Last night marked the start of something wonderful - the first session at our own GoodGym Wandsworth garden!

We have officially been given the fabulous opportunity to take over a big area around the back of the Omnibus theatre in Clapham. This brilliant place runs as a charity, but simply doesn't have the resources to be able to maintain a huge raised bed on their property. They have given us the chance to take it over. What's more is that they have a program giving meals to disadvantaged children and teaching them about food in the holidays, so the plan is that we will grow produce to donate to them.

So, after a quick warm up where we discussed what we'd like to see grown, with answers including the highly controversial tomato and cucumber, onions, sweetpeas, rhubarb and more, we were eager to set off and get started.

A short run in the drizzle later and we found ourselves facing the challenge in hand. It's a large area which hasn't seen much love in recent months, but after removing the tarpaulin we discovered lots of good soil and plenty of worms - which apparently is a great sign.

After digging, weeding and tidying up, we made some decisions about what we'd like our garden to stand for. We would love to hear any more ideas or goals that you'd like to see. So far we have agreed we aim for a garden which:

• is inclusive - everybody is welcome

• supports the local community and good causes. We hope to grow plants and vegetables which we can donate to the theatre and other local organisations

• is organic and creates better biodiversity - no nasty chemicals here!

• is a beautiful, safe, calm and welcoming space for everybody to spend time

If you're keen to get involved in our next session when I hope we can get some planting done, then sign up for this Sunday right here.

I've set up a whatsapp group to discuss ideas, list sessions and talk all things garden, if you'd like to join then use this link:

‎Open this link to join my WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/F6O9FMB0tHMCNBom2YrNxJ

We finished off a great first session with some fitness which saw us smash six hard minutes of circuits -great effort everybody.

I can't wait to see what we can achieve at our garden. We've taken the inaugural before photos, so watch this space to see how things change and develop over time. I think we're at the start of something brilliant!

It was new task night yesterday in Wandsworth, and we were excited to run up to Sentalk, a grassroots organisation which aims to provide better outcomes for children with special educational needs, is dedicated to improving the social and emotional mental health of Autistic and ADHD children and challenges discrimination of children with disabilities.

But first, despite the sticky weather, it was time for the warm up. We did heel flicks, high knees and lunges, as well as discussing where we would go if we were to be given a ticket to anywhere in the world. NZ and Oz were very popular, as did other far flung destinations like Belize, Canada and Japan. Lots of adventuring to be done!

We soon set off for Sentalk, which involved one run in a straight line to our destination. That seemed straightforward enough, until we got to where we thought should be - and couldn't find our organisation. A bit of running back and forth later, we spotted our host Jay waving at us from down a small turn off.

It was the first time we had visited the place so Jay gave us a little idea of the sort of amazing work they do and showed us to the outside area they hoped to transform. It was overgrown and people constantly throw litter into the space. However the kids love growing plants and the aim is to make this somewhere they can install raised beds and transform into a fun, welcoming area.

We got to work, sweeping, hosing, pulling up weeds, unsticking windows, picking litter - even tackling the stinky job of unblocking the drain! With all hands on deck it was amazing to see how quickly the place began to look completely different. Hopefully we will be back to give it a lick of paint and help create a growing space for the children to really enjoy.

Job done we had a quick photo before heading over to Wandsworth common to take on a fun - but definitely tough - fitness session. We kicked off with a plank relay which saw us sprint and plank our way across the line. The winners were Team A who just pipped Team B to the post. The second race, which was another relay this time with runs and static holds, saw a photo finish and declaration of both teams claiming the glory. We finished off with a core triathlon before running back to base.

Next week we are off for our monthly visit to Doddington community roof garden followed by a pub quiz . What a start to the week!

Paradise Cooperative garden was created with the aim of utilising underdeveloped land for urban growing and community gardening. Opposite Wandsworth Prison is a tucked away parcel of land which was once an overgrown and derelict site. After masses of elbow grease from volunteers it has been transformed into a beautiful smallholding where local people can learn and grow together. The produce is donated to local organisations and it is an important learning oasis for local kids and those visiting relatives in the prison.

