Cherian, Kevin, Sam and I were greeted by Simon, Thorlands Gardens' head honcho - who told us we'd be doing a spot of woodworking.

They use wood and net covers to prevent birds, foxes and other urban wildlife from wrecking their seedlings - and were in need of an extra cover or two.

Simon showed us an example that had been made by another group recently and gave us a detailed briefing on how to do it. Larch is a particularly good wood to use, apparently!

A spot of measuring was then followed by some sawing (well done on the first time saw use, Cherian!) - with only a brief interruption when we got a rain shower.

We maybe spent a little too long measuring and strategising, which meant we hadn't finished the construction when Kevin, Sam and I had to leave. Cherian stayed with Simon to join together the pieces we cut - the rest of us will have to check out the finished article next time we're there!

A later start than usual as Sam came running from a starter session in Peckham, but everyone: Andrada, her boyfriend Adrian, Laura and Sam were present outside Thorlands' Walled Garden as they waited for Simon to appear to open the garden up.

Waiting for Simon, Sam showed the newbies to Thorlands Gardens the space and the vision behind it. Once Ruth appeared, she opened up the Walled Garden for us to collect the tools we needed for the various jobs.

Inside the Forest Garden, Sam split the teams. He showed Laura and Sam the way to the woodchip depo as they moved the woodchip mulch back to the Forest Garden. They did about five to six trips within the hour. Meanwhile, Andrada and Adrian started to chop back the last remaining pyracantha in the growing bed we created last summer. Using loppers and secateurs, they chopped back this thorny bush and put its remains in a tonne bag. With just the stump and roots left, Adrian and Sam took it in turns to use the mattock and dutch hoe to dig up the last of the pyracantha.

Finally, as a group, they removed the pile of sticks near the first gate to the pile of sticks near the fence to the Kitchen garden. The session finished slightly over time, but everyone had fun and stayed longer for a feedback session with Simon.

Today we spent some of our morning helping out at St Michael's. We found the location (albeit with a few deviations and delays!). I arrived, followed a few mins later by Maya and eventually Sam. This was Sam's first mission with Goodgym - kudos Sam! We worked round the back clearing weeds and planting a few bulbs. Unfortunately some bulbs were wanted round the front garden rather than the back but that will have to wait for our return to St Michael's on a follow-up mission!