We had a brilliant morning at St Richard’s, so absorbed in the tasks at hand that we ended up spending an extra hour finishing our jobs.

A big welcome to Bianca, who joined us for her first GoodGym session – and what a start! She tackled the ivy in the back garden with great enthusiasm, leaving it looking much neater and tidier, just look at the before and after pics. 💪

Meanwhile, Cat and Arthur got stuck into some serious weeding, helping clear the garden of weeds and lopping off the growth round the bottom of the trees. Over at the front door, Ivar and Vic took on the job of sanding it down, prepping it for a much-needed refresh. Once smooth, Vic and I gave it a fresh coat of varnish, with some very important assistance from Arthur – a true team effort!

By the end of the session, the garden was looking clean, weed-free, and litter-free, and the front door had been transformed.

A morning well spent, made even better by a well-earned cup of tea to wrap things up (thank you Rick!) Thanks everyone for your energy and teamwork – see you at the next one!

Next wednesday we've got gardening at Hervey Road . Next Saturday we're back at Mycenae Gardens to help with more weeding.

Until next time 😊

Rachel

This session was a lovely excuse to engage in some nice peaceful gardening.

As a typical city dweller, it can be easy to overlook simple yet impactful acts of garden preservation such as weeding or socialising with people from diverse aspects of life. This mission offered the perfect excuse to do both by gifting us a loving and vibrant atmosphere where people could momentarily escape their hectic routines and dwell upon the peacefulness of reconnection with nature and other humans.

In the end, all we are, are creations of nature meant to connect while helping each other grow like a tall and magnificent sunflower.

On Wednesday evening we gathered at Charlton House, in an unusually negative spin for us at GoodGym - sharing our pet peeves. This evening we were joined by Sunaima and Lisa for their first group runs with us! WE ran to Prince Philip Maritime Collection Centre where Khursheed had a load of tasks for us, including weeding, watering, propping up a giant sunflower, giving the bug hotel a makeover and throwing some rubbish out. Jobs complete some of us ran and some of us walked back to base for a stretch.

Great work everyone!

On Saturday we have gardening at St Richard's and next Wednesday we're back for a Charlton House start to help with the garden at Hervey Road.

Until next time!

Back on the mean streets of SE7 on a lovely sunny morning. The litter seemed to have built up recently and we managed 11 bags, a car wheel hub cap, a broken brolly, a John Lewis shopping cart (a long way from home) and a good haul of vapes in an hour. Three bags of recyclable bottles and cans included in the haul.

A nice lady asked us if we could clean up on Charlton Church Lane after the football yesterday - sadly not enough time today - and a gentleman who looked as if he'd just got up after a good night out asked us (quite seriously) if we were doing Community Service. We obviously looked a bit dangerous or maybe it was the bag of (now illegal) disposable vapes and the hub cap. Anyway, at least the public noticed us working!

Off for a coffee and a chat in M&S afterwards from where we could spot Greenwich Council on a Sunday collection, emptying bins and collecting our (Council approved) bags almost immediately! Thanks to everyone who helped.

On a sunny Wednesday evening, the GoodGym Greenwich gang laced up and set off on an uphill mission! Our run took us up the ever-challenging Shooters Hill, to the Memorial Hospital where we were met by Maira and trundled with our tools to the lovely woodland path. Our job for the evening was to move as much woodchip as possible down to the new seating area for the regular woodland sessions for patients and staff in the hospital.

Buckets and wheelbarrows at the ready, we teamed up and got to work. Some shovelled away and others navigated the twists and turns down the path with wheelbarrows and myself and Ivar with a big old crate on wheels that made us feel like we were bobsleighing. Cool runnings at its finest.

The new seating area is looking great, and our efforts are helping make the space less muddy and even more welcoming for everyone who visits this peaceful green corner of Greenwich. With plenty of laughs, a bit of sweat, and a solid upper-body workout thrown in, we regrouped for a quick photo and enjoyed a breezy jog back down the hill.

Next week we're back to help out at Glyndon!

Until next time 😊

Rachel