At GoodGym Hounslow we're practically experts at planting bulbs now! The team kicked off the season by putting in daffs at Chiswick House, last week we were brightening up the High Rd with tulips and last night we were back at Harvard Hill to plant 300 narcissus bulbs. By next week, when we go to Gunnersbury tube to help Abundance get yet more bulbs in the ground we'll be a finely tuned planting machine!

We met with one of the lead volunteers of Friends of Harvard Hill, who handed over the tools and bulbs and gave us instructions about where they all needed to go. Luckily the ground wasn't totally frozen, although it was certainly nippy conditions last night! It was great to meet our favourite project manager, Sybil the Cat, at the task. She kindly oversaw our work making sure our planting was paw purrfection.

After 40 minutes of hard graft, we had got to the bottom of the sack. There was just one more thing to do to ensure we didn't get too chilly - a lower body blast. We kicked off with pogos, moving on to curtesy lunges, jack lunges and squats before calling it a night. Job well done!

This Saturday we have a mission with Trees for Cities - you can find all the details and sign up here

Finally, a huge congratulations to Maxime who, last weekend made it to that magic milestone - 50 good deeds! What an achievement - great to see you in your black tshirt Maxime!

There was plenty of chat pre-task about whether we would be planting bulbs in the snow last night, but that didn't stop a group of be-thermalled GoodGymers turning up to help out with the second half of a big task last night. Just goes to show that GG Hounslow is made of sterner stuff!

So, after a much needed warm up at the town hall, we ran down to meet Abundance London for the second part of our mammoth task to plant thousands of bulbs on Chiswick High Rd. The plan is that the spring flowers will deter passers-by from throwing rubbish in the beds, to improve biodiversity next to a busy road, and to cheer up the place with a splash of colour!

Last week we had spent some time clearing away the leaves and doing a bit of weeding. Not only did this prep the area for planting but it made sure the pavement had fewer slip risks from the wet leaves. We grabbed our shovels and bulbs and started work.

There were established plants to get in, tulips, daffs and narcissus, and a limited period before we lost all feeling in our fingers. There was no time to lose!

With hundreds of bulbs to go in, and we dug and planted steadily. By the time we had finished, Karen from Abundance London said that we had saved them days of work! Well done everybody.

Don't forget about the session this Saturday at the Bend it like Beckham task and next week we're back at Harvard Hill - see you there!

7 GoodGymers joined forces with the CHGT Kitchen Garden volunteers on a chilly Saturday morning, to help with their annual bulb planting work. Gardener Sally showed us to the slope around the front of the Conservatory where the plan was to get 4000 crocus, narcissus, tulip bulbs into the ground. Sally gave us a demonstration of making a “flap” in the soil to drop a few bulbs into, before patting down the earth. She made it look very easy!

We split into pairs, taking a segment of lawn each, the scattered a flower pot full of bulbs to create a natural planting scheme. Armed with a variety of tools and kneelers, we got to work shovelling as many bulbs as we could into the ground, while avoiding the many worms that popped up to say hello.

We welcomed Ros to her first GoodGym session, who came well prepared with gloves and bulb planting tools! After a good hour making our way along the bank, the job was done. All that was left to do was head to the cafe to celebrate Maxime hitting his 50th good deed milestone! Congratulations Maxime, what a fantastic achievement 💚

It's hard to measure the impact GoodGym has had, but nine years and 6217 is a good place to start! Not only that, but we have had 9 people reach 50 good deeds, a massive 17 people soar over 100 good deeds, and one person is well on their way to a giant 1000 good deeds. A special shout out to all the lovely faces that have joined in the last year and are well on their way to reaching their first milestone. If you've come to one session or 500, you've all been part of something really meaningful. Here's to the next year of doing good and getting fit!

We kicked off the night of celebrations with a warm up and thanks to Ariane, a beautiful selection of party hats! In our best party wear we ran up Chiswick High Rd for the first of two weeks of sessions there to first clear, then plant. This is a busy area which often gets lots of rubbish chucked into the raised beds. It has been taken over by Abundance London, a local charity, who want to make it more environmentally friendly. The hope is that if it is filled with spring flowers and cleared of leaves, it will stop people littering, create better air quality and look beautiful too.

We got straight on with the work, clearing the space and packing up leaves into bags. In just a short window of time we managed to get no fewer than 50 bags, which is amazing. The area looks so much better, has reduced the chances of slips and is all ready for our planting session next week.

Everybody knows that no party is complete without a fitness element, so it was on to Turnham Green for our birthday themed session. First up was a balloon relay - everyone got their own balloon and the challenge was to transport it between our knees using lateral jumps. The first team to complete the sprint and then pop their balloon between their knees (squeeze those quads!) wins. The ladies achieved the first victory, so it was on to the next game to decided who took home the prize. This involved keeping a balloon in the air, and involved quick wits, fast reflexes and even faster twitch muscles. Again, it was the ladies that emerged victorious and snagged themselves an early Christmas selection box!

On Saturday we have a lovely mission planting bulbs at Chiswick House -why not join in the fun!

Happy Birthday GoodGym Hounslow - here's to all the litter picked, trees planted, community hubs planted, gardens created and mulch shifted so far!