This evening, six GoodGym volunteers headed to Aldermoor Community Farm to lend a hand with some much-needed hedge trimming. Armed with shears and plenty of enthusiasm, we tackled the overgrown hedge along the farm’s boundary. In just one hour, we managed to complete the task - our best effort yet! It was a satisfying job that combined teamwork, fresh air, and a good arm workout!

Kudos to Ellie and Abby for running 4 miles to the task and to Robert for an hours walk!

We had a great evening this evening removing a large amount of himalayan balsam from along the local riverways. Having completed a couple of similar tasks with SCC last year we were confident with identification and how to handle the balsam and those new to it were fascinated by the alien like roots and how simple it is to remove.

Balsam is a very invasive plant that erodes local riverbed and banks unless it is kept on top of. We all did a stellar job clearing the site but particular kudos goes to Robert who cleared an extremely large clearing within the hour!!

This task was led by Final Straw, a fantastic charity organization fighting plastic pollution. We joined them along the Itchen River at a spot where thousands upon thousands of nurdles wash up. It required nimble fingers to collect as many nurdles as possible for Final Straw to use in their school visits. These tiny pieces of plastic are tough to pick up, making beach cleaning seem daunting, but every effort counts.

Wilson had the best find of the morning—a plastic AEP training bullet!

Well we all wanted some rain for the gardens but definitely not for the gazebos. Laura and Rob were a definite asset as we were tasked with shifting some gazebos down onto Riverside Park. A very organised bunch of volunteers we were helped by good pre-planning from the TriFest team. We were prepared for some rain but perhaps not the deluge which started the festival off in true British style! Luckily we were able to enjoy the good music from lots of local musicians and the sun came out and treated everyone to a beautiful afternoon and evening. Rob and Steph were able to pop back later for the closing down session and another good workout getting all the packed gazebos up the slope and into the garage.