On a rather cold and blustery night, five of Goodgym’s most robust runners met to scout out tree pits and ran 5km in the process.

In the aftermath of Storm Ciara, the group met as usual at Wanstead House Community Association for a night of getting fit and doing good deeds in the borough. However, the storm had caused damage to the roofing tiles and in the interests of safety we were moved to a new locale - the bar area of the House itself.

With briefings done and bags (and umbrellas - John) safely stowed, the group were soon off up the road to work on the night’s task. Redbridge Council has a community gardening initiative whereby residents are encouraged to adopt tree pits for planting wild flower seeds around the base of the tree. This is a fantastic opportunity to bring together neighbours and help street blooms.

Goodgym Redbridge is adopting tree pits but before we do, we need to scout out good locations and agree them with the Neighbourhood Engagement and Education Officer. With that in mind the team were soon scouring the streets for sites where we can take over pits and make a significant difference to the community - harder than you think in pretty Wanstead.

With 5km on the clock and a twisty, meandering route covered by the brave crew, one potential location was identified as needing some Goodgym TLC - Studley Drive. Before we commit to this one however we are going to crowd source more potential spots and then prep can begin.

Back at the House there was time for a quick stretch to prevent aches and pains. Great work team.

With the storm wreaking havoc on Wanstead House there should be some good repair jobs next week so make sure to sign up using the link on the top right of this page.