Today I was back helping Ms V with her beautiful garden. As I was more familiar this time I was able to get going with the tasks that Ms V talked me through. I started by chopping back a bit more of the huge fig tree to be able to access underneath it. Then I dug out a type of weed, the brambles, and the ivy. At the back of the garden was more weeding, as well as taking some of the home made compost and putting it around the bottom of the apple tree to help it grow. Once I had started working on the brambles I started to find more and more, and they were very thorny! Thankfully my gloves were mostly thorn proof. I used the shears to cut the long bits of the grass that I didn't manage to mow last time, and then finished off my cutting off the dead heads of the rose bush. All that was left to do was to deposit all the cuttings into the green bin out the front, and I was off on my way, with a very grateful Ms V thanking me for the help.

we watered and shovelled compost !

Josh, Chris, Samina, Dani and Pete met at Beer n Burger, did a quick warm up, then jogged approx 3 km to meet Ajay in West Hampstead ( we finally got there after Pete got lost, there was plenty of help at hand though). Beatriz arrived then Ajay arrived on a beautiful summer eve and gave us tools to weed with - cutters, hoes, forks and gloves. We all worked really hard completely removing all the weeds from the planter box, feeling 2 huge green waste bags and also removing plenty of rubbish. We still had a little time so we went around the corner and did the same for another planter box, another good job. Thanks to everyone and to AJ. We then walked to Kilburn high road as a cool down and Beatriz went her way, the rest jogged back to B and B. Josh peeled off home as he had to go, the rest ended up in B and B and had a lovely cool drink and chat. Thank you so much to Dani who came to GG Brent for the first time, we hope you come back. See you next time.

I strolled over to meet Ms V on a beautiful sunny day and was ready to help out in the garden whilst also topping up my tan. Ms V has a lovely garden with all sorts of plants and trees, and she was very knowledgeable, giving me useful information about lots of them. I even wrote a few tips down for my own garden! First I trimmed back the fig tree so that it didn't block out the light so much for other plants. Turns out the figs aren't really edible because it's not hot enough in England to make the lovely sweet ones we eat. Then I hacked away at some brambles, which is definitely my comfort zone seeing as this is a classic GH task. With direction from Ms V I pruned and trimmed various plants and bushes, and then finished off by doing a rough mowing of the lawn using the hand mower, which I'd never used before but actually I much preferred to a normal lawnmower! Luckily the garden waste bin had been cleared that morning so I was able to fill it up again with all the trimmings. Ms V was very grateful for the help and I must say it was a job well done!

Last night, despite a scorching 31°C at 7 pm, GoodGym Brent volunteers showed incredible dedication at Oakington Manor Primary School's Forest School. Tabitha and Chris, expertly guided by Usma, embarked on a mission to enhance the outdoor learning space for the children. Our primary tasks involved the monumental effort of relocating several large tree trunks, painstakingly transforming them into a brand new, natural seating area perfect for outdoor lessons and storytelling.

In addition to this heavy lifting, we tackled two enormous tyres, strategically moving them beneath a tree to create an exciting new climbing feature for the kids. The team also diligently worked to cut back significant areas of overgrown vegetation, making the forest school more accessible and safer for everyone. Though Pete was sadly missed due to train woes, the fantastic efforts of Tabitha and Chris ensured a brilliant impact, truly making a difference to this vital community asset for local children. Tabitha even had a go on the rope swing and bravely tried her hand at slacklining – quite a scary experience, but great fun!

we expertly cleaned the chairs and it was such a warm day that the hot air dried them off in no time