It was looking like a rather compact and bijou group at Mud Dock this morning as four or five of us grabbed a pre-run coffee but somehow we managed to leave Queen Square with 17 runners. Add to that the six others who joined us at the task and it was a very respectably sized mob of red T shirts that finally descended on Nightingale Valley.

This was good news, as the Friends of Brislington Brook were hoping for lots of pairs of hands to join them in tackling the Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera - a relative of the Bizzy Lizzy) growing up the side of the valley. Our host Mary gave us a quick run down how to identify this invasive species - light green leaves, celery-like stalk and virtually no root. This last aspect meant that it was very straightforward to pull up, making for a satisfying and productive half hour eradicating the invasive intruder from its adopted home. Patrick even took on a bonus assignment; wielding loppers to remove some sycamore.

All in all this was a very pleasant way to spend a morning with Goodgym'ers scattered all along the bank above the brook and sheltering from the worst of the heat under the canopy of the trees that line the path.

And finally a brisk run back to base meant hopefully everyone got fit and did good today - well done all!

A double deed this morning so we were fortunate to have Patrick and Liam stepping up to lead and make sure our group of parkrun volunteers merged seamlessly with those heading out from Mud Dock at Fairfield High school. Thanks chaps - top work getting everyone across today!

At the school we were met not only by Scott our host but by the local press as a Bristol Post joined us to take a few photographs.

Scott is director of science at the school and had skillfully secured a grant to install a new polytunnel and pond. This is intended to be both a teaching aid and a resource for the local community. In fact Scott hopes that knowledgeable parents and local gardeners will be able to work in tandem with the children allowing some inter-generational collaboration too! Unfortunately with the bulk of the cash exhausted on project materials he had little left for labour - which is where we came in.

Our task today was to use a combination of pick axes and spades to dig out a trench that would allow a water pipe to be laid from the school to the polytunnel. He hoped we could also continue work on digging out the pond.

It was a hot day today but everyone worked really hard - with new guy Alex taking the first spot along the trench and swinging the pick axe with great enthusiasm! By the time we finished, Zdeni and Abi seemed to have just about perfected their spade pogo technique. Lovely also to meet Eily and Jane joining us for their first time and getting stick straight into the digging.

Finally special mention to Chi from GG Haringey who was in Bristol for a wedding and bumped into us at parkrun this morning. It was fantastic to recognise a familiar face from last years GG Olympics and have you join us at the task today Chi - fantastic GG Tourist skills right there! In fact to top off a busy morning Chi completed his traditional visiting Strava segment - up a hill - which I understand is a rare opportunity in Haringey :)