cut back the trees and shrubs that made up the hedge, and using the cuttings to build up a dead hedge.

After an hour and a half we'd made a very visible impression on the hedge, helping improve biodiversity in this little corner of Hackney.