11 volunteers collected over 15 bags of litter in Lesnes Abbey today.

Walking in and round the area, including Knee Hill and all the way to the top of woodland way.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as expected, so hopefully it will remain litter free over the next few months.

A good day for the environment, Friends of Lesnes and Goodgym.

Cheers everyone!

We joined the Friends of Lesnes Abbey and Woods for their monthly conservation session.

The group's work each month is guided by the parks manager who this time had asked us to clear litter at the far side of the woods, before heading to The Heath to work on restoring the natural vegetation there.

So we loaded litter pickers, bin bags and loppers into two wheelbarrows and headed off to the litter troublespot. If you have been to Lesnes Abbey Woods you'll know there are some very steep climbs, and pushing the wheelbarrows up them was a good workout! We were rewarded with glorious patches of bluebells all around.

When we got to the appointed spot the cow parsley was so tall that despite our best efforts we struggled to find any rubbish 👀. Most likely a job for another day when the plants have died back.

We made our way through the woods - litterpicking as we went, and loads more bluebells en route - to The Heath where we set about cutting back holly, bracken and other plants to let the heather thrive. It was lovely getting busy in the sunshine.

We'll be back again next month. Perhaps we'll see you there?

Ashton got busy at the monthly litter pick with the Friends of Lesnes Abbey and Woods.

As Ashton says, while we all hate litter, tidying it up brings people together and what a difference community-minded people can make working as a team!

Bravo everyone!

We joined the Friends of Lesnes Abbey and Woods for their monthly litter-pick.

Today's star find was a Dracula Pez dispenser!

Aside from this it was rather slim-pickings on the route we took, but we had some laughs as we looked out for rubbish along the woodland paths and around the abbey ruins.

We'll be back in a couple of weeks for the Friends' conservation session. We'd love to see you there!

Our monthly conservation session with the Friends of Lesnes Abbey and Woods saw us working in the heathland area, clearing the brambles and holly to allow the original heather and gorse to re-establish themselves.

After the long climb up through the woods - a good workout pushing the wheelbarrows of tools - we emerged into the sunshine and got to work cutting back the prickly invaders.

There were a couple of saplings that had to be cut down too, as heathland shouldn't have many trees blocking the light.

Along with the regular volunteers we cleared a large patch then it was time to head back down to the Chestnuts kiosk for a nice cup of tea.

We'll be back again on the first Sunday in March. Hope to see you there!

What can you expect to find while litter picking? Well, it’s more of an unexpected treasure hunt than you might think!

On our latest community mission, we found a lone mitten, a stray shoe, and even some leftover fireworks – talk about variety! 🥿🎆🧤

We teamed up with the fantastic Friends of Lesnes Abbey and Woods at their monthly session. Not only did we give the area a good clean-up, but we also got a great workout in – the perfect combination of doing good while staying active.

Ashton even got an extra workout on the trim trail!

Don’t miss out on our upcoming sessions! Whether you’re a seasoned GoodGymer or a curious first-timer, come along to make a difference, stay fit, and maybe even discover a few treasures along the way.

Report written by Marianna.