Today 5 Goodgymmers went to Surrey Docks Farm to help Pat.

Our task today was to move soil out of two of the allotment beds so that they could be rebuilt. It was grueling work but we all got stuck in and we made a big difference. Great teamwork! 🙌🥰

Extra special mentions to first-timers Sreyans and Yuxi. Thank you for coming and we hppe to see you again soon! 💛

Yesterday, 5 Goodgymmers went to help Pat at Surrey Docks Farm. As we trickled in (first Oliver, then Matilde, Vic and Zeina) she quickly set us to work.

We split into two groups since there were two trenches the needed to be worked on. Firstly we had to make them deeper, before filling them in with layers of manure, compost and soil.

It started to rain just as we were finishing up. Even though it was cold and wet, we stayed to visit the cows (Penguin and Oreo) and feed the sheep.

We were met at the farm gates by Pat on a freezing winters morning. The farm was looking stunning in the chilly weather with bright blue skies. Our task for the morning was to fill a new allotment bed with manure and soil and then remove the soil and dismantle an old allotment bed. We did a lot of shovelling but managed to get the task done. Our reward at the end was feeding the goats!

The farm had brought some new containers to store barley. After clearing out the storage shed, our task was to unpack the component parts from the delivery and assemble the containers; this was required some understanding of flat pack furniture construction. The farm had ordered three containers each complete with a lid and inner panels. We opened the first pack and looked at the instructions. All the parts were there but no screws. Then, the second pack; again no screws. Finally, we opened the third pack which was complete. It was a full team effort to read the instructions and fit all the panels together but eventually we assembled one container! Hopefully the additional screws will arrive in time for our next session.

We were met on the farm by Connor and were shown to our task which involved tidying, clearing and cleaning an area of the farm used to store wheelbarrows and equipment. We cut back brambles and cleared the greenery away. There were large animals crates which needed scrubbing with iodine and rinsing. While working away we had a brief interlude to help herd some sheep 🐑! The final part of the task involved sweeping the store and hosing the area down. It was a satisfying task. Our reward at the end was getting to walk the ferrets around the farm to give them some excercise. They were adorable! Finally to finish Connor made us a delish hot chocolate. We all had a fab time.

Today at Surrey Docks Farm involved lots of pruning. We started off with pruning back a willow arch (the same one that we tackled back at the start of 2023). We stripped off the leaves from the bigger stems so these can be used for other things (useful for fences, edging, and tying things together) and saved the smaller ones for the goats.

Undeterred by the rain, we headed towards the river to continue pruning before James gave us a tour of the farm (feeding the goats and sheep on the way round).