Today's event was all about generations... the generation of a new generation of trees, planted by generations, for the benefit of future generations!

As we all know, GoodGym is for over 18s only, and you'll only find adults listed on this run report. However today's session at Ockwells Park was part of a public event hosted by RBWM and they explicitly invited families along. Lots of GoodGymers took the opportunity to drop in with (and take full responsiblity for) their children, and it was really nice to see them, to see them...nice!

And didn't they do (Ock)well?

There was a brilliant turn out at the event. I stopped by in the morning with my family and there were around 30-40 people on site, including GoodGymers Anita, Paul, Kevin, and Emily and Nivi with their families. Everyone was busy digging holes, shimmying saplings into their protective casings, burying their roots, and securing everything with stakes.

We had a lovely sociable and muddy time. It felt refreshing to be outside in a frosty green setting, helping a project that aims to boost biodiversity and fight climate change. It also felt great to be teaching the next generation about all this good stuff while we were at it. As we worked the sun came out, and one of my 4 year olds hummed a happy tune all the way back to the car park.

As we headed home for lunch, Vicky, Charlotte, Jess, Kelley and Michelle were heading to the planting site. It was great to see their smiling faces popping up in photos in our group WhatsApp during the afternoon.

And if we were to have a look at the old score board..?

Well this wasn't a competition, but there are certainly some impressive numbers to report. Rosie from the RBWM Countryside team estimates that around 600 trees will have been planted today, making a really decent dent in the 7000 trees they hope to plant this season. Before today GoodGym had planted around 735 trees, and we think we managed well over 100 today.

A special mention to Anita, who stayed at the site for 3 hours and planted an impressive 26 trees!

We have set ourselves the goal of planting 1000 trees this season and we expect to smash this at our next Ockwells tree-planting session on the 30th. Click here to join us!. Please note that the next session is for GoodGym only, so we regret under 18s are not permitted.

This evening's task was weeding in the quadrangle and painting in the parish hall at All Saints in Boyne Hill. And wow, what a turnout! This was our 444th community mission, so it is possible I'm not remembering all the details, but I'm pretty sure that never ever have we ever had this many people on an in-person community mission before! (No not that All Saints! Oh dear...)

A big GoodGym welcome to new members Nivi, Emma and Gylla. Yes the puns are always this terrible. Everyone please do click on their names to find their profiles and give them a big cheer on their first good deeds.

Thanks to Father Jeremy and All Saints Church historian Ken for giving us all a warm welcome and for arming us with lots of tools. This listed Victorian church is a lovely setting for a GoodGym session, particularly on a mild June evening, with the majestic tree in the centre of the quadrangle in full leaf.

Emma, Hannah, Nicola, Nivi, Gylla and Amy were team All Paints. Step one was sanding - a great arm work-out, if a bit noisy. Step two was a speedy wipe down, and step three a theraputic application of gloss. By the end the skirting boards looked satisfyingly pristine. We look forward to returning to give the remaining woodwork the same treatment.

Vicki, Louise, Kanika, Diya, Roberta, Tara, Michelle, Juli, Tessa, and Georgeta were the weed dream team, fanning out across the quadrangle and battling the weeds with great energy. The grass encroaching onto the tarmac from the central circle was particularly stubborn, but the team made great progress and pulled up an a-Boyne-dance of weeds.

As well as all this weeding and painting, we also managed a few more things this evening...

• Georgeta taught Tara how to speak to weeds in Romanian
• We learnt about the famous architect George Edmund Street, who designed this beautiful church in 1857. The tiled floor is currently undergoing a huge refurbishment project, so the church is closed, but some of us got a peek inside.
• We learnt about Nic's pet rat George (an intelligent chap, but easily distracted by food....aren't we all George!?)
• Green-fingered Juli ran 4km carrying a caddy of gardening tools
• Amy, Nivi and Gylla found common ground reminiscing about working in the toy industry
• Michelle found a secret strawberry farm
• Tara got her documents checked by Amy, so she is now on the road to becoming 'mission verified' - whoop whoop!
• Vicki took delivery of a bag full of plastic bottle tops to use in crafts at her pre-school
• Diya mastered (invented?) the three different ways to use a hoe. Can we call it the hoe-ly trinity?

So all in all a very productive evening. Well done everyone! We hope to return to help at All Saints again soon.

This evening's community mission ticked all the boxes for the perfect evening out with GoodGym:

✅ Stunning sunny weather.

✅ Lovely company including friends old and new, and a sea of red t-shirts (plus 1 black - well earned Jess!)

✅ Beautiful setting in ancient woodland.

✅ Pre-task social 5km run for some of us through the beautiful countryside surrounding Ockwells Park.

✅ A short walk for all of us from the car park through the aforementioned beautiful countryside to the task.

✅ A great task owner in Jason Mills, the RBWM Countryside Manager. We always learn something new about nature and our local parks and nature reserves when we see Jason. Plus, he has an excellent collection of wheelbarrow and spades!

✅ A task that gave us a great workout and made us feel like superheroes: we used spades to heap woodchip into wheelbarrows, which we then wheeled (quite a long way and at pace!) down the path, delivering the woodchip to Jason, who then raked it out.

✅ Moments to catch your breath and chat in between the shovelling and wheelbarrow ferrying (aka interval training)

✅ Knowing that even though there is still a lot of woodchip to shift, every bit we moved this evening will help protect biodiversity in this precious place. The woodchip reinforces the designated path in the woods, discouraging people from trampling delicate wildflowers away from the path and helping to prevent the compaction of the loose, rich soil that these flowers need in order to grow.

✅ The opportunity to check out Jason's lovely new sign, designed to educate people about the path and the significance of this woodland.

✅ Bizarre find: Vikki found what we think was a duck egg amongst the woodchip! Perhaps hidden there by a squirrel? Or the Easter bunny...

✅ Roe deer spotted! By Sheila on her bike ride out of the park. It just stood in the middle of the track watching her. Wonderful!

✅ Ace photographer Kelley brought her posh camera along, promising awesome photos for the report (soon to be uploaded so watch this space!)

We hope to return in the near future for more of the same, so keep an eye on the happenings page for more sessions.