Welcome to Christopher and Md for their first GG Manchester task!

Five keen Goodgymers rolled up their sleeves to help out with Ardwick Climate Action on their Saturday morning volunteering session. We wheeled the equipment and plants over to their site next to the Mancunian Way before getting to work.

We quickly cleared the nearby litter with 6 or 7 bags collected plus a GB sign, a set of traffic cones, and a metal pole. With the litter cleared, we helped plant 500 crocus bulbs around the trees and some additional grass plants to be ready for the spring.

While planting, Peter was busy pruning the tops of lavender on a nearby site and Stefanie with Ben pruned a hydrangea near Brunswick Parish church.

On a busy morning, a few of us managed to swap numbers and pick up some strawberries for home, while also singing happy birthday to Ben on a bumper day of GG Manchester volunteering.

After a run and bus dash to Brunswick Parish church, I met up with Dan and Gordon from Ardwick Climate Action. Along with some visitors from Didsbury and Fog Lane, and Jade from Ancoats, we got kitted out with gloves, litter pickers, and bin bags to do a combined litter pick and grand tour of some of their 11 sites.

Overall we managed to collect 12 bursting blue bin bags plus a lonely mop.

More interesting was the tour and stories, including them closing the A6 several years ago to stop the traffic while planting trees, and the 15,000 bulbs planted around their sites. Several schools in Ardwick have had shrubs, trees, and hedges planted to reduce noise and pollution (ivy was noticeably blackened facing the road). In the future, they hope to instigate safe school streets and more pedestrian crossings across the A6 to help with the school run. Much of their funding has been through the council and the mayor, with Andy Burnham recently visiting for a similar whistle-stop tour.

An additional aspect was their art installations, some of which have made it to the Manchester Museum, to raise awareness on air pollution. and the environment. One current masterpiece was a series of blue umbrellas (representing the sky) with recycled bottle tops to represent PM 2.5 air particles.

After a final stop at their community allotments, we bade our farewells and look to be back next month.

After a frustrating week with trying to get a tree cleared at Fletcher Moss parkrun, leading to its cancellation, I took on a local litter pick in Ardwick organised by Ardwick climate action.

They are a local community group formed 2 years ago to enhance the local environment, monitor local pollution levels along the A6 and A34, and generally improve the biodiversity and pollinator health in the area. They currently have 11 sites that form a pollinator corridor enhancing the local flora and fauna, ranging from orchards, wild flower patches, and open allotments.

Dan, their CEO and founder, came prepared with litterpickers and bags and between the two of us, we managed to collect 6 overflowing bags of rubbish plus a few larger pieces, including a high chair, a TV, a mop, and various other kitchen paraphernalia. Pretty good for an hour's work and we covered 4 or 5 of their sites in the end!

Was great to meet a Manchester-based local community group with Goodgym Manchester close to being active in the area. We'll likely be asked for some weekend tasks in the future so keep an eye out for those!