Certainly a fresh evening on our group run night but thankfully no rain this week. Back to Vine Close where we have been several times before clearing branches and sticks. I went to the Quaker Centre starting point but it was a solo mission up to the task as everyone had arranged to meet there and there no unexpected runners.

When I arrived, Emily, Tara, Laurel and Elliot were waiting for me. We said a quick hello before heading into the community garden to see what tasks needed to be done. Henry arrived in time for Elliot's introduction and we were handed loppers and choppers to carry on with our task of clearing the site.

Emily grabbed the broom and cleared the path to reduce the trip risk if the older residents wanted to visit the site. Tara, Henry, Laurel and I went to the compost area and started dragging out the waste that needed to be removed. We soon filled two large waste bags with sticks, brambles and twigs, and had moved the larger branches to the wood pile.

Laurel mentioned she had discovered a lizard on the road and had taken it home to care for it before releasing it back into the wild. After photo evidence, Elliot confirmed it was a newt and said that they were hibernating much later as it had been so warm this last few months. He also showed photos of a bat he had fostered as it had sadly got injured when it was caught in a window. Hopefully both creatures will be enjoying the community garden - let's hope we can get it sorted for them in time for Spring.

Our Tuesday Group run started off in a dry spell and we were hopeful we had missed the heavy showers. Up the hill to Vine Close we ran and met Elliot, Kingston's Biodiversity Officer, to see what jobs he had in store for us. We had already cleared a large amount of branches and with our good turn out, we had all hands on deck.

We moved to the back of the community garden at Vine Close and there was a big pile of branches to be hacked and bagged. We separated into two groups and got to task. Moving the branches revealed a frog, much to our delight, we gave him an inspection and set him off hopping into the night.

The night was filled with our voices and the sound of snapping branches and we soon filled up the two tonne bags. Elliot even jumped on top of one to make room for more garden waste. Not long after that, the heaven opened up and we got drenched. Ducking under trees and in the porches of the neighbouring bungalows, we decided to wait for the rain to ease off. Once it did, we collected all the tools and decided to call it a day. We ran back through the puddles on an easy run down the hill.

Great work, team! And what better way to finish the eve than our monthly social at the Albion. Cheers, everyone.

Our 2nd trip back to Vine Close had us tackling the huge piles of branches that have been heaped up. We'd made some progress on our first trip there but the rain had prevented us from really taking a look around. Tonight we had reasonable weather so we could have a proper look - well, there's certainly lots to do! Four massive piles of branches need to be cleared and other jobs besides.

We split into two groups and cracked on. Dave and Caroline bravely had a go at the prickly pile whilst the rest of us shifted through the seemingly never-ending pile of conifer branches.

Halfway through the task, Councillor Anita Schaper popped by to say hello and check on progress. She was thrilled that this area was going to be restored to its former glory and she explained that the pond (yes, there's definitely a pond under there somewhere) used to be part of a big house's estate and was glorious in its hey-day in the 70s.

Hopefully with GoodGym's help, we can help restore it and save it as a wildlife haven. We chatted with Elliot about his plans here and promised to come back on a monthly basis to help with the heavy tasks. Watch this space!

Rain, rain, go away, come again another day! The rain, however, did not deter a good turn out for our GoodGym group run this evening. We ran up to Vine Close to clear a huge pile of branches that had been thrown in a big pile - ideal for a bonfire (isn't that coming up soon?!) but Elliot had other ideas that were more wildlife-friendly. The plan was to saw up the bigger branches and keep them separate to make wood piles for the insects - the smaller branches and leaves went into huge bags ready for collection.

After a quick run through of the evening's tasks, we got to it and the team split up to tackle different areas. The rain slowly got heavier the longer we were there but instead of giving up, we doubled down to get the job done. Elliot mentioned there was a pond underneath which was confirmed when someone put their foot in it. Kate also spotted frogs which was a great wildlife find and gave us another reason to uncover their home for them.

Elliot was pleased with the fast progress and has asked us to come back again in a couple of weeks so we can finish the job and hopefully locate the pond but without falling in next time.

Welcome to Karim and Sabit on your first mission! We hope you enjoyed it - hope to see you at a mission again soon.