Friday lunchtimes in RBWM in January are all about litter picking!

Tessa, Rosie and Dave met me in a sunny but breezy Grenfell Park. Congrats Rosie on her first litter pick! Great to see Dave back for his second session too. Kudos to Tessa as well as this was her second good deed of the day, and another bingo box ticked off!

We found masses of litter! The usual bottles, snack packaging and vapes but also pots and pans, cosmetics, shoes, socks, bracelets, bike parts, train tickets and the book Dead Man Walking by Anne Cleve. The mix was definitely more eclectic than what we've found in other parks this month.

Meanwhile lots of other GoodGymers litter picked near their places of work or home.

I'm delighted to welcome Liv back for her second good deed with us (and 456th in total!) Her first was at our launch back in 2020, when she was working for GoodGym. She's now living a bit nearer so hopefully everyone will have the chance to meet her soon. Well done puppy Bagel, who joined Liv on her litter pick.

Lisa and Christine both found lots of litter in streets near their homes in Maidenhead and Viv and Angela did the same in Furze Platt, also with help from a furry friend - well done Flora!

Sol was inspired by Georgeta to carry a separate bag for recyclables and diverted lots of bottles and cans away from landfill. Georgeta did the same but also reported finding a football, a running shoe and a cider drinking glass.

Diya filled two bags on her lunchtime outing and was thanked by lots of passers-by, including someone who knew GoodGym from our sessions at Braywick Heath Plant Nurseries.

Well done team!

Well done to Tessa, Kadriye and Alison, who joined me to tidy up Boyn Grove Park and nearby streets. The park and A4 offered rich pickings. We received thanks and cheers from grateful motorists and pedestrians, and also Georgeta, who was passing on her bike on her way to a GoodGym mission.

I also had a lovely chat with children at All Saints School, who were also doing some lunchtime litter picking.

Kudos to Viv and Angela, who targeted Furze Platt, and to Christine, who cleaned up around Castle Hill. Also to Sol, Matt, Diya and Kanika, who all blitzed streets near work or home.

We all got some steps in and got a good workout lugging those bags around. Go team!

For the first session of the year at Braywick Plant Nurseries we were asked to help sort a whole load of donated pots from under some benching. This is part of a larger reorganisation project, and will allow the benching to be moved into its new position. The nursery likes to re-use as many pots as possible, but we had to remove any that were broken, too small or had the names of plants or other nurseries printed on them. The remainder were sorted into stacks of similar sizes and stored in a large wooden crate. There are so many different pot dimensions, and we were all a bit goggle-eyed by the end! But we cleared a large area, enabling the good works to continue. It was great to see Christine back for her second session, and to catch-up with Viv and Laura