☔️ 20 excellent GoodGymmers braved the risk (and reality) of rain for our group run this evening.

🦸‍♂️ We celebrated Stef’s 200th good deed with the multi-coloured cape of glory (sensibly removed for the digging part of the task).

📚 We named, numbered and warmed up while recommending good books that we’ve read recently.

🪲 We had a two-task session tonight so Ed and Nick jointly led half the group to meet Nicola from St Nick’s for some nettle-scything/tansy beetle-spotting.

Here’s what Nikki had to say:

Penny and I decided it was the best type of GoodGym task: mild peril + destruction 🙂 we had to employ the scythe and dive technique to not get nettled in the face by the giant monster nettles

And Ed added:

We got to put together the scythes then got to work on the nettles which we hacked our way through pretty quickly, so had plenty of time left to wander down to millennium fields and go tansy beetle spotting. 🪲

🚸 Meanwhile, the rest of us headed to Dringhouses Primary School, via a slightly scenic, mostly off-road, courtesy of my sketchy knowledge of York and Leanne filling in the gaps. We were met very enthusiastically by Claire who had been there all day, with a bit of help from a few staff and pupils.

🌺 Our main job was to dig over a patch of turf, add some compost and transform it into a flowerbed. As it was starting to get a bit crowded round the flowerbed, a few people started clearing and litter-picking the area behind the bike shed.

🌼 With a 5-minute warning coming just as the planting was about to start, it was all hands on deck to get as many plants (plus a tree!) as possible planted in the remaining few minutes. A hive of activity followed, with teamwork absolutely making the dreamwork. We had dig-and-plant pairings while Claire and Joanna tackled the big tree.

🚮 Meanwhile, Sherilyn found an awkward layer of plastic matting in one area, which she and Michael managed to excavate very effectively. Michael even gave back the soil that had attached itself to said matting.

👍 We were thrilled to be able to plant all the plants and leave the area looking much better than when we arrived. Very satisfying all round.

💪 Opting for the direct route back, we met the rest of the gang for some on-the-minute fitness. A few quick bursts of energy later, we were ready for home/the pub and the delicious pastries that Abigail had brought 🥐