Rachel and Sheila returned to help improve the football pitch at All Saints School. We scattered the seed, trying to perfect the box shake to give the optimum coverage of seed, and then raked it in. Sheila then had to leave, but was replaced by Amy who levelled some sand by the playground and then helped Rachel tidy up the sand pile and leave the site in a suitable condition. Mrs Thompson, our Taskowner, was very grateful for our help, and we hope the seed germinates well, and that the footballers soon have grass to play on instead of mud!

Rachel and Sheila made a return visit to All Saints School to continue with the gargantuan task of distributing a large pile of topsoil onto the bare patches on the football pitch. We were delighted to be joined by Amy and a couple of younger helpers, one of whom was Junior Park Run-fresh and already warmed up! The extra pairs of hands made a huge difference as we shovelled, barrowed, tipped and raked the soil into its final position. An infusion of a couple of Percy Pigs each gave us the extra strength to keep going. Just as we were flagging, another couple of mums turned up with their daughters, in answer to Amy's desperate plea for extra help to the school community. To eventually see the 5-ton pile of topsoil reduced to a few crumbs left on the ground was an achievement indeed. In the time that was left, Rachel coordinated the addition of sand to the wildflower beds while Amy and Sheila helped our taskowner Mrs Thompson sow some grass seed on the football pitch, rake it in, and cover some with fine netting to keep the birds off while it germinates. As I write this, the rain is watering it all in for us. We shall all sleep well tonight! Kudos to Rachel for keeping up the momentum for 4 hours 👏

It was an early start this morning, but the sun was out and what a lovely morning for shifting top soil! All Saints School football pitch needs a make-over, so Viv, Rachel and Sheila responded to the challenge. After a short delay while we struggled to unlock the gates to the playing field, Rachel came to the rescue and gave the key the required wiggle to enable it to work. We got a good workout aerating the ground, shovelling topsoil into barrows and raking it to cover the bare patches. We were joined by one family whose son attends the school for part of the time, and were grateful for the extra pairs of hands. We made good progress but there is plenty to do at tomorrow's session

Rachel and Sheila joined Taskowner Sarah at All Saints School to continue to prepare the ground for sowing wildflower seeds. The ground was still lovely and soft from the rain, making our job nice and easy. The plentiful worms and beetle grubs we found bode well for the health of the soil. We managed to de-turf and dig over 2 new beds before we lost our battle with the failing light.

Angela, Christine, Sheila and Viv helped out at All Saints C of E Junior School on a chilly morning. Our taskowner Sarah would like to create some wildflower meadows at the school and needed some help to realise her vision. Viv and Angela started by clearing a bed by the weather station. Meanwhile, Sarah, Christine and Sheila marked out the areas destined to become paths, so that we could then create the beds Just to complicate matters, there is some rubber matting buried under the grass which we wanted to avoid. We dug one triangular bed, removing all the plants but recovering as much soil as we could. Viv and Angela joined us to dig a second one, and we fitted in a further couple of small areas before we had to call it a day. Watch out for further sessions to continue the great work! Sarah was really pleased that we had such a productive session

Jen, Juli, Rachel and I had a holly-va nice time chatting and collecting foliage fir the All Saints Junior School wreath-making fundraiser. Thanks to Ruth (a GoodGymer in a previous life) for giving us permission to taking cuttings from her garden.