Three litter picking goodgym ninjas swept along Cowdray avenue hunting out litter this evening. The usual suspects - food wrappers, macdonalds cups and drinks cans were bagged up and left for collection by the council. Well done everyone!

A nice chilly jog up to Charles Smith House while we discussed running routes. Both Christian and Frazer did some impressive long runs at the weekend! We got to work brushing away at a big patch of slushy, slippery, sludgy moss and managed to clear the majority. A good deed done helping the residents stay safe in the wet weather. Well done team!

On a chilly damp morning 7 GoodGymers turned up to cheer on, direct and keep safe some enthusiastic young runners. The core team were very grateful for our support as it made their job much easier in filling all the positions.

Another chilly evening in town and another task on the board for Goodgym Colchester. This time meeting Colchester in Bloom's Pam to collect some bedding plants and walk them up to the High St, we were joined this week by new member Christian.

Splitting into groups, we were able to swap out dead plants and sparse areas of the flower beds with fresh spring flowers, whilst clearing some gum and ciggarettes too. The town was alot quieter than our last evening task here before Christmas, but that meant we avoided any accusations of vandalism and could move more quickly.

Gathering outside the town hall for a quick picture, we then walked back the bags and dispersed, satisfied with a job well done and brighter evenings on the horizon.

Today two Goodgymers were invited to lunch and meet Colchester City’s Mayor, Lesley Scott-Boutell in a recognition event to thank community volunteers from across the city. I was proud to represent Goodgym alongside many other volunteers helping to keep the City stay safe and looking it’s best. A very welcoming atmosphere at City Hall encouraged plenty of discussion; special thanks to Councillor Kemal Çufoğlu for a detailed and supportive discussion about environmental issues and how GG could help further.

As many of our good deeds as Goodgymers have involved litter picking in and around the city, we were invited, along with a number of other fellow community volunteers to a 'meet and greet' with the Mayor at the town hall. Scotty, co-ordinator of the council's litter warriors initiative, organised this recognition and celebration event to say thank you, and to facilitate discussion about keeping the city looking beautiful. There were lots of great discussions about how best to keep litter under control. We also spoke with several councillors and council staff about wider environmental issues, and of course promoted Goodgym wherever possible!