A beautiful spring afternoon saw Nivi, Rachel, Christine, Anne-Laure and Sheila join the weekly work party at Ray Mill Island. Anne-Laure was keen to do raking of leaves to help expose the grass, and Nivi helped another volunteer paint tree signs. Meanwhile the others tackled the enormous Phormium plant which needs removing from the new nursery area.The team last week had done a good job of starting to dig it out, so our task was to try and finish the job. Armed with spades, loppers, a half-moon cutter and a pruning saw, we started attacking the plant. Some side shoots of the plant were saved for planting up to generate new plants. It was a tough old job, but we kept at it and eventually we were victorious, severing the plant from the earth.

The session at Ray Mill Island today was all about letting light through to enable plants to grow in amongst the trees. Sheila and another volunteer spent the session dragging the branches and brambles that had been cut down last week, to the compost heap. Thick gloves were required! Meanwhile Mick gave the dogwood and hawthorns near the cafe a good haircut

There were plenty of worms to be found though as Jen and Christine got stuck into planting Snowdrop and Bluebells near the Plane tree. We then added some violas and pansies to the Goodgym planters whilst Mick repositioned the planters and did some general cutting back and tidying up and Anne-Laure joined the sub team raking leaves up from various areas , for the compost.

At Ray Mill Island today it was all about creating an edge. Sheila was using a spade to clear the plants creeping onto the path, trying to uncover the original edging stones. Mick was recovering some larger stones from the beds to use as edging stones, as Anne-Laure cut back the dogwood overhanging the path after lugging some logs to the play area. Mick then moved to cutting back some branches of a tree to let some light in underneath. A productive afternoon's work

We had sun and rain at Ray Mill Island today, but we were not deterred as we set about our tasks. Sheila and Anna shovelled some compost and barrowed it back to the compound. Anna went to take cuttings of some shrubs around the Island, and brought them back to pot up. Amy felt like getting physical and took on digging out the hibiscus plants so they could be transferred elsewhere. Not an easy task! The roots were all tangled up with nettle roots and chicken wire which had been used to line the area for a previous use. And they were next to a fence, so limiting access. With true GoodGym grit and determination, Amy gave it her all, and was joined by Sheila. Once the hibiscus was loose enough to give a good wobble, Amy employed the Butt technique, and the hibiscus gave up the fight and was out of the ground! We heeled it in to a temporary spot and left the rain to water it in. Amy then had to leave, but spurred on by the success, Sheila and 2 other volunteers tacked the second plant, and employing the same technique, managed to dig that one out too! Way to Go! We all went home muddy but satisfied with our progress

Six GoodGymers got together at Ray Mill Island to tackle a variety of tasks. While Mick moved some rocks around to edge the path, everyone else started weeding the heliotrope from the rockery. Once the wheelbarrow was free, Jen and Sheila went to get some compost to fill the GoodGym planters. Anna and Mick dug out some old hedging plants while Anne-Laure and Christine heroically continued with the weeding. Lastly a hawthorn tree was carefully dug out and transplanted to the nursery area. Well done to everyone