Kash, Madhan and Sevan zigzagged their way across Ealing borough from their first task of the day near Sudbury to Wolf Fields Urban Nature Reserve in Norwood Green. They were looking forward to seeing an Anderson shelter for the first time, imagining that it would be a large, sturdy structure designed to withstand nearby explosions. What they found at Wolf Fields was a bit larger than a play house and felt a bit flimsy for its original purpose, but that didn't make the task any less interesting or rewarding.

The session started off by lifting the shelter out of the nettle patch that it'd been helpfully left in. It was surprisingly light and easy to carry with a handle on each corner. Even after 80-odd years, it was still reasonably sturdy and not in bad condition. The metal sheeting was torn and dented in places and the frame had rusted. Its state was quite impressive given that it probably lived outside for all of that time.

The site manager Andrew explained that the shelter would have been placed below ground level with only a few centimetres below the roofline visible. It was the soil around the shelter that gave the protection, so the thin steel was only really needed to keep the earth from getting in.

After seeing the shelter, we went on a hunt for suitable tools. This was the first time that any of the GoodGymers or Andrew had tried to repair a metal shelter. Hunting around the site container, they dug out some brushes to remove dirt from it, some sponges, a bucket and a few pieces of roofing felt to scrub away at the rust. We wanted to prepare it for a first coat of paint to protect it from the elements and start to make it look like a well concealed bird hide.

We started by wiping the accumulated grime off the outside of the shelter, using brushes or wet sponges for the panels. It was hard to tell which decade the spider webs and dirt inside were from. Regardless, they were swept away too. The roofing felt we'd found was used to clear the rust from the arched frame at both ends of the shelter. This needed some muscle and a lot of persistence, with Andrew eventually finding us some coarse sandpaper which did a better job. With 4 of us all sanding, the motion meant the shed was a-rocking and Kash provided some tunes to keep us all motivated.

After 90 minutes, we were covered in rust dust and had achieved as much as we could with cleaning. By no means did it look new as it still had some gashes in the panels and inside, the benches hadn't been touched and still needed to be repaired. Still, we were ready for the next step.

Another rummage in the tool container produced 2 tins of paint (green and red), 2 paint rollers and a large fence painting brush. We had a discussion about the designer's vision for the shed and how to make it look inconspicuous to the birds yet also colourful enough to promote A Rocha, LAGER Can and GoodGym. The plan changed a few times before finally landing on "mostly green, with a red frame and some newly discovered blue paint on the side with the door"

With the time we had left, we used the paint rollers to turn one end panel green, which was easy and the frame on one end red. We then tackled the more difficult corrugated body. The rollers were a bit too big for the grooves, so we had to develop a rocking motion to get good coverage on the sides. We were able to paint one more side green before we ran out of both paint and time.

We left feeling really happy with our afternoon's work and we'll definitely be back to finish the job once more paint has been sourced.

It was a quiet day at Wolf Fields urban nature reserve. Maybe because of the bank holiday, there were fewer volunteers than at the March event. GoodGym again came as a trio which was a decent number. Apart from us, the group consisted of the site manager Andrew and four humans plus one dog from LAGER Can. The dog was Cathy's 15-year-old girl, Minnie.

The GoodGymers who made it to the task were: a new member Alison (don't forget to give her a cheer 📣), Branwen and Kash.

In the beginning, it didn't look like we would collect lots of bulky and unusual things like the last time when we went to Wolf Fields. Firstly, the most impressive pieces of rubbish had been already removed. Secondly, the nettles and other weeds took over, making it difficult to spot hidden litter.

When asked about that blooming undesirable vegetation, Andrew explained he didn't want to cut down the invasive plants yet because in the spring they provide habitats for animals, especially insects. Andrew hopes to tackle the areas closest to the fence in the winter when both the weeds and insects would be dead. The future plan is to clear the waste, prepare the soil and plant hedges that would isolate the nature reserve and protect it from new waves of litter.

Despite being lower in numbers than before, we collected an impressive pile of rubbish which we traditionally dumped next to the nearest bus stop (the previous stack of waste had luckily disappeared). The findings consisted of a wide range of stuff: from bras and clothes dryers to plastic leaves and rusty hammers.

The highlight of the session was the chat we had with the LAGER Can folks. We discussed which of the spiders are the cutest (jumping spiders, of course!), then delved into conversations about our dreams and ambitions. That made today an absorbing task, even if the waste we found was not as wild and exciting as we anticipated!

After last weekend's two-day community clean-up in Southall, GoodGym Ealing was back to... Southall! This time we explored a new location, Wolf Fields. There was a nice, small park with the same name nearby but our hands were needed just next door, at a former allotment, now proudly called Wolf Fields Urban Nature Reserve. To make sure the site deserves its name, we had to get to work and do some GoodGym magic.

Litterpicking

As we had been invited to the event by Cathy from LAGER Can, we were sure that we could count for a good litter hunt. The site did not disappoint. Harvey, who always goes big on whatever he signs up to, was retrieving impressive findings from the bushes. Not the usual tissues, bottles, or cigarette butts, oh no. We had basketball boards, a dog cage, a broken Segway, shisha pipes, an animal skull, a weird contraption with a handle, chairs, satellite dish... you got the gist!

Wheelbarrowing

Sevan and Kash have been selected to operate two wheelbarrows to transport all the bulky items and the blue waste bags outside the site. It was the muscle work that was ideal for GoodGymers! Other volunteers seemed very pleased that we could help with that job.

Fly-tipping

Now comes the interesting part. Where did we dispose of all that waste? Next to a nearby bus stop! In the beginning, we felt slightly uncomfortable dropping the rubbish in a public space under the funny looks given to us by TfL passengers waiting for their bus. It felt like we were doing the opposite of what we usually do with litter on the streets. The members of LAGER Can seemed very proud of the growing pile of waste and ensured us that Greener Ealing would take care of that. Well, Greener Ealing should definitely bring a bigger van for that collection!

Planting

It was not the planting you may think of. Part of Wolf Fields is designed to become a place where the community can grow food but despite there being already vegetable patches, we had nothing to do with them. It was the bus stop where Sevan planted the plastic palm tree that Harvey had found during his rubbish hunt. It was the only tree we don't want to see again when we come back to the planting spot.

Worshipping

At some point, the manager of Wolf Fields, Andrew, told us it was the time for refreshments. Tea, biscuits, seeded snack bars? Oh yes! We were lured back to the central point of the location only to discover there was a surprise waiting for us. Before hitting the table with snacks and hot beverages, there was a prayer and song to be performed by everyone on the site. It was the idea of volunteers from an organisation called Outside Church. While active participation was not mandatory, silence and respect for the ceremony were encouraged, so we did our best to behave ourselves.

Snacking

After witnessing the prayer, Sevan and Kash dropped one more wheelbarrow of rubbish each to keep moving, then accepted the invite to take a break and have some refreshments. There was green and black tea, apples, crisps, biscuits and nakd bars served. It was nice to see some familiar faces of volunteers we had met last week at the Western Road clean-up as well as making new connections while chatting.

It was still bright outside when we wrapped up and ran back to our homes in the East of the borough. We cannot wait to see the next step of Wolf Fields transformation into a green space everyone can enjoy.