6 Luton Goodgymers joined the FoLP and ABCD-IN-LUTON for this months community litterpick.
We started by welcoming our first timer Susannah who was glad to finally come out with us after signing up a little while ago. As the temperature was beginning to climb Kevin from ABCD-IN-LUTON reminded everyone to stay hydrated and he'd generously brought some bottles of water 💧 💧 💧 so everyone could take one on their way round the park. It was quite a leisurely walk around the park, past the site of the new Luton Henge project and along the river Lea. We gathered around 15 bags of rubbish 🗑 and the park looked a lot tidier after we'd all finished. David occupied his regular spot dangling like Spiderman over the river, fishing out all sorts of goodies only this time he had to fish out something a little more personal to himself as his phone dropped out of his pocket into the juice. He assured me it was ok 👍🏻 📱 . All in all it was a good task and we look forward to returning next month. Great job, well done 👏

A trio of Luton Goodgymers teamed up with the London Road Litter Pickers for the South Luton monthly litter pick. It was another baking hot morning but we were undeterred. As well as picking up the usual array of cans, bottles, food containers etc. we also targeted Memorial Park where it was clear there had been a bit of a “do” the night before with canisters of nitrous oxide (laughing gas), balloons and other small packets. It’s such a shame these were left by the children’s play area, but we soon got it tidied up. Lots of The local residents commented on what a great difference we made. Well done Yazed, Yasin and Gill, our help was much appreciated.

This week's group run took us to the Dallow Downs to meet a new partner organision for GoodGym, the recently formed Friends of Dallow Downs and Winsdon Hill!

It was unseasonably warm on the way up the Dallow Road but before too long we found Kevin from ABCD Luton who supports litter picking groups all over town. We set ourselves up with bags and pickers and headed between the houses into the woods at the bottom of the hill to meet Sophie, Vanessa and John, the friends group.

We didn't have to take more than a couple of steps into the woods before we found plenty of mess. Domestic waste had been dumped here many times by the look of it and the area hadn't been cleaned for years and years.

We filled bag after bag of all the rubbish, there was layer upon layer. It's the first time we've made good use of a rake on a litter pick! Perseverance meant we made some progress and forged on deeper into the woods.

After an hour we called it a day and counted up our collection of bags to a huge 129! Not to mention all the other random large items we pulled out like beds, tables, TVs and a gazebo!

It was a pleasure to meet this new group and help them out with their passion to restore the downs to something resembling a natural state! We will be back!

On this warm and sunny Sunday morning a team of three from GoodGym joined a couple of local residents and Kevin from ABCD to tackle an overgrown alleyway connecting Montrose Avenue to Carlton Crescent.

The alleyway was closing up with the ivy on the fences closing in and the weeds in the sides growing unchecked. But with an hour's effort from the collective of volunteers, spurred on by the thanks of passing residents, we soon got it all cleared clean with a transformed view through to the other end.

Building connection meeting new people growing stronger Inside and out improving fitness while making real difference

It’s a busy Easter weekend, but one Goodgymer was able to slot a litter pick in between the Easter preparations. I joined the London Road Litter Pickers to tidy up this stretch of the main road into Luton. There was plenty of rubbish to keep us busy, especially when I came across 7 bags of nappies, food and other rubbish that had been split open and were spilled over the street. Not the most pleasant of tasks, but it certainly made a difference to the local area.