Last night we met at Oaken Grove pond where 2 volunteers from "friends of Oaken Grove" were already hard at work chopping down overgrowth and making a start on sludge removal. Jacqui from RBWM then brought us the equipment we needed to get going - it was a relatively simple task, relocate sludge from pond area to some overgrowth nearby. Simple but stinky, very stinky! All GoodGymmers that attended got stuck in (the mud), some with wellies in the pond area shoveling the sludge into buckets and others moving the sludge via wheelbarrow to the overgrowth. And repeat. A great upper body workout for sure! We came away rather covered in muck but it was good fun and an amazing team effort that made a real dent in the work that needs doing to the pond this year. We were also treated to a beautiful full moon and red skies which made for some nice photos. Well done everyone!

Huge thanks to Tasha for inviting GoodGym to get involved with IHG's big month of doing good.

Amy and the IHG team met up outside the IHG offices in Windsor, shared out hoops and pickers, introduced everyone to GoodGym and had a safety briefing. A big warm welcome to everyone from IHG who signed up!

We then split into small teams and headed off into the surrounding area in search of rubbish. As ever, we didn't have to go far to find lots of cigarette butts, plastic packets, cans and bottles, and in about 45 minutes we filled lots of bags.

Extra kudos to the team members who made sure bottles and cans were separated from general waste, diverting some of the waste from landfill.

Meanwhile, experienced GoodGymer Marilyn headed to the nearby Alexandra Gardens. She reported at 2.15pm that she had filled her bag: 'Met some pickers from IHG doing their bit. Collected from large bottle empty Jack Daniels shame, to cans of beer to bits of paper. Worst bit of rubbish was a bag of dogs 🐕 poo. Enjoyed it none the less hope your team are doing well.' Sorry you were on your own Marilyn - you did a brilliant job!

Litter picking can be a bit depressing as it opens your eyes to just how much rubbish is out there, but everyone approached it with a positive attitude. It really is RUBBISH, but at least we're doing something about it!

Bin there, done that! Got the matching T-shirts!

If this was your first GoodGym session then we would love to see you again. Check out the listings to see what's happening soon near you.

This session was a collaboration with Wild Cookham and a team from Waitrose and Partners.

Wild Cookham needed help with a Ragwort invasion at the Odney Club and Waitrose had people looking for a wellbeing activity. It was meant to be!

GoodGym connected the two groups and Kristina and I joined in for our own wellbeing boost too. It was great to catch up with Kristina, who is one of the few GoodGymers who has been with us since launch.

The weather and setting was beautiful and we had a really refreshing and sociable 45 minutes pulling up ragwort roots and chopping off and bagging up flower heads to reduce the spread. We were picking up where previous working parties had left off and although we didn’t complete the (rather big) job, we made satisfying progress.

Thanks to everyone involved!

Five intrepid Goodgymers made their way to Ockwells Park to help Wild Maidenhead in their battle against Ragwort. Although it is the food source plant for the cinnabar moth, it is also poisonous to livestock. The ragwort on Ockwells is now turning to seed and in danger of blowing over the horse field neighbouring the park. The ragwort was not the only yellow flower in the field, but we soon got our eye in, telling it apart from the fleabane and other flowers, as the leaves were quite different. We cleared one area and then found another huge area to be tackled. We were collecting arm-fulls of plants, piling it up to be collected and disposed of. It was satisfying when we could pull it up by the roots, although they weren't all that cooperative. Juli also found a beautiful Orbweaver spider, which we left to carry on with her business. A satisfying task, and it was lovely to be outside in the sunshine and chatting with friends.