For some we arrived at a new location on the Hollybush Estate at the Keddlestone Walk Community Centre, for the more senior members of our group they were in a familiar spot.

A group of 7 joined Margaret and Ash to help clean up the garden of the community centre with the main focus the litter strewn about my the foxes, one even made an appearance while we were picking up their mess. A nice assortment of diapers, bottles and wrappers were collected and thrown away leaving the garden spotless.

We were also tasked with tidying out the shed that was filled with numerous lawn movers, saws, cups, paint cans and tarps. See the size of one of the massive tarps below! Laura also made an appearance towards the end which was a nice surprise.

Thank you to everyone that came along to help out and to Margaret and Ash as always. We will be back soon on the Hollybush Estate including some weekends so keep an eye out for the listings.

Please enjoy the pictures below of the group in action, apologies they are not at the usual standard!

6 GoodGymers - Sree , Ilana, Rohan as well as Alex for their first ever GoodGym and Alisha for only their second GoodGym task - joined Ash at Rocky park for a lovely sunny afternoon.

We were tasked with moving the Rocky Park sign, leveling a soon to be bedding plant and moving the log pyramid which was host to numerous different critters and creepy crawlies.

Lobo turned up just in time for a tea break and then made his sole contribution of moving a big piece of concrete.

After numerous different holes dug by Rohan and Alex a suitable location was finally found for the sign, even if it may be a bit lopsided!

Many thanks for everyone's help!

A chilly evening saw a team of 15 enthusiastic GoodGymers in the James Middleton Garden to help with the creation of a new ecology pond.

This addition to the community garden will provide a rich habitat for local wildlife (including a dedicated Frog Hotel and a Bug Hotel). Enhancing biodiversity in an already flourishing green area, the pond is set to become a thriving ecosystem for amphibians, insects, and other small creatures.

We were joining Margaret and Ash from the Teesdale and Hollybush TRA tonight, who do a great job improving and enhancing the Estate’s gardens.

The main task for the evening involved digging out an irrigation area close to the new pond. Good drainage is crucial, ensuring excess water is effectively managed during heavy rain and preventing oversaturation of the surrounding soil.

Most of the team headed to this area, putting their spades to work and making swift progress, while a smaller team transported the excavated soil to a designated corner of the garden.

Another group was dispatched to the far end of the site to re-home a sizeable pile of woodchip, spreading it around the planters. (This layer of mulch helps to retain moisture, suppress weeds, and enrich the soil).

And guess what? The time flew!

It was nearly 7:50 when we started to gather tools and pose for the final pics.

The team then rallied together to return the wheelbarrows and tools to the Rocky Park toolshed.

Another satisfying evening in East London.

Until next time.

We split into two groups at Rocky Park tonight: Team Roots and Team Big-Pile-of-Earth.

Team Roots consisted of Kareem, sleeping-bag Anna, Ruby, Sam, Kat (welcome back Kat!), and Ilana (still denying she's banned from the George & Vulture). They were concerned with digging out roots from a planting area. Our hosts Ash and Margaret had already removed some of the more complicated roots from the planting area, but there was much still to be done.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the space, a large mound of earth had been compacted by rain into the ground. It needed loosening with forks, and all worms rescued, before being shovelled into large bags, handily held open with string. This team was Maddie, me, Rohan and new-boy Gareth, doing his first ever Good Deed. Welcome Gareth, who was working so vigorously the picture was blurred! And while the other team were digging out roots, Maddie was revealing her roots (Scottish).

We'll be back there next week; sign up here: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/the-big-monday-night-task-february-fitness-gardening-on-the-hollybush-estate

And if you can make it, don't forget to sign up for the Kent Coast Walk on 15th March. Join the GoodGym train at St Pancras or Stratford: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/the-kent-coast-walk

It was a pretty wild and windy evening in Bethnal Green tonight, but that didn't deter 19 GoodGymers descending on Rocky Park to do battle with a particularly stubborn border garden.

Led by the brilliant Margaret and Ash of the Teesdale and Hollybush TRA, this task forms part of an ongoing project to transform gardens, planters and allotments across the estate.

Our job tonight was to remove some unwanted shrubs, load them into wheelbarrows, and transport them across the park. Working mainly in the border garden, in a large group, trying to ignore the rain, teamwork was the order of the night. Wheelbarrows were loaded and soil and shrubs shuttled across to the other side of the park. Even when the heavens opened, the GoodGymers didn't stop.

By 7:50, the job was nearly done - and the team pretty drenched.

Having wheeled the last few barrows of soil and gathered equipment, we posed for the final couple of pictures.

And then came the reward: Lobo’s doughnuts and Margaret’s Cadbury’s Twirls. Glycogen replenished, we sloshed our way to the pub for well-earned drinks and a lovely birthday celebration.

Until next time.

GoodGym has been supporting the Hollybush Estate for years, and the wonderful Margaret and Ash have transformed every bit of spare space in the area into a thriving green oasis.

On a drizzly Thursday we were continuing to shift soil from old planters which had been demolished, ready to be planted in brand spanking new ones!

Most of the team were on shovelling and wheelbarrow duty, moving the surprisingly heavy sold, from huge containers to other huge containers.

The green fingered among us (Nada and Theresa) started work on planting saplings in some of the filled bags.

After a swift 40 minutes we had emptied the last bag, before packing up the spades and heading off into the cold December afternoon.