Who knows what an aquifer is? No, neither did Ealing GoodGymers until today's tree planting session in Cleveland Park with Letting Grow. Letting Grow's plan was to put 1,500 trees into the ground in the park as part of today's community day.

Maria arrived early to discover the muddy delights that awaited and started planting the bundle of whips she was handed. Kash, Theo, Lena and Sevan arrived later and were greeted by:

"Welcome to mudland!" - Maria

Task owner Ross had been in the park since the morning and offered the GoodGymers his own advice due to the muddiness of the ground:

"Use our gloves" - Ross
"Have you got an industrial washing machine to clean them?" - Sevan
"No. I have a very angry wife"
"She'll say, I can't believe you've muddied up the washing machine again!" - Ross

Some took Ross up on his offer, making his wife more angry. Those that didn't had their own extra washing to do after the task. The "fun" part of planting in this aquifer was that a puddle would materialise a few seconds after any hole was dug for a tree. This needed special trees - GoodGymers planted sweet chestnut and hornbeam - that could take the damp soil and a special planting technique:

1. Dig a hole
2. Put the top grass layer back in the hole upside down
3. Place the whip in
4. Fill the hole with the rest of the removed soil
5. Heel in the whip
6. Add some mulch

The second step was unusual and Ross said that it would help to keep the ground water away from the roots. The unsaid step 7 was to try and get as much mud off yourself as possible before planting the next tree. Some of the team had more success than others in staying clean and you can play "spot who had the most fun" with the group photo.

Everyone did an amazing job in challenging conditions, with Maria taking the award for champion tree planter 🏆. There were many people from the local area who'd come along to the community day too, so we and they will see in a few months how the whips are getting on in their own private swimming pools.

The second biggest challenge this morning in Glade Lane Canal Side Park was finding the Letting Grow team. It was GoodGym Ealing's first task organised directly with them and at 10am, the team climbed hills and looked behind them without any joy. After a while, a wheelbarrow rolled up with it's driver, Ross, the task owner. Phew!

Ross led the team up a slippery slope to the top of a hill, which thanks to Jags, everyone would later learn was created with soil and rubble dug out of the old Quaker Oats factory site across the train tracks. It was now a development of new flats. Ross explained that the soil was full of rocks, so their team had been planting at around 1/4 of their normal speed. That sounded like a good challenge for the GoodGymers to go at.

After being shown how to dig and plant, the team started making holes starting at the top of the hill and... working down a steep slope. Everyone zig-zagged their way down, partly to make the planted trees look like they were placed naturally and also because they needed to change location when their spades hit big rocks.

"I feel like a squirrel trying to bury their nuts"
"Every time you dig a hole, there's a problem" - Chris

They were careful not to slip down the hill, but their was no way they could avoid the clay soil that got caked around their shoes and spades. As the recent rain drained down the hill, the lower holes turned into puddles which was a bit worrying for the new trees.

With the digging complete, it was time for a tea break. The Letting Grow team had found a way to perch a gas stove between 2 wheelbarrow handles to make tea. Genius! After the tea and chocolate digestives had recharged the team, it was time to plant 135 native tree whips. Compost, crumbled soil, then a heel or toe to compress it all and remove any air bubbles, with a sprinkling of woodchip on top to keep the moisture in. Time ran out to add the woodchip, so that was left to the volunteers coming in the afternoon. All the GoodGymers needed to do to wrap up was get the caked mud off their shoes and bike brakes for safety before heading off.

With the challenges of rocks and the water to deal with, we hope our 135 trees on the slippery slope will grow and thrive, helping to create better air quality and a more welcoming space in the park in years to come. Letting Grow's ambition is to plant 12,000 trees in Ealing Borough this year, so look out for future GoodGym sessions to help plant and maintain their trees.

On my way from Grove Farm to Pear Tree Park, I cheered GoodGymer Eloise on her last kilometres of the Queen of the Suburbs race. The sight that welcomed me at the park was impressive: hundreds of new trees with protectors on. When I came closer, I found out that only saplings on the perimeter had the protectors - there were way more trees planted in between! Among the volunteers, people in orange hi-viz stood out - the Let It Grow crew. I approached one of them, her name was Cordie.

Cordie welcomed me warmly to the session and gave me instructions on today's tree planting: dig a square hole, plant a tree, and put some woodchip around; trees a sumo squat apart from each other. I planted about ten trees that way, then switched to the woodchipping duty. Towards the end of the volunteering day, we heard a thunder roaring in the distance. The storm was coming our way.

Just when all the tools were collected, and the barrows left the planting area, the first raindrops hit our faces. I bid Cordie goodbye and jogged towards the riverside path in the park where our GoodGym team had been working with Ealing Greenwayers on several occasions. The layer of woodchip was no longer deep, but the paving slabs were where we had put them, and remained a great defence against mud.

As the rain intensified, I cut through Pitshanger Park, not sure whether to seek shelter under the trees or not. The downpour was tremendous, and so were the thunders. I decided to carry on towards Ealing Broadway and stopped at the top of the hill to hide under a pine tree. It didn't provide much protection from the rain, but it was a game-changer when it came to hail. The thunderstorm was still on, but a hail massage was not what I was after at that time. I was after a dry place and coffee. When the hailstorm suppressed I ran the rest of the way to Ealing Broadway through a screen of water. I had absolutely nothing dry on me, so the rain and getting splashed by cars didn't matter anymore. It was a fun experience, made me feel alive!