Today was a milestone in my life: my first Goodgym task as leader! We were at Boundary Brook Nature Reserve to dig up bramble roots and clean up litter.

Taking charge like a born leader, I said to the team: "Helen from the Nature Reserve knows what needs doing. Do what she says."

What needed doing was to dig up all the plant roots from the plot the Nature Reserve staff are preparing. In a pleasant surprise, the area had already been dug nicely with a rotavator and the expected bramble roots were almost all gone. This made life a lot easier for Anja, Steve and Joe, although Joe still got to show off with a mattock.

Less pleasant and not at all surprising was the amount of litter people had thrown over the fence, which Muireann and I picked out of the brambles. There were also a wheel and a saddle from a bicycle embedded in the mud- I am starting to believe that this is where bikes come from, and that they grow out of the ground like potatoes.

The most surprising thing was... the giant moth. You weren't expecting that were you? Neither were we, but local artist Mani had constructed one to hang in the trees. So Muireann and I, along with non-Goodgym volunteer Fred, helped Mani to assemble and position the moth in a flying pose. Eventually the tree branches and Ivy will grow through the frame to create a seamless moth-shaped part of the landscape.

All in all, a productive morning:

Roots dug up: lots Rubbish collected: loads Giant moths assembled: 1

Thank you all so much for coming to our Christmas celebration. What a warm and fuzzy evening it was.

Thank you so much for all your hard work this year, you are all glorious!

The litter around West Oxford Community Centre has been quite heavy in the past, so we try to get out there a couple of times a year for a clean up. With the whizz-bang of fireworks all around we set off for our autumn session. Despite some Halloween detritus, and some unusual finds (a French dictionary, burglar alarms, mini-bedspread, pants), we were pleasantly surprised by the state of the litter. We collected far less than usual - good job West Oxford!