It's a big site, so we go regularly to support with various jobs. In the past we've spread woodchip, watered, planted and help maintain this green lifeline. Last night our job was cut back all the plants growing over the perimeter fence onto the street.

Luckily a good number of GoodGymers met as usual to to tackle the task in hand - and it was a treat to welcome Tom to his very first session! Great you could join us Tom. We set off for the 2km run to the garden in the late afternoon sunshine. Don't forget to rehydrate today, team! Before long we arrived and after the usual battle with the locks (with an amazing padlock cracking job from Katie) we grabbed what tools we could find and got to work.

The job was a huge one, with the sycamore and the ivy creeping right out into the road. We soon found ourselves ankle-deep in clippings and branches, and a big part of the job was transporting it all to the growing pile at the back of the garden.

Still, on we pruned, chopped and trimmed until we ran out of time. It's amazing to see how much you all managed to achieve throughout the session - take a look at those photos to see the before and after!

We just had time to squeeze in a fitness session in the common, focusing on balance and strength. Tackling one legged squats with our eyes closed, reverse lunges and lateral bounds you all did a great job with some very impressive balancing on display. Ok, I admit I did take one or two snaps while you all had your eyes shut... but check out how steady you all are!

Next week we're helping create a safe and fun outside space for a SEN children's centre, which should be a fun and rewarding task. Hope to see you there - until then, have a great week GG!

It was a very special session yesterday in Wandsworth as it was the beginning of The Great Big Green Week - the UK's biggest ever celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature.

We decided one of the best ways we as a group can help contribute to this was by working to get rid of the litter on our streets. A few facts:

• Litter harms our environment. Toxic materials or chemicals in rubbish finds its way into waterways, woods,seas and just about everywhere else, polluting our land, forest areas, soils, aquatic environments and even entering our food chain
• It spreads diseases, leading to poisoning of both humans and animals
• The cost of cleaning up litter means that government funds are diverted away from people that need it
• Plastic is a leading form of litter. In 2015, National Geographic reported that there were 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean

No more encouragement was needed! We even had the benefit of a set of excellent (foldable - so we could run with them!) new litter pickers thanks to a grant from the council. Thanks so much Wandsworth! We were raring to go.

To make the evening even more of a celebration of all things sustainable, we got to welcome some lovely new faces to the group. Please give a huge GoodGym cheer to Matt, Ben, Caroline, Sara, and Alexandra who all joined for the first session with great energy!

If you're inspired and you'd like to join in with any of the other Great Big Green Week activities in Wandsworth, you can check out what's going on right here.

We divided up into two groups, walking and running, but before we set off we did a quick warm up and all said one thing we were either doing or pledged to do in our bid to be greener. From taking the train and bikes instead of flying and cars, composting and more composting, to reducing our reliance on plastic bottles - we're all doing our bit.

As the walking group set off, bags in hand and pickers aloft, the running group did a little warm up and then headed in the same direction. As soon as we started to look for it, it was impossible not to see the litter that was hiding in bushes, strewn across pavements and bridges, and dumped in corners. The hope is that by doing a tidy up like this that it will encourage people to feel proud of where they live, to keep it clean and to encourage a change in behaviour for the more sustainable!

The pickers came in extremely useful and before long we had many bags brimming with bottles, cans, crisp packets and the dreaded dog poo bags. The worst!

There was just time for a group photo before we all headed back to base. The problem was that we now couldn't help spotting all the rubbish still to be collected! Looks like we're going to have to set up another session pretty soon.

We finished off the night with an optional fitness session at the BAC. Tough going in the heat but you smashed all the sprints (I can't believe you opted for hill sprints - very impressive!), squats and planks.

Next week we're going to Paradise cooperative garden to help out and there is also a mission to help set up tables for a community day on Saturday as well as a task with Beautify Balham later that morning. Not to mention the GoodGym-wide summer rounders match!

Well done on making a real difference in our area, and a very happy Great Big Green Week to you all!