What a lovely evening for a GoodGym session as the team gathered in the peaceful surroundings of the Tranquil Garden to lend a hand to the Friends of Mostyn Gardens.

There was no shortage of jobs to get stuck into, and once the runners arrived to join the pack, we got straight to work armed with tools, gloves, and plenty of energy to tackle a bit of everything, including:

🌿 Clearing runaway vines and keeping unruly growth in check

🌾 Weeding beds and paths, and clearing dead plants to tidy up the space

🚰 Watering to keep everything thriving on a warm summer evening

By the time we were finished, the plant beds, wood chip area, gravel paths, and fencing were looking thoroughly transformed and suitably GoodGymed! As a lovely bonus to wrap up our hard work, we even had time to harvest a bunch of fresh sage to take home.

Before heading to the pub for our monthly social, there were some incredible milestones to cheer, with Ralph hitting 10 and Steve (back in action) hitting 25 good deeds!

An extra special, monumental congratulations goes to Caroline, who hit an amazing 100 good deeds! This also marks the very first 100-milestone reached for a GoodGym Merton team member since we launched in 2024. Showcasing how far we have come!

Well done to the whole team for another fantastic, high-impact evening 💪 - red shirt power at its finest!

A moderate sized group of us managed to do a massive amount of work this evening! The jobs ranged from planting seedlings to removing 2 entire bushes! There was also weeding and creating wigwams to support the tomatoes and beans. Well done one and all!

A good sized group of us got stuck in at Martin Way Methodist church this evening for our weekly group session.

I’d never seen the garden, so it was a joy to see the oasis out the back of the church.

Abby told us what was what and we divided ourselves into weeding, watering, composting, pruning and moving things! A lot was achieved (including removing a whole bush!) and a lovely evening was had by all.

The garden is at its peak at the moment, filled with flowers in full bloom and bursting with vibrant colours. The weather was perfect too, sunshine with a cooling breeze. This month’s jobs included planting, watering and weeding, while Claire demonstrated her impressive skills with a saw as she pruned back the dead branches of the bay tree. Audrey snapped a fabulous emperor dragonfly and there were ladybirds everywhere. This is one of our most regular and best-loved tasks - look out for details of next month’s session.

With a big number of sign-ups expected, it was the perfect opportunity to help both the Friends of Raynes Park and arrange an additional job at one of the Merton Garden Streets nearby. After the runners arrived, a breakaway group headed off to tackle the weeding job up the road and get some extra steps in, while the rest of the team checked in for duties at the station embankment.

We split into teams to tackle pruning, litter picking, and turning the compost, making fantastic progress across the board.

Meanwhile, the watering team faced a hilarious logistical puzzle due to a missing hose (apparently removed by workmen!). Instead, they improvised with a brilliantly inefficient bucket brigade: filling watering cans, emptying them into trug buckets on trolleys, and then pouring them back into watering cans at the embankment.

Despite the extra steps, everyone adapted brilliantly. The pruners, litter pickers, and compost-turners crushed their tasks, and the watering team managed to get some momentum going and plenty of watering completed. Well done, team!