The draw of free soup and the right to claim the first pear in 5 years time, was apparently so great that it drew in runners from Richmond, Hammersmith and Camden too. Braving the strong January winds and Sunday service on SW trains, 7 runners found the secret Orchard garden of Fishponds and set about digging, planting and protecting the young fruit trees. In conjunction with a very impressive turnout of local residents, the biggest challenge was staying warm whilst waiting for the post rammer, aka the plonker and other bits of equipment. In true GoodGym spirit though, Helen, John and Beth, made great use of the litter picking sticks and set about filling a few bags with empty cans and the usual plastic rubbish, whilst Nat mingled with the local residents to spread the word about the amazingness of GoodGym! We were given a very informative lesson on the best thing for young trees and how to help them grow into big grown up trees with the help of friendly fungi and the lack of competition from greedy grasses.

#Plantwars

Keeping them caged up also helps, especially with mothers day just a few months away now.... The promised soup went down a treat and when all trees were caged and given a good duvet of mulch we said our thanks to Elliot from Citizen Zoo and headed off in our homebound directions.