Ashton was a star at the Woodland Festival with the Friends of Lesnes Abbey and Woods — spending the day litter‑picking and bringing folklore tradition to the woods as a Green Man for the parade through ancient trees 🌳 🍃 🍂 .

We think Ashton may have found a new photo for his GoodGym profile 📷!

This morning we gave the big conifer outside Danson House a proper makeover. First we battled through lots of very spiky plants, then spread a fresh circle of mulch all around the tree. It now looks brilliant – like it’s ready for a photo shoot!

We also collected a huge 29 bags of wilted grass, weeds and rubbish. The area looks so much tidier, and the tree is definitely the star of the show.

Well done team – spades, mulch and teamwork made the magic happen!

A tragic scene awaited 5 GoodGym-ers as we joined the Friends of Woolwich Common for today's litter pick. A huge area of the common was burned down in a fire earlier in the week, and whilst the exact source of ignition is under much speculation, the dry summer had not helped, leaving much of the area vulnerable.

On a much more positive note, so many areas were unaffected due to the quick work by local fire teams, leaving plenty of space as the haven it is, for wildflowers, wildlife and vegetation of all kinds. So, armed with litterpicks and rubbish bag hoops, a smoky aroma followed us as we set out in various directions, ready to clear as much as we could, Cans, bottles, vapes, plastic, glass, newspapers & crisp bags soon filled up those bags, and nature gave us a little materials science lesson in how various materials burn - or don't, as the case may be, in the areas affected by the fire.

It's not the first fire on this common, but nature also teaches us it will fight back, and as the seasons change, the plant life will gradually begin to take root again, which hopefully we can help with in some small way by clearing away the artificial stuff threatening that growth.

Have a great week & catch up soon! 😊