Welcome to Ashik for your first GoodGym outing! Great to meet you and look forward to seeing you again.

The last Saturday of the month is a regular slot for Ardwick Climate Action, so we joined Gordon, Dan, Zoe, and others for today's activities.

Today, our main task was to continue construction of a dead hedge at one of the green spaces maintained by Ardwick Climate Action. After a 10 minute stroll to the site near Mancunian Way, we split off with Tanoshi and Fanette clearing any litter, with 4 bags collected including some clothing and laughing gas canisters 🚮

Ashik and Ben went wood collecting, with lots of longer tree branches and chopped wood 🪵 As the wood piled high, others were using the stake basher to put long wooden stakes in the ground to help hold the dead hedge in place.

Bit by bit, we began filling in the wall of wood and sticks, with a nearby big broken branch providing lots of strong pieces to go into the hedge. Fanette took a battery chainsaw to some blackthorn (or hawthorn) to provide some extra filler too.

By midday, we'd reached as far as we could, and Ardwick Climate Action seemed very happy with the progress and quality of the build. After clearing up, we parted ways and look forward to returning for another task in future.

Ben was the sole ranger going along for a few tasks today.

Initially covering a 16 km route to do the pre-event course check at Fletcher Moss parkrun event number 272, where 283 runners and walkers completed the 5 km route.

After dropping off Juno, it was up to Brunswick Parish Church to help out Ardwick Climate Action. We loaded the car with manure and the bigger tools before wheeling the hand tools and other items to the scout allotment site near Gartside Gardens.

We were met with a gazebo for serving hot drinks and snacks. Several scouts weeded the beds and litterpicked, while I was tasked with pruning the fruit trees 🌳. It was no small task, with several never having been pruned. With loppers and secateurs, I made good progress and the longer branches will be used for a dead hedges nearby.

After clearing up and wheeling items back to base, I ran along to work.

Not likely to be another task until the new year. Good session with a good group.

Ben joined Dan and Gordon plus James and a student from UoM for their monthly Saturday tasks.

This week, we were at Kale Street to litterpick, clear up, trim the lavender, and plant lots of bulbs. Helped by new tools, loppers, electric trimmers, and purpose-built bulb planters, we were efficient in making the area look much more welcoming for locals to use the space.

Following that, we went along to Mancunian Way site to weed, litterpick, and trim some of the hawthorn/blackthorn branches, with the cuttings eventually going towards a dead hedge nearby.

Productive session and the next one is on 22nd November on the Scouts allotment plot.

Gaynor and Ben went along to help Ardwick Climate Action for their regular Saturday volunteering slot.

This time, we were in St Saviour's graveyard, soon to be the Lydia Becker space as part of the existing green routes overseen by Ardwick Climate Action 🌳

Initially we picked up any litter in the area, culminating in 4 bags plus some larger items 🚮

Most of the task involved clearing a corner of the graveyard 🪦 of young trees 🌳 that had taken root between the grave stones. Armed with loppers, secateurs, and saws, plus a bouncy Juno, we made good progress and filled 3 big rubble sacks of branches and trunks to be reused at a garden or green refuse centre (no waste here!)

Once cleared, the tools were collected, litter reported to keep Manchester tidy, and we said our goodbyes 👋

Divya and Ben joined Gordon, Dan, and Colleen (sp) for the monthly weekend volunteering session with Ardwick Climate Action 🌳

Today, we were clearing the site near the Mancunian Way of weeds, rubbish, and clearing the planters in preparation for their Britain in Bloom 🌱🍃 judging in early August.

Divya and Ben both weeded the area leaving the site clearer and topped up some of the raised beds, while others litter picked and cleared areas nearby. Juno also helped out by keeping watch and raising morale throughout the 2.5 hr session 🐕🐶🐾

Good clearing session and we'll certainly be back.

Today, Ben went along to Brunswick Parish Church to help out with Ardwick Climate Action for their monthly Saturday volunteering.

This week, there were several activities to get involved with:

• Litter picking
• Planting out plants from the Manchester Flower Festival
• Digging over the grass near a "wildflower mound"
• Wheelbarrowing lots of soil from one site to another

Abigail and John took on the challenge of litter picking while Gordon, Ben, and another volunteer moved a whole rubble bag of soil (i.e. lots and lots) from Lockton Close to the Kale Street site. We certainly got our workout in and covered many steps between the sites to give a dragon tail (or sperm...) shaped wildflower area on the Kale St site to be planted with poppy seeds and later other wild flowers once the grass had been fully dug over. We did make a start on the latter around the edge but it was tough work!

Some fox glove (I think) were planted in another bed, and there was a lot of weeding in the lavender beds.

The wheelbarrows each had their own quirks, either with holes, broken bits, and one with very squeaky wheels(!) but they certainly did their job.