Five GoodGymmers ventured to Canning Town to assist Surfers Against Sewage with their annual summit to sea autumn beach clean.

The SAS team introduced the mission, litter picking. But this was no ordinary litter pick. We heard how SAS not only clean up areas but also monitor the rubbish collected, which has helped lead to the upcoming introduction of a plastic bottle deposit return scheme. There was also a competitive element to this task, with prizes for the oldest and most interesting finds (the previous winning item had been a motorbike so the bar was set pretty high).

We gloved up, armed ourselves with litter pickers and set off into the wilderness of Bow Creek Ecology Park. Initially, it seemed that there wasn’t too much rubbish, but after delving into the undergrowth, we found there was plenty for us to collect. Liz was particularly proud of her heavy load, which included a whole outfit!

Halfway into our litter pick, Liz announced that she had brought treats along, meaning we were able to celebrate Latoya’s recent 100 good deeds achievement, her upcoming birthday, Sam’s imminent 50th good deed, and Liz's 200th deed of this year in proper GG style. Needless to say the treats were appreciated by all.

After an hour of litter picking, and having handed our pickers over to some very appreciative members of the team, it was time for us all to head off to our various afternoon events. We said our goodbyes to the friendly SAS team and made our way back to the station.

Great litter picking with you all, hopefully see you soon!