The Tiny Forest compost heap had already been emptied into bags. These were taken up to the Memorial Garden along with excess donated trees, where they were planted. The organic matter produced by the Tiny Forest is proving very useful.

On an amazingly warm and calm morning we met at the Memorial Garden on Kimberlow Hill to plant donated trees. We followed the method of Yacouba Sawadogo who used traditional methods called Zaï, (digging pits and filling them with organic compost to trap water and nutrients) to create forest in the desert. One of us (who shall remain anonymous) was so busy concentrating on the organic matter they forgot to put the tree in! 🤣 The organic matter was a combination of Tiny Forest's own generated compost, biochar, eggshells & euphemistically malteser misshapes? We used some seriously spiky mulch to deter the rabbits. We finished the morning with a well deserved rest sharing flasks of drinks & tubs of goodies. Thankyou all.

Edwin Hood of Holgate left the Forest of Sherwood to help the sylvan Shangri-La of Stinky Foot Ryer (AKA York Tiny Forest). Our local legend Becca Maude Marion was awarded the black cape of 50 good deeds - a double award ceremony that deserved chocolate. Friar Tuck and Aidan arrived and the foraging of mulch from Holgate Allotment began. Soon Tristan-a-Dale's trusty truck was filled with bags of wood chip, 2 wheelbarrows and 4 strong GoodGymers as Alastair joined us. Sadly there was no room for Aidan's bike, so he swiftly cycled across town, very nearly beating the wood chip. Once at the Forest we met Hollie who was warmly welcomed and introduced to the fun that is GoodGym. She quickly locked up her bike, donned gloves and headtorch, grabbed a wheelbarrow and got stuck in. Swiftly the heavy bags of chippings were taken from the truck, carried across the wobbly road, loaded into barrows to be pushed through the swamp and up the steep muddy hill to the dark forest. We had a quick look around and were pleased to see tree buds, catkins and signs of life in the oxygenating plants in Lucy's pond. Looking forward to going back very soon to spread the mulch, plant some of the donated dormant trees and enjoy a picnic in good company.

As a patch of the Memorial Garden was looking bare and the saplings were struggling a different approach is being trialled using donated trees. The instructions included digging big holes, breaking through the clay layer with a big pole, adding various soil improvers (compost, rabbit poo, egg shells & biochar), tucking the trees in with a layer of mulch, hammering stakes & attaching recycled guards. There were lovely sounds of laughter and chatter as the glorious GoodGymers got on with the task alongside some Treemendous folk.

The session ended admiring Lucy's pond and Leanne educating us in Kula hygiene aids over hot drinks & cakes.

Despite the wet start to the day 8 of us met at the Tiny Forest. Once allocated our tasks we swiftly set to work. Old plastic tree guard debris was litter picked then hole digging and poling began. The secret mulch stash was acquired by our brave & fearless party venturing deep into the wild wood, Mitch left a trail of mulch crumbs to save him & his crew from the witch & the gingerbread house deep in the woods...

There was plenty of shovelling & barrowing action to transport the mulch to the Tiny Forest. Once there it was hauled & spread amongst the tiny trees. It should suppress the pesky weeds and keep the roots happy, whilst jam tarts kept us happy - thankyou Rich.

A great goodgym turnout for New Year's Day double whammy task. The memorial wood close by was looking rather sad, with a number of gaps where saplings planted directly into the clay earth had struggled. So as there was an excess of gifted trees at the Tiny Forest these could be used to fill in some spaces whilst in their dormant period. Today's task was to give the new trees a better start. Some clay was removed, a heavy bar & pickaxe used to break through the clay layer, fresh Tiny Forest compost and feed added, tree planted, recycled stake and rabbit guard applied and finally a blanket of woodchip mulch to suppress weeds and retain moisture in the summer. We look forward to seeing the green shoots in spring. In order to make the trees cosy the efforts of the brave and tough goodgymers working in a chilling Northerly breeze must be recognised. Well done & thank you. Fortunately there were hot drinks and cakes afterwards in the sheltered Tiny Forest. January challenge bingo baked goods ticked off by 3 😋