Congrats to Peter on leading his first GoodGym Manchester session!

Despite a very wet forecast 🌧 we were in Gorse Hill to help prepare the allotment for Gorse Hill Studios as part of their Green Rooms project for the winter.

We met in Gorse Hill park to collect loose leaves 🍂 plus a litterpick with a couple of rubbish 🗑 sacks and 10 bags full of leaves.

We used the leaves as mulch on the allotment to help the future beds and dampen any weed growth. Peter also brought some strawberry 🍓 runners to be planted and we took out any tomato plants 🍅 from inside the polytunnel.

With heavy rain and dark clouds gathering, we called it a day. We'll likely be back in the new year for spring prep and perhaps at the studios to help there too.

Ben was the sole ranger going along for a few tasks today.

Initially covering a 16 km route to do the pre-event course check at Fletcher Moss parkrun event number 272, where 283 runners and walkers completed the 5 km route.

After dropping off Juno, it was up to Brunswick Parish Church to help out Ardwick Climate Action. We loaded the car with manure and the bigger tools before wheeling the hand tools and other items to the scout allotment site near Gartside Gardens.

We were met with a gazebo for serving hot drinks and snacks. Several scouts weeded the beds and litterpicked, while I was tasked with pruning the fruit trees 🌳. It was no small task, with several never having been pruned. With loppers and secateurs, I made good progress and the longer branches will be used for a dead hedges nearby.

After clearing up and wheeling items back to base, I ran along to work.

Not likely to be another task until the new year. Good session with a good group.

Sam and Ben met up for another foodbank run to donate much needed items for MCR South-Central foodbank.

After a weekend of high winds and heavy rain, we were thankful for a relatively peaceful, albeit cold, Monday evening jog down to Hulme Asda, leaving behind a giant Santa in St Peter's Square.

Sam made the smart choice to run unladen and buy a basket load of tea/coffee and other goods for the donation point. Ben was less smart, lugging a heavy bag of tins and UHT milk from home to the drop-off...

In all, we filled the bottom of the trolley donation point, before heading back via Man Met University buildings and getting a picture with the Christmas Bee 🐝

Following Storm Claudia, a group of us joined the Friends of Peel Park for their monthly Sunday tidy.

Ben joined David plus 2 other local volunteers to clear leaves 🍃 from a drainage ditch near a mural in the park, clear any paths of storm and river Irwell debris, and tidy up the beds to remove any dead or dying plants.

In about 75 minutes, we filled up 5 or 6 sacks of rubbish 🗑, cleared most of a tree from a path, and filled up 6 or 7 wheelbarrows-full of dead plants, leaving the park more accessible for users and just generally much tidier.

Hope to be back in the new year, for Peel Park's 180th birthday year.

Managed to get a full roster of volunteers for the Saturday morning. Storm Claudia on Friday night and Saturday morning brought lots of wind and rain with it. Early course check at 7am and met with the Environmental agency who had closed the park due to partial flooding, so cancelled the parkrun. Storm debris on the course but park reopened at about 10am.

I'll be back next week.

Well done for getting out on a soggy Wednesday evening to run or jog their way around the 5 km city centre route, all to try and add to the charity total. The MCR 24 hr run events starts at midday on Wednesday to midday on Thursday with relay 5 km segments in between.

We signed up as a GoodGym group for the 19:20 wave, getting a good shout out and making sure not to slip on the trodden grass during the briefing and group photo.

Hazel and Laura went with the 40 minute group, and kudos to Hazel running their first 5 km continously! Fanette, Hannah, and Ben joined the 35 minute group.

With the rain, there were lots of puddles, slippery leaves, and hazards from passing vehicles, with a few of us getting a shower during the run. With so many running for a great cause, there were many smiles and a great atmosphere amongst all those taking part.

A few of us ran an additional lap at 8.20pm as the rain seemed to calm going into the evening

At time of writing, they had raised £50,345.54 so comfortably passing their target and last year's total.

More info and to donate