GoodGym control to Ranger Tom... commencing mission, here come ten (of us)!

Ranger Tom to the GG crew... here's everything from hackers to shovel, and I'm ready as well.

Off we went with Ranger Tom, to get those invasive roses gone.

Bloody hard it turned out to be, but GoodGym spirit refuse to cede. Jen wouldn't stop till she hit antipode!

Rachel & Jess found the deepest root, for a twig sized rose that was barely a foot!

Gillian and Mike hacked away, Anne-Laure wouldn't back away.

Mick wielded the mattock like a man on a mission, there's no chance for the rose invasion!

Sheila, Diya and Kanika ganged (up), their mark were roots that were tangled.

GoodGym crew to Ranger Tom, we did our best, we gave it all... Ranger Tom to GG gang, it wasn't nothing and thank you all!

Lovely to see so many people turn out for another Himalayan Balsam-bashing task at Ockwells - and a big welcome to Jane who joined us for the first time!

Twelve goodgymers delved through nettles and thistles to reach the pesky balsam and remove it before it self seeded. Will and Victoria joined in the work like seasoned pros plucking, snapping and making piles of the unwanted plant. Everyone worked hard together to explore the undergrowth and weed those hard to reach areas. A satisfying task and great teamwork! Flora the dog created some much needed entertainment and distraction!

After a day of heavy rain we were truly blessed to have had the beautiful weather and stunning river views on the walk to and from our task this evening.

We met at the car park and then walked 1km to Battlemead of which some paths had already been cleared for us by Ranger Tom earlier that day, as it was heavily overgrown with large stinging nettles.

Amy showed us what the Himalayan Balsam was and we set to work by pulling out as much as we could of the invasive plant which makes it harder for other species to grow in the area.

It was very satisfying especially when we found a big one and the roots came out really easily so we didn’t need any tools.

After around 45 minutes we walked back and enjoyed the scenery once again, this time with the sun setting.

Well done everyone - keep a lookout for more of the same tasks happening soon and do sign up if you can, as there is lots to get rid of!

Three new branches of Travel-log hotels are open for business at Braywick Nature Reserve following our latest GoodGym community mission.

The beetle boutiques, which will make perfect venues for stag parties, were constructed using logs we half-buried in the soil.

We began wheely quickly, transporting enough logs for two hotels, but after some very speedy digging it was agreed that tree was indeed the magic number and a third was built next door.

Thanks to everyone who came along and logged another good deed!

Seven Goodgymers met with Ranger Tom at Braywick Nature Centre. Our task had changed slightly - we were asked to coppice some trees and transport the branches to an area where they will be used to build some dry hedges. The saying goes, that wood keeps you warm three times - once when you chop it, once when you split it, and again when you burn it. Well in our case it kept us warm at least three times, but for different reasons. Tom found us two stands of hazel to chop down, so we split into 2 groups and set to work. With loppers, pruning saws and bow saws we set about chopping the trunks down. This certainly kept us very warm! We trimmed off the smaller branches and made some nice long stakes. Still kept us warm! And finally we carried them over to the hedge-building area - definitely still warm! Great team work and it was lovely to meet up with everyone again