Twelve goodgymers delved through nettles and thistles to reach the pesky balsam and remove it before it self seeded. Will and Victoria joined in the work like seasoned pros plucking, snapping and making piles of the unwanted plant. Everyone worked hard together to explore the undergrowth and weed those hard to reach areas. A satisfying task and great teamwork! Flora the dog created some much needed entertainment and distraction!

the weather gods smiles on us today as 7 of goodgyms finest made their way to Holyport FC to strim/ prune/ pluck and cut all of the overgrown foliage at the club

Tony expertly wielded the strimmer and everyone else chose their own tools to complete the task at hand

Once our bushes were neatly trimmed we made our way home to rest until next time

Tonight's top team of Balsam Bashers met at Boulter's Lock and before we set off important business needed to be taken care of! Firstly we welcomed first timers Phil and Mary and secondly, Georgeta has completed a huge 500 Good Deeds and she was presented with her special medal, adorned with a special ring found during a sludgy pond clearing mission, and her royal cape!

The team then set off on a chatty 1km walk to Battlemead where the balsam awaited us. We snuck over the fence and through the forest of stinging nettles to the middle of the area. Here Amy reminded us of what we were looking for and then the Balsam bashing began! The Goodgym locust swarm swept through the area relieving the ground of the balsam with a satisfying 'pop'. We found the balsam was bigger round the reeds in the wetter land and had soon pulled up handfuls and helped to stop the invasive species spreading further!

Satisfied with our efforts but knowing there is lots more hiding amongst the nettles we headed back along the river. However, we can't acknowledge a Good Deed milestone without some cake and Amy was the baker tonight! We tucked in as Amy read us some words from Sheila about the amazing selfless volunteering Georgeta has done in the area and especially the social visits which have proved a lifeline to older residents. She is a shining star!!

8 Goodgymers met with Helen from Wild Maidenhead to help take back a formerly neglected space in Desborough park.

Weeding a bed and laying bark chip over was the plan and we all cracked on and got it covered.

Too much bark in the end so some left over but plenty of feel good vibes in the setting sun from a warm afternoon.

After a day of heavy rain we were truly blessed to have had the beautiful weather and stunning river views on the walk to and from our task this evening.

We met at the car park and then walked 1km to Battlemead of which some paths had already been cleared for us by Ranger Tom earlier that day, as it was heavily overgrown with large stinging nettles.

Amy showed us what the Himalayan Balsam was and we set to work by pulling out as much as we could of the invasive plant which makes it harder for other species to grow in the area.

It was very satisfying especially when we found a big one and the roots came out really easily so we didn’t need any tools.

After around 45 minutes we walked back and enjoyed the scenery once again, this time with the sun setting.

Well done everyone - keep a lookout for more of the same tasks happening soon and do sign up if you can, as there is lots to get rid of!