Powering through the undergrowth

16 dedicated members of my GoodGym team came together to transform an overgrown and unmanageable garden at a residential property supported by Turning Tides, a local charity working to end homelessness. The house currently provides shelter and support to six individuals on their journey toward independent living and stability.

The garden, previously neglected and overrun with brambles, weeds, and overgrown trees , had become a barrier to enjoyment and use for the residents. Our team set out with the goal of creating a welcoming, safe, and usable outdoor space where residents could relax, socialise, and reconnect with nature.

Huge thank you to John who brought a selection of battery operated power tools. If it wasn't for them and Nicks strimmer that I brought along, we wouldn't have achieved nearly as much in the time that we had.

Throughout the hour that we were there, the team completed the following tasks:

Clearing: The team worked quickly to remove thick overgrowth, brambles, ivy and invasive weeds from flower beds and borders. Many thanks to you all that clambered all over and behind the flower beds to achieve this.Sue , fresh back from Krakov was particularly good at this :) Sarah showed off her multi tasking skills by entertaining Mali the puppy together with helping with the clearing !

Special mention to Belinda who delayed her work trip away to come along tonight -this meant a 5.30am start the next day instead.

Lawn Recovery: El and Ryan did a brilliant job strimming whilst John mowed . The combined effort gave the area a much-needed refresh.

Trimming and Pruning: Paul used the power hedging tool and literally ripped through the bush ( not sure of its name ! ) Between him and John they also sawed through overhanging tree branches to improve light and access.Stéphane helped with a bit of branch hanging too!

Another two mentions to Megan and Paula for doing great work and being extremely good company to be around too.

Birthday girl Gillybean did a fantastic job unearthing a concrete path removing weeds and grass and creating space for residents to sit and soak up some sunlight.

Weed did it

The transformation was immediate and impactful. What was once an inaccessible, overgrown plot is now a clean, inviting, and functional garden space. A Resident leaned out of the window and expressed her heartfelt thanks which meant alot to us all. This project not only improved the physical environment but also strengthened community ties, boosted morale among residents, and gave my team a chance to make a tangible difference locally.

To the pub

Some of us headed to the pub for celebratory drinks and cake that Roxy had kindly made. Together with Gills Birthday we had several other personal achievements to celebrate. Huge congratulations to the following

Anne on her 50 Mile run across the downs. Barbara Patagonia Trek Roxy 2 marathons at Brighton and London Mel Cycling adventure up North ( solo and team events)

We are super proud of you all.

Thank you to you all for a fantastic turnout

Have a great week all of you :)

Julia xx

Rake Progress

After another Bank Holiday Monday, we moved our session to Wednesday again. We headed back to English Martyrs School where we are meet the head teacher, Helen.

Thank you to my team tonight - It was great to see Ryan and Sarah after their Worthing 10k at the weekend. It was lovely to welcome back Megan after some very busy weeks of work for her. Thank you also to John and El who had both marshalled at the RUN Fest on Sunday.

Completing this evening's team was Ricky and Roxy along with puppy Mali in a cat carrier 😻😅.

Helen asked us to continue with the clearing of the large beds that we had started last week. The school are planning to plant a butterfly garden and we are more than happy to assist with this :)

Although the progress didn't look so dramatic this week we worked equally as hard. Thank goodness we had John's electric saw that he was able to cut through the stubborn tree roots. We hope we haven't broken it !

As well as the sawing there was a lot of brute digging activity going by Ryan,Ricky and Megan, together with some very fine raking by Sarah and El. Roxy was got right down to the task pulling out roots and weeding the area she was working on too. . I was in charge of getting the debris to the compost heap. With the help of John's gauntlet gloves this definitely pushed my step count up for the day!

Another very worthwhile and impactful task ! Thank you all and see you all next week.

Have a lovely weekend in the warm weather.

Julia xx

Wednesday night is GoodGym night- just for this week

Many thanks to my team tonight who accomodated a change of night from our usual Monday. The roll call was as follows. Gillybean Roxy Sarah

The task tonight was an ongoing one that we have been working on at Worthing Leisure Centre garden for several years. It has been one that we have been chipping away at gradually and, overview the months it has been a case of a few steps forward and then, sometimes quite a few back when the weeds have threatened to take over again. However the good news is that,finally,we seem to be winning the battle ! The area that we sowed with grass seed and bulbs last November is looking green and, in some places, quite lush!

Team works makes the dream work

Ryan worked on a litter pick then moved to raking the recently mowed grass. Sarah helped Ryan with the raking and also the weeding with Gill.Sarah also played a ' what's on your back trick' on an unknowing John who was so hard at work he didn't notice! He had started with some pruning then dropped to his knees to clear some significant weeds from paving stones surrounding the fig tree.

My final shout out goes to Roxy who was fresh ( apart from her legs !) from completing her 1st marathon in Brighton at the weekend. Many congratulations to our very own ultra runner and here's to the next one ! For tonight, Roxy had chosen a standing task ( understandably) of pruning shrubs plus the fig tree before assisting Gill with somemore,and this time very prickly, pruning.

We achieved lots tonight but there is still lots to do so we will return soon!

Have a great week!

Julia xx