We returned this evening to the alley in lordshill we litter picked back in April. The area is notorious for gathering large amounts of litter and we are keen to return regularly to keep on top of it.

Chris was the can man - the man who can! Designated can hero extraordinaire who rescued many a can which will go to help the air ambulance.

The rest of us were on general litter pick duties and quickly gathered four very full bags of litter. Last time we attended we had around 7/8 full bags and it took much longer - we see this as a positive that the litter hadnt built up as much over this period of time.

We ended the session with a shoe flinging olympics after finding some shoes which had seen better days. Ellie and my attempts were not wonderful, Amanda and Sarah put in much stronger efforts but Chris came out champion.

It was productive and great fun and we hope that next time we return the litter has reduced even more.

Lovely to be back at Aldermoor Farm, such a feel good place to be. This evening we were tasked with cutting back the plants that line the fence with the pavement, keeping the outside view looking nice for any passing public.

We had a quick briefing from Richard with a chance to consider "what's the worse thing that could happen" (a useful way of highlighting any potential health and safety issues). Then much to Wilsons delight, at 18:32 we made a start to tackle the plants from both sides of the fence, and with the tools supplied by Richard we were able to make a good job of it in the hour we had.

Ellie presented Sarah with her 50 badge, which she was able to wear for a part of the task until it got too soggy in the rain.

We also welcomed Lee who is part of Energise Me and had come to join us for the task and to chat to us to see how he could assist.

The rain didn't scupper us at all - in fact it was quite nice to be out in it

Tonight we visited Shirley Warren Action Church for the first time to tackle their community garden. A great task sourced by Wilson. It's a beautiful space with lots of lovely plants and bushes. Unfortunately, the brambles and bindweed had begun a takeover so we needed many hands to make a dent! We were lucky the rain held off and welcomed Hilary for their first task and hope to see them again soon. Stephanie and I set to work at the side of the church clearing an overgrown bank. Meanwhile round the back the rest of team worked on clearing the beds and paving of weeds with Hannah in charge of monster bramble duties. Hannah brought us cake to finish and Steph donated some bananas which we're looking forward to seeing in cake form next week! Well done everyone for making great progress taming this community garden. We are excited to see how much impact we can make on our next visit.