5 runners met up with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust again to take part in a community litter pick.

The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is a local charity working for a county rich in wildlife for everyone. The charity was established in 1946 and is part of The Wildlife Trusts movement. Click here to find out more about their work.

On this group run it was safe to say that the cold weather is definitely starting to be noticed. One of our runners was wearing 2 pairs of leggings, and Lucy from the Trust was wearing a total of 5 coats. It didn't stop regular runner James from turning up in shorts, however.

The group were armed with litter pickers, bin bags, and high vis vests, and set about down the trail at The Fleets Dam. Lucy told us about the different tasks that the Trust have been involved with down there lately, including wading into the pond to cut back reeds (yes, in all weather and temperatures). We also asked her what sort of wildlife is seen in this part of the trail going into the colder time of year, and we learned that there are a lot of bats in the area - the Trust even have a bat detector, which uses special sonography to pick up on the bats' use of echolocation to navigate. Very impressive! 🦇

We chatted about what's been good on telly at the moment, about gyms (and gym car parks), and about member Clair's recent trip to A&E after an incident eating an apple. An apple a day apparently doesn't keep the doctor away! 🍏

With plenty of bags full of rubbish, we finished our loop around the trail and thanked Lucy for meeting up with us again. Another good deed in the bag.

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Our next Group Run will be back indoors to finish off a painting task for Age UK Barnsley. Click here to sign up.

Members of GoodGym Barnsley met on this pleasant September evening to assist the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust in a litter pick on The Fleets in Barnsley.

The Fleets green area came into ownership of the Trust in recent times, which our task organiser Lucy told us was the 'missing piece of the puzzle' for all the green areas they look after in Barnsley. Once we got further along the path to the big main pond it was very peaceful, I think we were all quite surprised that this area was just a short distance from the hustle and bustle of the main road and the town centre. Lucy told us all about the different species of wildlife that have been spotted here, including salmon in the waters and even a kingfisher seen just last weekend.

We had a bit of a laugh whilst filling our bags full of litter, chatting about favourite comedy movies, Halloween fancy dress costumes, and the old bars we all used to go to when we were younger.

After a good ol' litter pick with several bags full, we bade farewell to Lucy and made the 1 mile uphill run back - great effort from everybody. Running with others really does do wonders when your legs are telling you to give up!

Now we look forward to next week's task at Locke Park 😊