Back at Knaphill Lower School and the nature garden is really coming into its own—so close to the finish line now you can almost hear the bugs moving in! Today’s task was all about the details. The concrete mushrooms made last week got a coat of paint, bringing a pop of colour to their new woodland home. Just the spots to paint on them now! Meanwhile, Vikki and Mark were busy working their magic on some logs, drilling in specialist dowels to create a mushroom growing bed—setting things up for some real fungi to join the party in time. Another small but satisfying step towards a fully flourishing garden 🌿

A great turn out today of 6 Goodgymers meant that we made great progress on the school garden. Luan and Kirsty started by collecting plants from another area of the school to add to the previous planting which is settling in and looking amazing. Anne and Katie painted the bug hotel with lovely red paint inspired by the Good Gym branding. Stephanie got stuck in to making some concrete mushrooms - we are very excited to see how those turn out. Julie finally got to use some of the massive compost heap to fill a wormery so that the children will be able to see how worms aerate the soil by creating tunnels and pull down leaf litter from the surface to help decompose it and create more lovely soil. A great team effort today - Vikki is planning a grand opening after half term so watch out for the date for this.

A small but mighty team of three GoodGymers headed back to Knaphill Lower School’s nature garden today, and with the finish line in sight, it was all hands on deck to bring the space closer to completion.

We kicked things off together, planting the last batch of flowers to add even more colour and life to the garden. With the beds blooming nicely, we then split off to tackle a few key jobs: Katie got creative, giving the bug hotel a fresh coat of paint – making it not only a cosy spot for insects, but a real feature in the garden. •Kirsty took on the perimeter, cutting back some wayward branches and helping to tidy up the edges of the space. •StephanieStephanie (that’s me!) took on the task of digging a deep hole for a post. It took some perseverance (and a bit of sweat!), but we got there in the end 💪 With the sun shining down on us, it was one of those sessions that reminds you why these tasks are so rewarding – great company, meaningful work, and a lovely setting. To top it all off, Vikki and Mark were really pleased with the what we achieved and how the garden is coming along. As a thank you for all the help over the past few months, they kindly gifted us a mug and a crochet coaster – such a lovely thing! The transformation of the garden has been incredible, especially over the past few weeks and it’s now looking absolutely fantastic. Just a few final touches to go… 🌿✨ Can’t wait to see it fully finished!

Julie and Kirsty supported today’s community mission, continuing Woking GoodGym’s ongoing work with Vikki and Mark from KLS PTA.

The session focused on creating a dedicated wildflower bed, helping to enhance the biodiversity and visual appeal of the garden space behind the newly errected and painted wigwams Alongside this, the team worked with Vikki and Mark to determine the optimal position for the new garden entrance arch, an important feature for the overall design. Mark impressively built the arch on site today, marking a visible step forward in the project.

Additional progress was made on the bug hotel, by Alex, one of the KLS parents with further improvements to support local wildlife habitats.

Julie also discussed future scheduling with Vikki, suggesting a Wednesday evening session. With the project now close to completion, a midweek GoodGym push could help bring everything over the line. A weekday session may also improve turnout, and the 6km distance from WWF to the school offers an ideal opportunity for a sociable canal-side run.

Woking GoodGym has been supporting this PTA-led project most Saturdays since September 2025, and today’s efforts were really appreciated by the PTA. Two hours well spent this morning!

Stephanie, Ellie and Katie made their way to today's Goodgym task at Knaphill Lower School. The team met Vicki and Mark and helped with planting some flowers and plants into the flower bed in the garden area.

Goodgym members have been volunteering with the garden for several weeks and it was great to see how it's coming along.

It was great to welcome Ellie to her first task and we hope to see her again soon!

Saturday’s task at Knaphill Lower School came with a welcome change — sunshine! With blue skies overhead, it was a perfect morning to get stuck into some outdoor volunteering.

The job for the session was helping prepare materials for the school’s bug hotel. A pile of branches needed cutting down into smaller lengths so they could be packed neatly into the structure and create plenty of cosy hiding spots for insects and other mini-beasts.

With cutters in hand, I set about cutting the branches into suitable lengths to be stacked and packed, gradually turning the pile into bug-friendly building materials ready to be added to the hotel. It was a slow but satisfying task, and one that will help create a great habitat for wildlife around the school grounds.

A productive morning and a great step towards making the bug hotel even more welcoming for its tiny future residents!