A large group of Goodgymers gathered for our first November task in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park. We started with introductions, biscuit preferences and a brief history of the park. Then it was time to get our gloves, tools and head torches and we headed off into the darkness.

Our task was to plant over 400 snowdrop and daffodil bulbs along the side of a rediscovered footpath among the graves. We planted randomly to add to the wild, natural feel of the park which is a managed nature reserve. Come back early next year to see these beautiful flowers in bloom!

Many hands made light work of the planting and a fun time was had by all. Conversations flourished and new friendships were formed. Ken also imparted his knowledge of cemetery celebrities (including William Perkin who invented an affordable mauve dye and has family buried there) and natural wonders such as the picturesque purple fungus on the stump of a horse chestnut tree.

A big shout out to Iona and Peter for completing their first ever Goodgym tasks. It was great to have you and we hope you’ll join us again soon. Also, a big hello to our visitors to the borough including Hannah!

A group of us gathered on a still warm October eve to help Ken with some bulb planting. We worked in a small area of the cemetery park and planted over 250 crocuses. These will flower in the new year and enhance the wild beautiful look of the park.

A light mist descended on us as we took up our trowels and starting digging deep (as deep as the trowel to protect those bulbs from hungry squirrels)! It was dark as we started, but we were equipped with our headtorches and spotlights, diligently gardening among the grass and graves as the bats flew overhead. Some worked so ferociously that even the tools were no match for their pure strength!

A big welcome to Jo and Beate joining us for your first task! It was great to have you there and an enjoyable Monday evening. Hope to see you again soon!

So tonight’s big question was – could we manage Fiona’s Cemetery Park task without her “expert guidance” and her Google-Maps Pin? Somehow we managed it; well we did have Nia and Anna, whose names rely solely on letters in “Fiona”

We originally had a healthy number signed up, despite warnings about covering arms and legs against nettles in heatwave temperatures. But gradually, the numbers reduced. Three people sent their apologies, another was held up helping the new PM with his Cabinet, or something, and two people who remained signed up, must have got lost on the way...

Of course we did have task owner Ken, who explained why the Friends of the Cemetery Park had embarked on a THIRTY-YEAR plan to improve the site. He also explained the effect of the dry summer on plants – they produce less flowers overall, but bloom early, to save water

Further, he told us that were everyone to leave the gardens alone, the hogweed would take over. Therefore our efforts tonight were focused on the “common hogweed” which produces its seeds at the top, like an umbrella, all ready to drop or be blown away. Which are things we didn’t want to happen, as the other plants would have less chance to thrive, such as the nearby aromatic stone parsley, which can be used as a substitute for nutmeg

Ken showed us how to snap the stalk, just below any branches, so any seeds dropping off would go straight into our buckets along with the top of the plant. And before we knew it, we’d de-seeded a whole chunk of the gardens. But there’s always more to do, and we’ll be back in September!

A large group of goodgymers old and new joined Ken on a pleasant Monday evening for the usual spot of gardening in the cemetery park. Following the heatwave there was lots to be done. This week’s task was tackling another ‘verdant villain’ called Hogweed. This piggy plant hogs all the nutrients and sunlight and spreads rapidly to the detriment of the surrounding nature. Ken explained the importance of other nearby plants which attract rare species of bee to the cemetery park and are vital to the ecosystem and threatened by the invasive hogweed.

We set to work with our gloves, loppers and secateurs clearing the weed from a triangular patch near the pond. The wheelbarrows filled up as we cut stem after stem, then it was off to empty them on the pile. It was great to see the progress of the patch we cleared in a power hour of Goodgym effort. A huge welcome to our three new Goodgymers; Ana, Joely and Nuunuu. Thanks for all your help and we’d love you to join us again soon!

A large group of Goodgymers gathered to help Ken at the Cemetery Park. Our mission: To remove cow parsley to make way for more biodiversity.

We set to work, eagerly pulling up the roots. Some of us with more ease than others! We moved methodically from one patch to the next and it was satisfying to see the impact we made in such a short space of time. See the photos!

Among the greenery lurked some goosegrass, very familiar to us from a previous task, so we also pulled up this sticky weed as we went.

Shout out to Jade for her first Goodgym mission and to Kevin for his first Tower Hamlets mission. Thanks for your hard work and dedication to the cause! And well done everyone for a great evening's work!

A large group of Goodgymers and a professional photographer met at the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park on Monday evening. Our task was to help Ken remove Goosegrass from an area of the cemetery. This annual plant is a fast-growing weed that can strangle other plants and prevent important species from growing. We set about in a methodical way to tackle this sticky plant, moving along in a line from one small area to the next. We pulled and raked out masses of it, braving nettles and graves in the process.

We definitely enjoyed the extra daylight, watching the sky change colour above our heads. It was a fun and social task (as always!) and it was good to see how much goosegrass we cleared and know this will make a big difference to the health of the plants and park this summer.

Huge welcome to first time Goodgymers Chloe and Jack P and also to Jack F for his first group task! It was great to have you all and hope to see you again soon. Also shout out to Kareem who celebrated his birthday with us in the Cemetery Park!