Back once again with the CREOS crew, four delightful GoodGymmers decided to spend their Sunday mornings doing something awesome for a fantastic cause. CREOS take care of a tranquil pocket of urban wilderness and for the past few years, GoodGym have been regularly volunteering alongside them.

This month, we had fewer people as many fellow GoodGymmers were either running the Hackney Half or volunteering there. Well done everyone! Thankfully CREOS provided us with a shorter list of tasks to suit our numbers. After a quick intro and tour of the different tasks on the site, we divided and conquered:

Scything Sycamores

• Giving the magnificent oak trees a little more breathing room by removing young sycamore saplings encroaching on their space, and even uprooting the tiiiiny baby seedlings :(

• Delicately trimming grass with scissors to make space around some new wildflower seedlings in the meadow, and possibly getting some meditation in at the same time

• Widening a path at the entrance to reduce wear and tear on plants and roots

• Shovelling and wheelbarrowing a huge pile of woodchip and re-surfacing one of the trails

• Clearing a space around willow saplings so they get a better start in life, and getting stung a lot by nettles.

The Quiche To My Heart

We love CREOS. They are a wonderful family of volunteers and always, always make us feel welcome. Never more so than at the end of the task when they provide a lovely picnic lunch as a thank-you for the hard work.

Nice work Carolyn, Meg, Rebecca and Steve!