The GoodGym volunteers joined Pam and the local team at Coombe Wood Gardens for a lively morning of watering, transplanting, pruning, and all‑round garden graft, earning ourselves fresh tomatoes and a cool drink for our efforts on a beautiful morning just a hop, skip, and jump from Lloyd parkrun.

Parkrun thanked me for keeping the course moving, and I’ll happily take it. I turned up, cheered loud, and added a burst of GoodGym energy to Lloyd parkrun. I’m a proud parkwalker because walking gets people moving whether they’re runners, ex‑runners, or mud‑loving stompers like me, and parkrun treats it exactly right: proper, fun, and fully part of the action. No volunteers means no parkrun or parkwalk, so it felt good knowing my time really counted. I didn’t just volunteer , I GoodGym‑powered the morning.

We were joined by GoodGym’s CEO, Hannah Crane, who took the lead on watering the plants while the four Croydon GoodGym volunteers got stuck into litter picking. There’s something genuinely therapeutic about it, moving through the park, clearing away what doesn’t belong, and seeing the space look better with every bin bag filled. Did you know the Japanese even hold litter‑picking competitions? They see it as a mindful, joyful way to care for shared spaces, and it certainly felt that way for us at Whitehorse Road Recreation Ground. It was great to be outdoors together again, doing something practical and positive for the community.

It was lovely to welcome Liz back to the project, and a big shout-out to our regular GoodGymer Ian.

With plenty of donations to sort, we began with the usual tidy-up before organising items and tackling the main task—moving the rails back into the cupboards. A rather fetching purple night gown caught my eye this time!

See you again in two weeks!

Feel good

This session was Ian, Julia and Leigh,
And a big pile of hats as far as we could see,
We sorted beanies to caps,
And piled top hats in stacks,
Then a KitKat break—before storing rails neatly!

Next sessions are here. Join us!! ❤️

Tuesday 14th April
Tuesday 28st April