Last night we had been looking forward to our next step helping create a learning area at Cavendish School but sadly the delivery of the aquatic plants we had been due to put in was delayed. However, when we got there and saw there was still several feet of murky water in the pond we were slightly less disappointed!

We have been making regular visits to the school and the area has slowly changed from an unsafe, overgrown tangle into a nice, clear garden with several new habitats for animals.

An ongoing battle has been with the blackthorn which, if left to its own devices, will take over the space and leave little room for all the big plans of the volunteer group. So while the team got on with pulling up the thorny, persistent shoots, several others got busy transporting logs from outside the garden into a corner by the pond to create a habitat for amphibians and reptiles. In the past we have seen several newts dotting about the place, and this will help create a safe and warm home for them going forward.

After making good progress we ran back to Turnham Green where we undertook a fitness challenge. The idea is that we had the A team and the B team and two different sets of exercises. The job of one team was to beat the number of reps each time, while their partner cheered them on. It was great to see the energy and effort being shown and the power of positive motivation was more than evident!

Next week we'll probably be planting bulbs but I'm just waiting for final confirmation - so watch this space!