11 Brighton GoodGym participants made their way to Palmeira Square to help Friends of Palmeira and Adelaide look after their community green space.

We were very happy to welcome Edwin and Rachel on their very first good deed and they couldn’t pick a better time to join with this task. We all quickly started with racking and collecting leaves and in no time managed to collect 53 very full bags of dried leaves and weed. Leaving Palmeira Square FREE of the occupying dirt.

Our friend Stuart from Friends of Palmeira and Adelaide was very happy with Goodgym contribution. We ran a couple of loops around the square and then we headed to our monthly social organised by our social secretary Michelle that included a challenging quiz with questionable overly long questions and we managed to smash the music round.

This week’s task falls on National Volunteers Week, a week long event in the UK that celebrates and acknowledges the valuable contributions of volunteers across the country.

In my "Life in the UK" exam I was required to memorise what are the British Values and one of them was 'Volunteering' and 'Helping your Community'. Makes me feel proud to be British and I was glad to be part of the team that Freed Palmeira Square from the occupying leaves and looking forward to free every other square as well from any occupation.

A closing note from Stefania, our Area Activator:

“It’s Volunteers Week, fellow GoodGymers.

Please give yourselves a large pat on the back for your extraordinary acts of kindness and generosity. Every Good deed does really make a difference, and every beneficiary in Brighton and Hove is always most grateful to have us all. GoodGym Brighton!

We are a community that cares of other communities - Saying thank you is never enough!"

Proud and satisfied, let’s make OUR NEXT SESSION another great success!

On a very warm Tuesday evening 9 GoodGymmers braved the long uphill jog to Manor Paddock - a lovely communal garden in sheltered housing that we visit regularly to help them keep the space tidy and accessible for residents.

On arrival we met some more GoodGymmers and our host Luc, who put us to task with a list of jobs for the session.

The main task for the evening was digging out two large Lavender bushes which had become quite unruly, and replacing them with some smaller plants for the summer season. It was tough going, but at least it smelled great!

The rest of us got our hands dirty helping with other jobs in the garden; collecting dried grass for mulching, cutting back conifer bushes and weeding in the raised beds.

Once we were done (and had made friends with resident Doggo Max!) most of us made our way back to our meeting point - enjoying the cooler temperatures and downhill elevation.

And a big welcome to first timer Jenny , we hope you enjoyed your first session with us :)

On Earth day, GoodGym Brighton had a creative group session planned on our calendar: helping the Primary School S. Luke in the big build for the Brighton Festival Children Parade.

Groups of local schools have been exploring the theme 'New Dawn' as a way to think about our future. What do we want to change, what do we want to cherish, and what do we want to chuck.

Do Listen Our Voice: We Want to “chuck out stereotypes”!

Our Michelle invited us to push our creativity and see the world differently - inspired by Drew Daywalt’s children book: “The Days the Crayons Quit”.

We did a great job mashing paper sheets with glue on what will represent a box of crayons. They are Duncan’s crayons who quit their given roles to stand up for a better world with a wider diversity of colours.

Before running back, we could not resist to play our way and we turned into kids mode to do some fitness exercises. It was such a fun session and we enjoyed a lot ourselves while climbing like spidermen, hanging like monkeys, and jumping like kangaroos in the school’s playground.

Welcome back Amro to play with us all. Well done all, you all got a “well done sticker“!

WHAT's ON NEXT at GoodGym Brighton?
Plenty to amuse you to join us soon.

EVERYBODY is welcome!