The thermometers were showing -5 degrees on Saturday morning and Grove Farm looked stunning under a thin layer of frost, glittering in the sunlight. The frosty cover hid not only the beauty of nature, but also mysteries.

The Friends of Grove Farm: Mike, Anna, Olena and other volunteers, together with Cathy from LAGER Can, were about to perform their investigations as a flytip was found at the end of the lane leading to David Lloyd sports centre. To be extra thorough, five GoodGymers joined the survey of the entire lane: Christos, Diana, Sevan, Steph Ducat and Kash.

At the flytip site, the detectives discovered plenty of metal pieces: nuts, bolts, washers, elements for connecting scaffolding parts and stuff they were not sure what was for. The metal was collected into two strong fabric bags and loaded onto a trolley. The team spied some incriminating correspondence, giving away the identity and address of the suspected flytipper. They may get justice even if they haven't been caught red-handed!

Speaking of hands and temperature, probably the biggest challenge for the volunteers today was operating the litterpickers with half-frozen fingers. Some precautious GoodGymers fought the cold with double gloves. But the cold must have held some benefits!

"It's to keep us young." - Diana

Why spend a fortune on cryogenic therapy to reverse aging when you have winter sessions at Grove Farm? If you missed the first one this year - not all is lost! Meet us for the conservation day in two weeks and help remove invasive plants from the woodland - sign up here.