Another productive evening at Fox Den Community Allotment 💪

A huge welcome to Mark who joined for his first GoodGym Cambridge task 🎉

Mark and I met at Jesus Green to take a steady run to the task. Meeting Caroline and Michele there, we got to watering and harvesting. Another massive haul of tomatoes and chard this week. The whole allotment needed a good soak, and Mark did an especially impressive job, speeding to and from the water butt with a leaky watering can - not a drop spared. Before we left we all got stuck in clearing weeds from an overgrown bed. It was a four person (and a fork) job, as although very delicate looking on the surface, the network of weeds were bedded in well with deep stubborn roots to overcome. It was messy work and a lot of effort, making a successful removal all the more momentous (see picture of pure weed extraction joy) 🙌

As the sun started to go down we headed our separate ways, cycling, walking, and running along the river into the sunset. A perfect way to end a task.

Special mention to Caroline for the a-marrow-zing cake! Baked using the most enormous courgette we harvested last week - a whopping 1.8kg! 🥒 Absolutely delicious and much needed sustenance.

From start to finish, we had Storeys Field parkrun covered!

Caroline had an early start to help with the set up, Michele and I were motivating runners and walkers as marshals (it was especially fun to cheer Caroline as she smashed a fantastic run 💪), and Eva was supporting at the finish line. A real team effort 🙌 All topped off with post-task coffee and pastries. Perfect.

A huge welcome to (Michele) who joined us for her first good deed with GoodGym and her first parkrun! 🎉

Today we had an energizing, educational, and fun mission at the place that was once home to a legendary mama fox and her cubs.

Some of us started the day with a light jog to the allotment, catching up along the way while pacing ourselves to avoid dehydration. At Fox Den, we were greeted warmly by Lorna, who shared the story of the site and the social motivation behind this wonderful community garden.

Then came the harvest! Green, red, dark orange, small, medium, and large, the tomatoes came in all colours and sizes. Not all were ready to be picked just yet, so we got to work taming the plants, clearing walking spaces, and making life a little harder for the hungry snails.

Next, we turned our attention to potatoes, with Lorna showing us how to spot and avoid the potentially poisonous ones (a handy skill for any gardener!).

Finally, we wrapped up the mission by being spoiled with some of the produce we’d harvested. The day’s star? A courgette the size of a baby!

All in all, a lovely mission with precious people.

Two goodGymers helped out at Fulbourn Hospital Park Run today. We had a lovely morning for it, with the rain staying away and a bit of blue sky too. Well done to Caroline for doing such a great marshalling and cheering runners along. I was the volunteer coordinator for this week, so really appreciated Caroline's support. 153 brilliant runners and walkers made their valiant way around the 4-lap course.

Looking forward to the next one!