Wednesday 7th June 2023
Report written by Sam Lefevre (he/him)
Sam rushed to Old Spike as he was informed that there would be a newbie that wanted to do her document check at 18:15 (15 minutes before the start of the group run). He met Jessica, who recently signed up, but was not yet prepared do a group run. However, she stuck around to meet the runners as they came in and hear Sam's GG speech.
After the quick warm-up, Sam told everyone in advance of the ice-breaker question. Since it's Pride Month, he asked: Who comes first in your mind when I say Pride icon?
We had the late Paul O'Grady (Lily Savage), Jane Fonda, Freddie Mercury and many more (forgot to be honest...).
The "moving" water tank
We arrived ahead of schedule, so we waited around for Catalina to greet us and then Paul came along with wheelbarrows and tools. There were a few tasks for us to do. Firstly, the team had to go with Catalina to get the "moving" water tank, so that we could fill up our watering cans to water the plants that desperately needed a drink! Sam stayed behind to be a point of reference as he was still waiting on a few GoodGymers to show up at the task. He noticed James and Paulin from afar as they walked from their flat to Elmington Estate. They immediately got stuck in with shovelling and moving mulch as Paul wanted to get going with that task as the place where the mulch would be set was far away.
Nathan showed up as Catalina and the team brought over the "moving" water tank. Emma, Katy and Lindy took a watering can each to fill up and water the plants that were around the Wildlife Triangle. With limited tools, Daryl and Nathan went with Catalina to where the mulchers were as more hands would be needed there.
Eventually, Folarin showed up and swapped with Emma to get involved with the watering.
As soon as the water tank was empty, the team moved over to weed a pathway on the Wildlife Triangle that had become neglected. Daryl and Nathan helped Paul weed further along where they are growing a variety of herbs and flowers. After a quick 10 minute weeding session, it was time to pack up and head back to Peckham.
We ran the direct route in order to get back in time to start our monthly social. This time, we decided to enjoy the sunset despite there being a chill in the air.
Thank You to all the GG-ers
A personal thanks from me to all those who came out tonight! We got a lot done with three different tasks: watering, weeding and mulching within 45 minutes! Thanks to those who stayed for the social as we caught up, tried each other's crisps and saw the sunset from Peckham Rye park before it all got a bit too chilly.
Thank You Catalina and Paul
GoodGym is all about getting fit and doing good! We praise the runners/cyclists/walkers who come to get fit and help out, but we often forget about our task owner. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Catalina who came to show us the various tasks that needed to be done and Paul for taking the second group to mulch and then weed around Elmington Community Gardens. We will be back in August to help out with more gardening and watering!
Members and volunteers of Elmington Estate have setup a community garden at the The Wildlife Triangle on Brisbane Street to transform this lawn into a wildlife garden.
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Ensuring this Junior parkrun succeeds and gives opportunity to young Parkrunners and their families