Tuesday 27th August 2019
Report written by Sam Ollason
9 GoodGym volunteers ran to Bath Organic Group near the Victoria Park play area to do some path maintenance and apple pressing. We had a lot of fun and we can't wait to go back again!
We met at the leisure centre and after a warm-up we ran through town, through Victoria Park and down to the allotments at Lower Common West. We met our host Len who gave us an overview of Bath Organic Group and the task ahead.
The community project there has been running for over 30 years. They grow and sell a variety of fruit and veg. Anyone is welcome to come and help out at the garden and they are always looking for new volunteers to join their community. They meet on Tuesday and Saturday mornings and are a very welcoming and social group. You can find more information on their website.
Task 1: Repairing a sickly path!
Our first task was to cut back some of the overgrown paths with some sickles. We made the path wider and a lot clearer so people can more easily get a wheelbarrow down there and pick more fruit.
Task 2: Keep chipping away at it!
The second task of the evening was laying down a bark chip path around the allotment. Last October we came along to BOG and laid down some bark but over the year, with all the visitors and volunteers they have there, the path has thinned. We worked in a team to load up wheelbarrows, transport the bark and then mould the path with a rake.
Task 3: Time for more pressing matters!
Our final task of the night was to pick apples and prepare them for juicing. We picked apples from the trees and then set up a production chain. We washed the apples, quartered them (taking care to remove any bugs hiding in there!), 'scratted' them (i.e. grinding them) and then pressed them.
It was a lot of fun and the fresh apple juice tasted amazing! It was also a great energy boost for the run back to the leisure centre!
Thanks!
Thanks to Len and the team at Bath Organic Group for hosting us last night. Thanks to Emily for backmarking and thanks to Rob for the awesome pun this week. Two in a row!
Upcoming runs:
Bath Organic Group, or BOG, was set up in 1986 to promote sustainable, local food production and organic gardening in and around Bath.
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