Flying the flag for GoodGym, I teamed up with six Abbey People community members for a highly productive two-hour session maintaining greenspace in Barnwell as part of the Seeds of Hope conservation project 🌿

Together, the team pulled up thousands of invasive saplings to clear the way for richer local biodiversity. The massive effort was rewarded during the break with a welcome round of tea, coffee and biscuits hosted by Caitlin, the dedicated lead for Abbey People.

It was also good to see the gooseberries planted last year are fruiting nicely. 🫐

Two GoodGymers spent a lovely morning helping Abbey People with their Seeds of Hope project.

This was Sunethra's first mission with GoodGym and the sun came out to welcome her.

We sowed lots of wildflower seeds to bring some more colour to this area. We also reduced the weeds along the earth banks we had built up on a previous mission. This was to give the wildflowers more of a chance to grow.

The task was very uplifting as we felt able to make a difference.

Two GoodGymers joined Abbey People and a mass of volunteers from local business to plant bulbs for their Seeds of Hope project.

We cleared, we dug, and we planted hundreds of bulbs, which will form biodiverse beds come spring. 🌼

It was physical work, but as always it was good to get our hands dirty and feel connected to nature. Alongside the hard work, we had time for a good catch up and met some lovely people also doing good for the community. 🙌

Another brilliant morning with Abbey People, supporting their Seeds of Hope project. We were back moving soil to create bunds, which will eventually be sown with wildflowers. It is very physical, so we got a good workout shoveling and moving soil from the heap. The mounds will protect the beds, holding moisture and preventing erosion, giving the new trees and shrubs the best chance. It is a very satisfying feeling to see the soil heap reduce and the bunds take shape. One more session and they should be done!

We were back supporting Abbey People with their Seeds of Hope project this week.

3 GoodGymers got a nature-based strength workout shoveling A LOT of soil this morning 💪. The mid-morning tea break was very much appreciated!

We created snaking soil banks that will be sown with wildflower seeds as part of the bigger conservation project. 🌸

To kick off WWF x GoodGym's Workout for Nature, we joined volunteers from Abbey People to support their Seeds of Hope project. The aim of the project is to create new habitats for wildlife and improve biodiversity along a key wildlife corridor in Cambridge. 🌱

Today's task was to plant bare root trees and shrubs into designated areas along the corridor, which will create an environment similar a natural woodland floor.

Before we even started, Dan was inspiring us by sharing interesting facts about the trees we were planting and why they were chosen. Work has already started in the area with some deadwood logs providing important habitat for insects and fungi. We found 'King Alfred's cakes' fungus and lots of holes indicating the nests of ground-nesting bees (we of course took time to get some snaps).

It was tiring work, digging in some hard ground, but we made good progress and had a lovely morning in the sunshine getting to hear more about the project as well as other farming and community garden projects in the area.

Thank you to Caitlin and Emma for making it happen. We look forward to seeing you next week for more digging! 💪