Although our community gardening session was cancelled last night, it turned into the perfect chance for a bit of litter picking instead. We gathered at Old Spike before heading out for a run around Peckham Rye Park, then split into three teams for the clean-up.

To make things even more fun, there were prizes up for grabs: the best “G” item for GoodGym, the most “South London” find, and the piece most likely to belong in a modern art museum. In true diplomatic style, each team came away with a win—so everyone left happy!

We finished with a run back to Old Spike, a well-earned cool down, and then headed home feeling accomplished.

It was raining last Wednesday, but by 6pm, the rain had cleared, just in time for our group run! Meeting at Old Spike were Mikhail, David, Nelly, Daryl, Nathan and Isaac. We were also joined by newbie Eva. After a quick warm-up and an ice breaker ("What is your favourite fruit?" in celebration of National Peach Day), we set off for a new task, at Lordship Lane Estate.

Meeting at the task were Anna and Maria who were there already by the time we arrived. Liam arrived later - a familiar and friendly face from the past - welcome back! Also there to help were some volunteers from the estate.

The task owner, Lizzie gave us a warm welcome and quickly put us to work. We helped with a wide range of tasks: raking, weeding, tidying, planting and even harvesting. By the end, the garden was looking a lot tidier. We'd filled multiple bags full of litter and weeds. And a date sorted for returning next month!

We ran back to Peckham, with a small detour up Dawson's hill for the sunset. And then to the pub. Great job all!

We were joined last minute by Emma, who had heard there were blackberries to rip up. So after a short hop, skip and a jump we set off to Thorlands.

After arriving slightly early we were met by Simon, who explained we needed to move leaf mould and take out the blackberries, which had taken over too much of the community garden. So we got to work and managed to clear a significant area of the blackberry while the other half of the group transported many barrows of mould.

After the hard work and the job back to Peckham we cooled off at the Nags.

Last week, 7 Goodgymmers went to Peckham Rye Tiny Forest to do some weeding.

First to arrive at our meeting point, Old Spike, were Steve and Nelly. I arrived late to find them waiting outside, having a jolly natter. David arrived next, followed by Rosemary and Goodgym tourist Pippa 👋

After a quick warm up and ice breaker, we set of for an artificially long run whilst Steve walked there - this was a smart move since in the humidity, running felt surprisingly hard! A slog around the park, but worth it because it will make us stronger..

We arrived at Tiny Forest - James was already there, and Steve too. They'd already got stuck in. We followed suit, wading and weeding in between the trees. It was a chilled out kind of task, with chatter about recent news reports (someone got arrested for carrying gardening tools?!) and where to go for a drink after the task. The consensus was Franks cafe, which coincidentally was also someone's answer to the ice breaker question: "Whats your favourite place in London to go to in the summer?" 🌇☀️

This week’s group run took us on our regular 3km route from Old Spike Café to Thorlands Gardens, where we met Simon for another productive evening of gardening.

At the gardens, the focus was on clearing brambles and weeding. Armed with gloves. forks, mattocks and plenty of energy, the group got stuck in, making a visible difference in just under an hour. Simon was, as ever, grateful for the support and progress.

With the job done, we jogged the 3km back to Peckham. A big thank you to everyone who joined—great running, great teamwork, and great impact!