On a sunny bank holiday Monday we began to gather at Glass Mill and work out who was doing which route.

We had one group head up Belmont Hill and tick off the trees lining those streets and then another group heading over to the streets surrounding Hilly Fields. And then myself and Julian were ticking off the ones around our start point.

We were met at Glass Mill by Eva from Street Trees for London who gave us some tips and advance for checking the trees health. We then set off to cover various parts of the borough.

Once Julian and I got to the last tree we felt refreshed from a slower paced group run task and also like we now knew what we thought happy soil looked like!

We regrouped at Glass Mill before heading our separate ways after an evening of goodness to round off the bank holiday.

Next week we're heading to Luxmore Gardens!

It was wonderful to see quite a few signed up, some last minute sign ups and easily persuaded GoodGymer's joining us at a brand new task in Deptfod.

We didn't really know what was in store for us but what we did find was an amazing community garden tucked away from the street. I'm not sure you'd know it was there unless you were in the know.

There was plenty of tasks for us to get stuck into and our hosts were very excited to have us there. Once we divided up tasks, we all got stuck in. There was the standard alkinet removal, digging up some plants, sweeping up leaves, clearing under some bushes and then last but not least, sitting on a yellow chair to fill the buckets with water.

That leads me to mentioning it was Mo's last group run before his move to Geneva. We celebrated with some swiss rolls! We'll miss you Mo and thank you for all your hard work. You've been a big part of the group!

On a humid Monday evening in Limehouse, 12 GoodGymers gathered at the Tower Hamlets Community Transport Hub, the base of Ocean Youth Connexions, to help continue to give this site a well-needed refresh.

Despite the heavy air and the threat of rain, spirits were high as we split into several smaller teams.

One team took on the painting of the metal shutters at the front of the hub.

Two leaf-clearing teams tackled the concrete yard and bus park. Bag after bag of leaves were swept, scooped and carried away to the collection area at the back of the yard.

(Removing leaves from these hard-surfaced areas isn’t just cosmetic — they can become slippery when wet and clog drains if left to build up, leading to puddles and flooding).

A third team took on the weeds sprouting from the corners and cracks of the yard. (This not only helps to improve the appearance of the area, it also helps to prevent further damage to the paving and brickwork).

By 8pm, with the final weeds uprooted and the yard swept clear we headed inside - just as well as the first drops of overdue rain began to fall.

We gathered by a large step ladder for a quick pic before heading out one by one onto Newell Street: some on foot, some on bike (and maybe one or two on the bus).

Next week we’re back with Janet and Eileen for the August garden clear-up at the Cranbrook Community Centre.

Until then.