The start of February is a significant time of the year in two calendars. Jewish tradition celebrates Tu B'Shevat, the New Year for Trees, from sundown. And in Celtic traditions, Imbolc takes place at the same time, celebrating the first signs of spring.

So what better time to gather for another fantastic planting session with The Orchard Project and Earthwatch Europe? This time we met in Stoneyfields Park, a lovely green space in Edgware, with a beautiful waterfall and lots of mature trees along the banks of the Deans Brook.

In a muddy corner of the park, our hosts had set up a marquee and brought the usual wintry fare: mulled apple juice and cider, shovels, fruit trees and bushes, mulch... As with our earlier orchard planting session with them at Hollickwood Park, we were there to provide an extra bit of physical oomph for the other volunteers - of which there were over 20!

Many hands made light work of the ten trees going in the ground: 4 apples, 2 pears, a plum, a mulberry, a sweet chestnut and a crab apple. There were around half a dozen berry bushes too. After an informative explanation of the process by orchard expert Daniella, we set to the task.

A great tip: if you plant your trees in a circular hole, then the roots will curve around in a spiral and not spread out properly. But if you plant in a square hole, they spread out faster and the tree will root stronger!

Despite rain, mud, and only one boshing device (a 'rammer') for getting the stakes in, everyone worked together brilliantly and we were done in a couple of hours. Then, after a bit of a snack and some apple-based beverages, we cleared down, admire our work and celebrated the start of spring.

A huge thank you to everyone who took part in our January Anytime Litter Picking Community Mission what a phenomenal turnout!

Across the month we saw loads of GoodGymers getting stuck in, whether walking, running, solo or paired up. From riversides and parks to pavements and problem fly-tipping spots, the impact was real and visible. Bags were filled, heavy items shifted, incidents logged with councils, and even the odd football rescued along the way

Special thanks to everyone who shared photos, stories and stats and to those who quietly got on with good deeds behind the scenes. Every single action counts, and it all feeds into our January Challenge national target, which makes this even sweeter

And yes… I can confirm that litter picking works extremely well with dog walking Gus is a big fan of missions with purpose

Why litter picking is surprisingly great fun: 1. Instant impact – you can see the difference you’ve made straight away. One path, park or riverbank transformed. 2. Low pressure, high reward do it anytime, anywhere, for 10 minutes or an hour. It all counts. 3. Good for the body and the soul fresh air, movement, and that quiet glow of doing something genuinely useful.

Thanks again to everyone who took part you’re absolute stars Let’s keep this momentum rolling into the next mission.

These January nights are getting easier! Despite the day's rain, we had a cool, clear evening in which to help our favourite local cinema charity and community hub, the Phoenix.

A whopping 7 Goodgymmers showed up tonight, but the Phoenix could only find a couple of hundred leaflets for us, so we immediately plotted a longer route. During our warm up, Jack gave us the question to chat about: favourite films. A good one! Rachel went with one of her favourite comedies, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Paul chose Groundhog Day, so he'll be going back leafleting every day this week until he works out how to break the loop.

Then we set off with Lucinda and Subham backmarking. Around the corner and up a long road, we targeted houses we'd not leafleted for a while, to remind them, yes, cinema is great and they are in walking distance of a lovely venue. Jacqui snapped action shots of people hitting letterboxes. Down a really interesting cul-de-sac with retirement bungalows, George disturbed an old, lazy fox sleeping on a doormat.

We ran out of leaflets soon after, so Paul suggested we jog over to the corner of Highgate Wood and do sprints up the Capital Ring path. After two rounds of that we headed back, with a short detour via a famous musician's home (clue: we admired the wonderful walls). Subham's creative interpretation of backmarking put him in the lead, so we had another quick sprint to keep ahead of him then our warm down stretch outside the Phoenix.

We rounded off with a round of drinks and popcorn at the Phoenix, making judicious use of our 10% discount at the bar. No better way to spend a January evening!

A few people came online to do yoga.

GoodGym Barnet Starter Session & January Challenge Good Deed

A dull January day, but thankfully the rain mostly held off just the odd light mist to keep things atmospheric.

We gathered at Stephens House & Gardens, chatting and welcoming everyone along. Huge thanks to today’s heroes , and a big welcome to Joyceon her very first GoodGym run she did magnificently and fitted right in from the off.

We spent a bit of time talking about why Stephens House & Gardens is such a special place. As a charitable trust, it relies heavily on volunteers and community support, and it’s somewhere we help throughout the year with a wide range of tasks.

From there, we headed off to Long Lane Pastures, a local nature reserve we support occasionally. It’s a fantastic spot to explore, but the path alongside it was looking pretty tired, so out came the bags and litter-pickers. With limited time we didn’t quite finish the job definitely one to return to.

We then ran on to visit the Tiny Forest, giving our newer runners and walkers a flavour of the kinds of community projects we support on GoodGym runs.

After the session, some of us rounded things off with well-earned snacks and drinks at the Stables Café back at Stephens House & Gardens a perfect way to end the morning.

Another great example of getting active, doing good, and enjoying each other’s company. Well done everyone