This task was led by Final Straw, a fantastic charity organization fighting plastic pollution. We joined them along the Itchen River at a spot where thousands upon thousands of nurdles wash up. It required nimble fingers to collect as many nurdles as possible for Final Straw to use in their school visits. These tiny pieces of plastic are tough to pick up, making beach cleaning seem daunting, but every effort counts.

Wilson had the best find of the morning—a plastic AEP training bullet!

Well we all wanted some rain for the gardens but definitely not for the gazebos. Laura and Rob were a definite asset as we were tasked with shifting some gazebos down onto Riverside Park. A very organised bunch of volunteers we were helped by good pre-planning from the TriFest team. We were prepared for some rain but perhaps not the deluge which started the festival off in true British style! Luckily we were able to enjoy the good music from lots of local musicians and the sun came out and treated everyone to a beautiful afternoon and evening. Rob and Steph were able to pop back later for the closing down session and another good workout getting all the packed gazebos up the slope and into the garage.

We helped Thomas from Southampton City Farm move a bunch of materials from B&Q out of the parking lot - they'll be soon used to build a chicken coop on the farm grounds. We did this in a totally not competitive way.

We were also by no means influenced by the promise of feeding the animals and running with ponies if we finished early.

Having finished the task in about 30 minutes, we spent the rest of the time playing with the animals and helping the farm put them to sleep. We got to run through the school's fields with Salt & Pepper, the ponies, which were surprisingly quick.

Tonight we helped get the event vehicle and equipment clean and organised for summer season. Sponges at the ready we got the gazebo cleaned off and hung out to dry. We are pros now when it comes to valeting so had the van ready in no time at all and then were left with just the small task of trying to fit a car cover to it! Hopefully that will keep it a bit cleaner while it’s parked under the tree. Great job everyone and an extra big well done to Sarah who completed her 100th good deed so donned the wings to celebrate :)

A great session with Friends of Portswood Rec trying to cut out as much bramble as we could from the hedges to keep on top of it. We started early at 8.30 am to beat the heat as it was forecasted 29+ that day. Two full bags so a great success although I should have remembered that the Mahonia bush is just as prickly as the brambles. Next time longer sleeves and perhaps not climbing inside the hedge might help.

What a relief to have a cooler day for today's task joining the Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery FoSOC on their monthly session. Lucy and I got stuck in with the regular volunteers tackling rampant brambles, clearing around some gravestones. We certainly didn't mind the odd shower although rain did stop play at 11.45 but we managed to fill plenty of large bags. They always offer refreshments at their hub in the old chapel which are most welcome when you are a tad damp.