5 GoodGymers caught late autumn vibes this Wednesday!

A clear day gave way to a clear (and chilly) night in bustling Camden on Wednesday.

Jackie, John, Loz (on their first good deed — a huge welcome!!), and I kicked off our evening with a chatter-filled run over to Cecil Sharp House.

There and still chatting we met Steve and Susannah and quickly got down to our task for the evening.

We've been collecting and clearing the falling leaves at Cecil Sharp since September and there was still plenty to keep our busy bodies busy.

60 minutes later and with 10+ bags filled, we called it a night and looked forward to 17th December, when we'll be back for our final task of 2025 :)

Thank you, everyone! Here is to next time!

8 GoodGymers braved the full moon and fireworks to make a HUGE difference in Camden Town!

Our evening was a night for the senses — up above we were illuminated by the brightest and fullest moon ever seen over Camden — and everywhere we were surrounded by the bangs and pops of bonfire rockets!

Not that anything could dissuade this group from making a wonderful difference!

Jackie, John, Lydia, Sally (back to Camden again — it was great to see you!), Siobhan, Steve, and Victoria were quick to grab brooms and rakes and bags and gloves, and they got merrily (with much conversation in the air) to our task for the evening: ALL THE LEAVES.

In Cecil Sharp House's special garden there sits a magnificent tree. It is old and wise and probably has the best stories in town. But it does have one problem: ALL THE LEAVES.

And so this special group got to grips with this problem — THE ALL THE LEAVES PROBLEM — and we soon had ten then twenty then nearly thirty bags packed and ready for composting.

We'll be back in 3 weeks for our next run at the leaves!

Thank you, everyone!! It was great to see you!!

9 GoodGymers Lifted the Curfew in Camden!!

Every October GoodGym teams up with This Girl Can to back the wonderful #LetsLiftTheCurfew campaign.

As the evenings grow longer this campaign is all about creating safe spaces for everyone – and especially women – at night.

And this lovely group – of Emilie, Gary (who's recently joined our Camden crew – welcome!), Jackie, John, Kareem, Lydia, Siobhan, and Steve – created a brilliantly safe and inclusive space last night!

Amidst the evening bustle of Camden Town, we set up shop at Cecil Sharp House, where a bountiful haul of fallen leaves awaited us.

Following a lively group warm up – where we nearly counted to 30... – we grabbed brooms and gloves and rakes and bags, and we started clearing up this special communal garden :)

Within 60 minutes this group made a visibly brilliant difference – thank you so much, everyone!

Here's to next time!!

10 GoodGymers turned out for the most autumnal of all autumnal tasks AND Emily hit 200 good deeds!

This special group – Alex, Danny, Emily, Helen, Jackie, John, Kareem, Siobhan, and Steve – donned head torches and gloves and grabbed rakes and brooms in our first properly dark task of the season!

Our home for the evening was Cecil Sharp House, which is itself home to the biggest and best trees in all of Camden...

... which does mean there are plenty of leaves!

Cue 10 GoodGymers meticulously collecting bag upon bag upon bag of falling autumn :)

And amidst all of this effort we were celebrating a very special milestone yesterday evening: Emily – who frequents Camden, Islington, and other GG areas – hit a whopping 200 good deeds! A huge well done and thank you, Emily!

We will back to Cecil Sharp every 3 weeks during the leaf-falling season, and I'm already looking forward to the next session :)

Thank you, everyone!

7 GoodGymers dodged the rain – captured the leaves – and sewed the seeds!!

Six pm on Wednesday was a very wet six pm. It pelted and plummeted and we considered – for a fleeting moment – whether to cancel our evening!

But we very happily proceeded and three of us – Gemma (on their first good deed – welcome!!), John, and I – took a conversation-filled run through (a drying...) Camden Town, where (en route) Sarah called out and made our three into a merry four.

Arriving at Cecil Sharp House, we were met by Ana (also on their first good deed – welcome!!), Siobhan, Steve, and our host Susannah.

And we quickly got to it.

Ana, John, and Sarah demonstrated the quickest way to build a gazebo, before planting hundreds of seeds into fertile pots – I am looking forward to seeing what grows!

Meanwhile, Gemma, Siobhan, and Steve grabbed rakes, brooms, and gloves, and they turned a leaf-strewn garden into picture perfect site of lawn and path!

Thank you, everyone!! Here's to next time!!

The London Permaculture Festival is an annual celebration of natural ecosystems, and it's being hosted at Camden's Cecil Sharp House this Sunday!

Which was why our wonderful group – of Alex, Dani, John, Lydia, Nivia, Sarah, Siobhan, and Steve – assembled for an hour of nature-based volunteering!

Our task was to make sure Cecil Sharp's gardens were crisp and tidy, and ready for London's permaculture devotees!

We started amidst a flurry of brooms, rakes, and conversation – under a July sun we swept the paths and combed the lawn – and we filled bag upon bag in short order!

We then turned our attention – en masse – to the entrance gates.

John, Lydia, Sarah, and Siobhan tackled the main pathway – and they made quick thrift of weeds and leaves – leaving things looking perfectly wonderful!

Dani and Nivia focused their efforts on an area under a large tree – and they cleared the debris (and weeds and leaves!) – leaving an inviting shade spot!

And Alex and Steve helped our brilliant host (Susannah) move a chunk of festival fare down to the basement storage!

We finished by piling up bag (upon bag upon bag) of green waste into the van, before meandering off into a gentle evening :)

Thank you, everyone!!