This week’s task saw us making the most of the lighter evenings with a lovely outdoor gardening session. Some of us ran, others walked or cycled, but we all met for a productive evening in two local green spaces: Canbury Community Garden and our nearby GoodGym garden.

With a big group on hand, we got loads done. One of the main jobs was reinforcing the sides of some well-worn raised beds that were bursting with growing vegetables - Marie-Noelle and Emily took on this key task.

With water levels in the Community Garden’s rain butts already dropping, Luke, Dave, Yana, Sabir and Emma wheeled barrels over to the Thames, collecting water in buckets to fill the barrels which were then wheeled back and stored in the flower beds for future use.

Meanwhile, Ana, Emily and Jana tackled the massive compost heap, giving it a good turning over. Sabir, Yana and Dave got stuck into weeding duties.

Over at the GoodGym garden, Claire, Luke and Emma checked on this flourishing space—full of tulips, daffodils, and established shrubs—taking care of deadheading, weeding, and with Claire making plans for future planting.

This was a Workout for Nature, a physical volunteering task supporting local green spaces in celebration of Earth Day, as part of a collaboration with WWF.

Great work, team!

This week's group session had the team pedalling into action to support Full Cycle with a hands-on task that wheely put our teamwork to the test. The mission? Clear out the side of the building - a tight, dark alleyway crammed with wheel rims, old bikes, and a jungle of brambles.

We formed a human chain to tackle the task, shifting rims, tangled bikes, and debris whilst clearing, sweeping and snipping. The overgrown brambles were quite an eye sore for some but the real challenge was carefully restacking everything back into the space, making it some what more accessible. Definitely a bit different to some of the usual tasks at this community project and what better way to spend an hour; a game of bike-themed Tetris in a confined space where we found plenty of energy to complete the challenge.

Congratulations to Luke who was debuting his new black t.shirt!

It was a last-minute change of plans, but that didn’t stop this dedicated GoodGym crew from getting out and spreading the word about Kingston’s newest community initiative—Park Play!

With the Albany session cancelled, we quickly regrouped and set our sights on Fairfield Recreation Ground, ready to let the locals know that Saturday mornings were about to get a whole lot more fun.

Splitting into teams, we tackled the nearby streets, armed with flyers and boundless enthusiasm. Jana, Rachel, and Raquel formed one squad, Luke, Anna, and Martel took on another route, while Dave, Emma, and Clare covered even more ground. The mission? Get those flyers through as many letterboxes as possible—without losing any fingers to enthusiastic canine guardians!

Top tip of the night? Use a wooden spoon to safely post through letterboxes. Unfortunately, we had none. So, with a mix of courage and caution, we did it the old-fashioned way.

Despite the clear skies, a sharp chill in the air had us all working at double speed. But nothing warms a GoodGym session like teamwork, good vibes, and a post-flyering trip to the pub! Drinks were raised, food was enjoyed, and plans were made for the next adventure.

Park Play is set to bring people together for fun and games every Saturday—so spread the word, and we’ll see you there!

Over the weekend several goodgymers from different areas did a food drop.

On a glorious sunny Sunday morning, we gathered at Staywell Day Centre with 2 hours on the clock and a mission: to give the vegetable patch, flower beds, and driveway a good weeding makeover! Armed with trowels, gloves, and an eagerness to get stuck in, Amy, Alexis, Farzeen, Emily, and Jana wasted no time diving into the task.

As we worked, conversations flowed freely, with stories exchanged about our professions and daily lives. A highlight of the day was hearing about Emily's exciting news: she’s being presented with a prestigious Majors award tomorrow evening! We all shared in her excitement, which certainly helped lift the atmosphere as we tackled some particularly stubborn weeds.

At the halfway mark, we took a well-deserved break to recharge with biscuits and chocolate. Standing back, we admired our progress so far.

With renewed energy, we powered through the rest of the time, determined to make the residents proud of their newly spruced-up outdoor spaces. By the end of the session, the transformation was complete, and we couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment as we surveyed the clean, tidy garden and weed-free driveway.

It was a fantastic day of teamwork, sunshine, and stories for a worthy cause, leaving us all with smiles (and maybe a little mud) on our faces!