A bright, winter day, sun ice-sharp through branches. Two signed-up Goodgymmers gathered near the Summerlee Avenue gate to meet the Friends of Cherry Tree Wood, where, lo and behold, we discovered two more lesser-spotted - but no less great! - Goodgymmers, Andras and Ruslan, along with around ten other volunteers.

With such a good turn out, we promptly split into two groups, with one group staying put near the gate, clearing brambles and extending dead hedge fences along the edge of the grassy area on the north side. The other group headed south to the shaded, already-existing forest garden (not the one we helped with last month[link]) to clear brambles from around the base of the saplings.

After barely an hour, team one joined the south team, having completed their task, and promptly swept through the remaining brambles with ease, and we were all done in under 90min! So we went for coffee at the nearby cafe for some cheery conversations and warmth.

GoodGym Barnet Tuesday Evening Run: From Screens to the Streets!

Tuesday’s GoodGym Barnet run was a fantastic way to step away from screens and connect with our community and environment. We kicked off the evening at The Old White Lion Pub, where laughter and chatter warmed us up for the activity ahead. After numbering up and sharing some festive cheer, we crossed the road to Cherry Tree Wood—but not before a detour for a warm-up jog!

We headed to a peaceful cul-de-sac (usually quiet but surprisingly bustling that evening) for some stretches and short sprints. The dynamic warm-up got our hearts racing, setting the tone for the night ahead.

At the park, Task Host Roger greeted us, ready with a unique mission: transforming part of the woodland into a future fruit haven! Our first task was to collect wood from a fallen tree, prepping materials for the next step. Along the way, we welcomed Anthony, who joined us after a delayed bus, and Rusland, a familiar face we hope to see more often. Even my dog, Gus, relished the adventure, enjoying a park all to himself as we worked.

The main activity was a physical challenge: removing turf to create planting beds for raspberries and other fruit bushes. By the glow of head torches (and the city’s soft light pollution), we dug, stripped, and shaped the ground into a neat half-moon formation. Roger’s enthusiasm—and our “sod off” puns—kept the energy high as we worked up a sweat in the cool November air.

As always, GoodGym is about the unexpected joys of helping out. Whether it’s digging in the dark, sprinting down a quiet street, or reconnecting with old and new faces, every session leaves you with a story to tell and muscles well-used.

We finished back at the pub for a cosy drink and a conversation that hit home: how often do we let social media distract us from real life? The dopamine-driven scroll might feel good, but nothing compares to the satisfaction of making a tangible difference in your local area.

Why Not Join Us Next Time?

If you’re reading this, maybe it’s time to ditch the screen and dive into something real. Discover the satisfaction of helping your neighborhood while keeping fit and making friends. Join GoodGym Barnet and turn an ordinary evening into an extraordinary adventure!

Ready to feel alive again?

See you next week—we we are delivering parcels of Goodwill for Hope London!

thank you to our host, Roger for facilitating this event!

A fantastic, five Goodgym members came together to help the friends of Friary Park. Four of us gathered at the Phoenix Cinema for a chat before setting off on the 5 km run down East Finchley High Street, into Glebelands and then up a steep hill to the park. It was a beautiful warm evening with the Sun starting to set we gathered around the newly restored statue of Queen Victoria. Apparently she had not liked the statue and had banished it and somehow it ended up in a suburban park. We then met up with Nick, who provided litter pickers and bags for us to spend the next half an hour collecting detritus. Joe add also joined us so we were now five! litter picking is a fun, mindful activity very goal orientated and we had several sacks at the end. Well done everyone for helping out and improving the park and encouraging the friends group in its activities. The friends group are looking to become a charity soon so they can start to fund raise and improve the park even further. Three of us ran 5 km back, and feeling the heat, we had some refreshments at the Phoenix.

Well done to Theodore who ran with leggings on! Yesika for running the longest group run distance of 10 km on her second outing! Jyothsna for recovering from injury to join us for the litter pick! Ruslan for being superfit, doing extra running and exercises en route.

Six GoodGym members came together to help Highgate Woods. Four gathered at Phoenix cinema to run the 2 km to meet with Cindy, the park ranger and our sixth member Karen ( and thanks for the pun!) It was a beautiful mild evening as we ran through Cherry Tree Wood and then Highgate Woods as the sun started to set. Cindy was really pleased with our last efforts, as she showed how the path that we had made, remained intact, and had diverted people away from the growing trees and shrubs. With this in mind, we started to create other forest fences for the same affect. Cindy also told us about a recent pair of nesting hobbies, that have had chicks, which is the first time in six years! She was very Hobby! A hobby is a fairly small, very swift falcon with long, narrow wings. They specialise in being superb aerialists that can catch dragonflies, and even Swifts on the wing. We finished up with some forest bathing yoga before running out of the woods. Unfortunately we weren’t quick enough to beat the locking of the gates at 8 pm. Luckily, we were limbered up enough to get over the fence and head back to the Phoenix for a warm down. Well done for Ruslan for doing a couple of sprints on the way back. Really nice to meet Yesika for the first time. Big shout out for our most reliable, runners and sisters Beattie & Rachel Thanks for coming running and doing some good!