GoodGym Merton hit the ground running (and cycling!) tonight for a fantastic session at Wimbledon Guild. A small group run, a couple of enthusiastic cyclists, and a determined solo runner made their way to the task to clear the area.

Armed with gloves and garden tools, what followed was an impressive flurry of weeding, and chopping back bushes that left almost three sides of the building transformed. Eight bags of green waste and a mighty pile of branches - not too shabby for a mid-week session.

The hard work didn’t go unrewarded. A sweet surprise in the form of cake gave everyone a well-earned boost before heading off. Thanks Jon for having us, we will be back in a few weeks.

A warm welcome to Jo - great job on smashing your very first GoodGym Merton task! Also to Jon for signing up as a member and a big cheer for Audrey, who’s now added the home team badge to her group sessions milestone. Lovely to have you all with us!

Next week is a big one with two group sessions and our 6-month anniversary social - plenty of chances to get your GoodGym fix. Whether you're a regular or visiting from afar, we'd love to see you at one, some, or all of the sessions so do come join the fun!

Monday: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/wwf-x-goodgym-merton-help-with-various-outdoor-jobs-at-the-squirrels-community-scrap-scheme-hut

Wednesday, training task: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/induction-session-ahead-of-supporting-friends-of-raynes-park-station-with-jobs-at-the-station-ccdf0c6d-e37c-4f5d-97e9-3def6b3cb096 followed by task: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/help-friends-of-raynes-park-station-with-moving-compost social: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/celebrating-six-months-of-goodgym-merton

it was a bright and breezy day down at Deen City Farm, with lots of families arriving for Easter activities (such as animal life drawing with a very cooperative chicken). Roxanne asked us to concentrate on the areas surrounding the farm, such as the car park and the pathways so, dressed in hi viz and armed with pickers, we cracked on and soon filled three large rubbish sacks. Afterwards we took time to meet the lambs, goats, pot-bellied pigs and other animals. This is an udderly lovely place to help out, so we hope to return soon.

The GoodGym services of Jade, Caroline, Mike, Rachael and Rufu arrived promptly at Raynes Park Station for their induction journey.

First stop: orientation around the embankment. Next stop: a very warm welcome by the station master including a guided tour of the site, where important protocols were delivered with first-class clarity. Safety briefing highlights included a firm reminder: do not cross the yellow line and tracks are strictly off-limits!

With minds focused and spirits on track, we mapped out our future route for moving compost/soil which will hopefully go some way towards choo-choosing the best plan of action for our upcoming return visit.

Tonight, Jade and Peter were on hand to support with the clean-up post distribution and pre Easter. With the eggs-tra pair of hands there was time to attack the often-neglected nooks and crannies behind the storage boxes. Armed with a vacuum and determination, a proper behind-the-scenes refresh was completed after a hands-on sort-through of cartons, egg boxes, and miscellaneous bits and bobs.

GoodGym Merton once again stepped in to assist at Jubilee Square as Goodgym Kingston's schedule is fairly packed.

After a bit of litter picking Anna and Jade worked on the sticky situation with weed-ridden beds whilst Rachael, Emily and Rufu teamed up with shovels and rakes to spread woodchippings over the area.

There was also time to put up the new notice boards and head to the pub for an impromptu drink and chat about all things Goodgym. Congratulations to Rufu on your 10th task and we will see you in the Taskforce team very soon 🤞.

We first started helping at this community garden in the depths of winter so it's been lovely to see everything progressing as the days get warmer. In today's spring sunshine we set to work weeding the herb bed so that the sage, chives, lemon balm, mint and rosemary can flourish. After that it was time for some watering and, finally, to pick some herbs to bring home. It was good to see Amina again and kudos to Jade for making this her third task of the day!