Cultivating Colindale – Community Mission Report

George and I teamed up with four keen asylum seekers from the Colindale Hotel for a morning at the Cultivate Colindale garden project. Anna welcomed us and showed us the impressive progress they’ve made transforming a once-derelict patch of land into a thriving community space.

Our jobs were to plant bulbs, sow wildflower meadow seeds and pull up some old dried weeds. The asylum seekers threw themselves into the work with real enthusiasm, making a big difference in a short time and helping the project take another step forward.

After wrapping up, George and I headed off separately—me by bike, George by public transport—for our second community mission of the day in Totteridge, supporting an elderly couple at home.

A great morning of teamwork and community spirit.

Second Mission of the Day – Supporting an Elderly Couple in Totteridge

After our morning in Colindale, George and I headed to our second mission, helping an elderly couple who had been feeling overwhelmed by the effort of clearing their home and garden shed.

We’ve visited a few times before, and this session was all about finishing touches. We met Mr J, who showed us through to the garden, where we repacked the shed, sorted through items no longer needed, and moved everything to the front garden ready for collection. We also swept the front steps clear of leaves and gave the space a much-needed tidy.

Before leaving, Mr J mentioned that his back gate wasn’t closing properly, so I took the screws out, reset the bolts, and got it working again. With everything sorted and the sun beginning to set, we wrapped up for the day another satisfying mission completed.

As usual, we gathered at the Phoenix Cinema our GoodGym HQ and kicked things off with a chat about our favourite childhood TV shows. Classics like Blue Peter and Teletubbies got a mention, though one of us admitted to not having a TV at all .. probably the healthiest choice in hindsight!

Tonight’s mission was to visit the Tiny Forest ,always a magnet for litter , and to try our hand at that noble GoodGym art form: plogging (litter-picking while jogging). With the forecast looking grim and darkness closing in, we decided to make it more of an athletic adventure than a scientific one.

Plogging is a fine art part exercise, part medieval jousting (minus the horse, of course. The trick is to stay moving while accurately spearing bits of rubbish at speed, then deftly flicking them into your bag. Add wet leaves, gusty wind and headlamps, and you’ve got yourself a proper GoodGym challenge.

After a lively 3 km run to the Tiny Forest, we introduced Beattie and Lucy to the three new forest plots nearby part of an ongoing citizen-science experiment testing how different soil preparations affect young tree growth. Do go along and have a look; it’s fascinating to see the differences emerging.

A final round of litter-picking and some bonus plogging on the way back brought us full circle to the Phoenix, where we enjoyed a well-earned breather and some light refreshments.

Who knows with a bit more practice, perhaps GoodGym Barnet could enter the World Plogging Championships!

Scarlett Zhao and Subham Basu joined a host of volunteers of all ages at Lyttleton Playing Fields. Scarlett initially helped with planting but then joined Subham and another volunteer from Hampstead Garden Suburbs to lay down mulch to make a less muddy path that will allow better access to one the play areas. We were there from roughly 2PM to 4PM so quite the workout!

Ms C' husband opened the door when I rang the bell. After I introduced myself, he was under the impression that, the gardener arrived. (Did not indicate in any shape or form I am but clarified I am a volunteer) Such a compliment ☺️.

I was briefed about the task by the daughter and she quickly gathered the gardening tools and at the end the council ' waste bag was found and given to me and then the door was shut as they put the trust in me to work independently with no supervision.

I managed to clear 10 bag of garden waste.

This online yoga is being presented to raise money for Stephen House and gardens. GG memebers are welcome to join for free.