Yesterday, our big-hearted GoodGymers came together at Elm Road Playground with one clear goal: to make the space safer and more welcoming for little ones to play. Armed with determination, gardening tools, and plenty of head torches, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work, clearing dry autumn leaves and digging out stubborn weeds rooted deep in the soil. Every minute was powered by our shared love for the community and a strong desire to give back. It was a chilled, productive evening, filled with hearty conversations, teamwork, and good vibes. We combined fitness, friendship, and social action, proving once again that doing good really does feel good.

Last night a large group of GoodGymers made their way to Canbury Gardens for some autumnal chores. At the Canbury Community Garden, Susan and Marie-Noëlle split the team in three groups. Dave, Lordi, Anna, Kento moved the tyre towers around & re-filled them with fresh compost. A second group - Luke, Saber, Marcos - dug and turned the compost in the two large compost heap areas whilst a third group - MN & Tom - collected water from the river to refill the garden's water containers. We finished our mission with some light pruning and praking of the vegetable beds.

Meanwhile over at the GoodGym flowerbed Louise, Claire and Levita filled a massive sack with all the leaves that were covering the flowerbed and hiding some plants. Saber and Anna then joined us and helped Levita collect water from the river to water the plants and keep them going until it rains. We ended the session planting a few spring bulbs. Join us in our next session at the flowerbed to plant the rest and create a colourful Spring display.

We've been to Kingston Voluntary Action's new project redistributing surplus food this summer and seen how it's been coming on.

Organiser Emma had a load of different tasks for us to do, from crushing boxes, sweeping, cleaning out their fridge as well as their van.

Anna, Amreet, Claire (expert power washer), Tom, Emma, Emily Luke, Levita, John (top leaf-blowing), Dave (skilful van driving), Rachel and first-timer Jonathan got involved in a bit of everything and we'd made a big difference by the end.

We didn't leave empty-handed, either. The great thing about a food hub is…food…and we got some water kefir and cacao bars for our trouble.

Nice to be back helping a very worthy cause.

Nightmare on Elm Park

Eight GoodGymers took advantage of a break in the rain to join the Friends of Elm Road Recreation Ground for a tough but rewarding task.

A thick carpet of leaves – and an even thicker layer of compacted soil lurking beneath – has built up along the fences of the children’s playground. Armed with hoes and spades, we fought our way through the matted weeds and nettle roots. Once loosened, the debris was swept, brushed, and bagged up - a lot of squatting and shovelling was needed!

Great to see the pile of filled sacks and the difference at the end. The fences were freed and more space was reclaimed for children to enjoy – without the sting of nettles. A proper transformation.

Fashion Police, Winter Coats & Animal Hats – Another Fun Hour at Growbaby!

This evening, our team of GoodGymmers got stuck into an hour of sorting, organising, and laughing at the always-busy Growbaby charity.

Rachel led the charge and even arranged a donation drop-off from her friend—brilliant teamwork! Levita and Jana channelled their inner fashion critics as they tackled a mountain of baby sleepsuits and snuggle bags. Their keen eyes helped fill three bin bags with items that didn’t make the cut. Honestly, it's always surprising (and sometimes baffling!) what people donate...

Meanwhile, Clair was a whirlwind of productivity, zipping through the stock and making sense of the ever-growing piles of clothes.

There was a moment of light relief when we unearthed some truly fierce animal headgear—cue laughter and an impromptu photo session. We also managed to squeeze in a few stories from summer travels while sorting, proving once again that a bit of chat makes the time fly.

Great work all round, and a big thanks to Rachel for organising another fab task!

Six GoodGymers - Sekar, Marie-Noelle, Marcus, Luke, Zoe and Sophie teamed up to help out at Canburry Community Garden to help Marylin one last time with some much needed vegetable beds watering, water fetching from the river, pruning of the tall bushes around the fencing area, clearing the fallen leaves from the outbuilding gutter and some weeding and clearing of the path for easy wheel-chair access. As we said goodbye to Marylin who is retiring, we got to know Susan who takes over as Lead Gardener.

Meanwhile over at the GoodGym flowerbed it was a watery work out for Tom, Louise and Saber who filled the large buckets with river water and transported them to the flowerbed by wheel barrow.

The flowers were given an extra good water followed by some super mulching to keep all the moisture in.

In between the watering and mulching Claire removed the litter and a few small weeds. Hopefully the rain will make an appearance soon to give the muscles a rest from watering.

Welcome to Sekar, Sophie and Zoe on their first task with Kingston GoodGym we hope to see you again soon.