After a welcome chat at our meeting place about our favourite boardgames (from Catan and Articulate, to the Very Nasty Horse Race and Bananagrams) we trotted off up Penge High Street towards Cator Park.

We wondered on the way if we've seen the last of the hot weather - good for plants, good for those running the Big Half in a few weeks, but bad for it being the end of summer already if so.

We arrive at the park and headed over to the Tiny Forest - pleased to see how much the trees have shot up since we were last there. Millie reminds us that we want the tree roots to plunge down deep, so could we empty a bucket of water round each tree if possible. We started with the smallest trees, those in the shadiest spots, and did a bit of weeding around too.

A couple of us move over to the park edge, trimming back the hedge so we can see the millennium marker again, and chopping back holly from the pavement side too, to help pedestrians fighting for space on the path, til the next time the council can cut it all back to the fence.

After buckets and buckets of water have been filled and emptied over and over, we say our goodbyes and head home. Thanks all, and see you next time!

Poor Millie has broken her toe - so our helpful Linda nipped over to get the toolshed key and we swapped the Cator Park task for one at Alexandra Rec. We started the meetup with a quick chat about 'favourite smells' - inspired by petrichor smell of the earth when the rain starts. Favourites in the group were quite specific and ranged from the New Zealand bush, to painting memories, and nail varnish! We headed off doing just a little loop, and dodging raindrops, and met Merrin and Linda at the park, where we set about mulching the new hedgerow trees that had been weeded just a few weeks back but now needed protecting from the recent hot dry weather. The little bits of rain the last couple of days made it the perfect time to wheelbarrow mulch over to the trees and hold some of that moisture in, to give them a fighting chance this summer. We got quite a few barrows ferried over and added to the rows of trees in between chats about holidays, the weather (of course) and even ChatGPT! Thanks all and see you again soon - another great job :)