This evening we headed to our sponsored riverside plot at the Three Pigeons. We go every month but this one was different as we were saying goodbye to a very special GoodGym Richmond member: Anita

Anita has been a member since 2017, was the first Richmond member to hit 500 good deeds and is already 150 beyond that. Beyond how much Anita has done for the community, she has been instrumental in the taking on, designing, leveling up and maintaining of our riverside plot. On task nights that means instructions with military precision but behind the scenes there has been even more work, liasing with the council, getting plant donations, planning task nights to make the most of them, and single-handedly looking after the area through drought periods and special events.

Although there is sadness at Anita's leaving as she heads off to an exciting new chapter in Swansea, the evening was a celebration of all that Anita has done - including her signature tasks: watering from the river and weeding with table knives! You can see more of what we got up to here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOX_wlTCBPT/?igsh=cDYxanUzbm43eXJ5

❤️Thank you so much Anita, from all of us and everyone who has walked past the arcade and Three Pigeons ans enjoyed the results of her hard work. ❤️

On a sunny September morning, five GoodGymers headed out to lend a hand at the Barnes Common Community Growing Project, part of a local conservation and education charity.

Our task? A late-summer clean-up mission! We helped with weeding, clearing the borders, and a general garden tidy up!

We learnt about the many varieties of vegetables that are being grown there. Each week, these are picked by volunteers and packed into boxes that go to local food bank projects.

Big thanks to the Barnes Common Community project for having us, and to everyone who came out to make a difference.

(To the tune of 'round the mulberry bush')

Round and round the local streets,

With a stack of leaflets,

Sharing news with all we meet,

Of Richmond's best kept secrets!

Of GoodGym's way of keeping fit,

More sociable than doing HiiT,

Getting out rather than choosing to sit,

Giving back and doing our bit!

Two GGers, Adam and Alex visited the Homemead Residential care home for only the second time.

We were tasked with de-weeding and sweeping the garden to make it more attractive for residents and their visitors.

Armed with just gardening gloves, brooms and bin bags, we came, we saw, de-weeded and swept the garden area and it was immediately put to use by the care homes visitors.

A job well done!

Off to one of our favourite locations tonight where manager Danielle always has good plans to make best use of GoodGym!

This evening we were helping to clean and put away the camping equipment from a trip to the New Forest. It's a more in-tents workout than you might imagine, getting into a collapsed tent to sweep up and then working as a team to roll the giant tent into a bag! Watch us in action here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNgluPNI-NJ/?igsh=MXZhYXNjZWJ2ZnpyNw==

More tent cleaning, some leaflet cutting and some happy group photos before running back off into the darkening evening!