Urgent wild garlic protection awaited GoodGym Bristol this week with a maior operation planned to stoo the Council accidentally mowing the wild garlic before it could seed and spread.

Sleepers, that had made the raised beds before the big re-build (and accompanying big compost shift), were being moved from one edge of the park to the other with well-laden wheelbarrows and hefty shifting of the wood and a careful plan (make it up as you go along) to create a wall between the cutting grads and non-cutting garlic. Oh, and deadheading the daffodils in the tyre stacks where we'd been called on for emergency bulb-planting so theres space for the to grow and daffodils to prepare for next Spring.

Finishing off with lemon balm and something else tea and homemade nettle and dandelion cake (all foraged from the park and GoodGym were away again, more chat at Workout and Vaguely Northern Darren using his amazing video and audio skills to record the scene for all time.

It’s been around a year, I think, since I last visited Mrs S and she was very appreciative as always of some help in the garden.

As it was just me, we agreed that I would make the pathway from her back door, along the side and round to the front, safer for her by removing the weeds.

Still plenty to do but good to make a start today 😊

The forecast was “a bit soggy” - it was a Bank Holiday so it was always going to be a bit soggy - but not enough to put GoodGym Bristol.

The weeds have benefitted from the recent dampness with the warmth and are making by a bid to take over somebody the beds that have been bare over the winter. So we concentrated on one with grass and stickybud instead of the normal bramble and buttercup.

Top work, chatting about natural burials in mycelium coffins and then lunch at a new spot - Stokes by the Orchard which got a huge thumbs up.

Happy Easter Monday!

As if we hadn't had enough of litter from the last session, we jumped straight into helping the Berry Maze with their Annual Easter egg hunt/community litter pick combo. Though this time, it was a bit tricker as the Malago river itself had many months of fly tipping building up. Only one way about it, wellies on! Freya and I got slightly damp and at points very stuck, but we did managed to get the bulk of crap out of the river(3 Tvs, 2 trollies, 1 wardrobe, 1 sound system, many many bags of clothes.) Frances, Jason and Rich had found a doorway into another world of fly tipping, mostly doors. 6 doors in fact! They also gave aerial support to us riverfolk with lifting bulky stuff out the other side. At the same time Emma and and Janka were busy clearing out the Berry Maze maze, keeping Barney happy is a very important part of the job, as his jokes get worse the more weeds there are in the maze. between us, the berry maze, and the locals, we managed to make a massive impact on the local environment, and green spaces. Big thanks to everyone who came along,

Bit of a special session this week, as we were joined by a swarm of locals who were concerned and wanted to do something about the fly tipping in the area. Even a local counciller got their gloves on and helped out. On top of some stellar GG litter picking action, we even managed to create a new wildflower bed, with extra thanks to newcomer Elaine who wasn't afraid to pick up a fork get stuck in on the action!

We managed to neatly pack the trash so that it could be collected by the council quicker, then hopped accross the road for another litter session at the Berry maze! Thanks all, see you next month!

Another typical springtime gathering for the Northen Slopes gang, and the Parkrun gang, as we descended on the berry maze for a casual weed removal session. The weeds were growing stronger and herder to pull out, but that didn't stop Janka, Elliott, and Emma from clearing a whole plot of pesky weeds. Harsheh and rich also managed to get many new fences in the ground, while I was cementing in a new perimeter fence pole.

Really productive session, thanks for coming all!