Great to see a good turn out for this Saturday morning group run!

Welcome new Goodgymer Vicky and welcome back Beth!

Part of the group met at Brunswick Bakehouse for a social and scenic 3k run along the river. We arrived at the Leaside Trust, met the rest of the Goodgym team and got to work clearing what seemed like a never ending sea of leaves. We filled up the compost heap to the brim and also multiple big bags.

The Leaside Trust team were so pleased that they gave us a tour of their lovely venue and welcomed us back for canoe trips in the future. Will keep you posted. Then some of us ran back to Hackney Downs completing a 6k return trip. Well done everyone, smashed it 🔥

A few GoodGym members decided to do some litter picking in their local area. I joined up with fellow Goodgym Member Daniel to do some paired litter picking in a particularly bad area of Barnet. Check out some of the other photos and messages.

With GoodGym we litter pick fast, Clearing rubbish that’s left or amassed, It’s good for the mind, And the planet combined, Leaving us fit and refreshed at last!

Hi Paul. Sally and I did this month's paired plogging yesterday. Didn't take long as lots of plastic bottles containing dubious liquids soon filled up our bags. Ugh! We jogged into Regent's park afterwards to see the Frieze sculptures.

Have tagged Goodgymbarnetactive in our Insta stories😎

Back to the bee roads of Blackheath this month and a mile loop round one of the larger fields that I often use for intervals, it it bordered by the A2 and a couple of other less busy roads. There was a lot more than last time I did it, around three bin bags full, mainly takeaway rubbish, presumably thrown out of car windows. On a positive note there were still far more wild flowers and mushrooms than rubbish.

Paul Browning

Spent 15 minutes making observations for the citizens science survey on part of the River Soar in Leicester. A lovely peaceful task helping The Big River Watch.

Steph Ducat did his survey on the Greenwich Peninsula near the O2 and facing Canary Wharf

Tracey surveyed the river Derwent and also the river Heulyn with Gwyn, where they saw waterboatmen. He also went to the Seiont.

I did an observation and submitted the survey this morning, I went to Camden Town and reported on Regent's Canal. Photo attached.

The app was super easy to use and made the entire experience very easy to go through and also quite engaging.

Gosia

from Jacqui.

Sally and I did our litterpick around the Moco museum. Modern, contemporary and digital art inside, but outside plenty of discarded Whisky bottles and cigarette packets to fill our bags with! 🚮

did mine at lunchtime today. Thanks again for listing this Paul Brown

Last weekend’s heavy rain will have led to high flows along the River Ravensbourne which in turn washes down litter from higher up stream; it was certainly evident in the tight flood plain in Brookmill Park. A full black bag’s worth was collected, much of it done under the watchful eye of one of the herons (just visible in the photo).

from Paul Salman

One sultry afternoon, when the sun blazed with the intensity of a toddler mid-tantrum, I decided that a stroll along Dollis Brook would be the perfect antidote. Of course, this wasn’t just any walk; it was a GoodGym litter-pick walk with my faithful companion, Gus, who I suspect secretly believed that he was not so much a dog as an honorary park ranger.

The Brook, in its charmingly modest way, was behaving itself quite well that day, displaying only the merest suggestion of rubbish in the usual suspects—benches and bushes, which seem to attract discarded snack wrappers like magnets attract, well, anything metallic. I was armed with my litter picker, a device that is best described as a T. rex arm on a stick, and I had the slightly smug satisfaction that comes with being prepared to do good. Gus, for his part, maintained his vigilant sniffing duties, which mostly involved scrutinizing the places where less civic-minded dogs had left their mark.

As I navigated the meandering path, I noticed a bright orange council van sidling up to one of the bins, the way a cat might stalk an unsuspecting mouse. Inside, a council worker—decked out in what appeared to be the official uniform of high-visibility gear and an air of mild resignation—was dutifully emptying the bins. I nodded approvingly at this sign of municipal upkeep, my litter-picker swooping down to snag an errant crisp packet that had made a bid for freedom in the breeze.

Then, to my mild surprise, the council worker headed directly towards me. For a brief, irrational moment, I wondered if there was some obscure bylaw against unsanctioned litter picking. But no—he beamed at me like I was some sort of civic hero. “Thank you for your litter picking,” he said, with all the warmth of someone who truly means it, as though I had single-handedly solved the borough’s rubbish problem. “Would you like some council bags?”

Naturally, I graciously accepted, trying to convey through my expression that yes, I was exactly the sort of person who not only wanted council bags but also knew exactly what to do with them. It was the sort of small victory that adds a surprising amount of satisfaction to a day.

As I continued on my walk, council bag in tow, something remarkable happened. People—a surprising number of them—began to acknowledge my efforts. “Thank you for what you’re doing!” they’d call out, as though I were a one-person anti-litter brigade. It was immensely gratifying, though slightly puzzling. I mean, all I was doing was picking up rubbish. It wasn’t as though I was rescuing kittens from trees or single-handedly solving the climate crisis.

With my bag increasingly heavier and my spirits proportionately lighter, I made my way towards a nearby bin where I left my satisfyingly full sack of collected litter, neatly tied like a Christmas gift for the sanitation department. I felt an odd sense of accomplishment as though I had performed some small but significant service for the community.

Not one to let an opportunity pass, I even took advantage of the local exercise machines along the way, which is essentially gym equipment re-imagined by someone who has never actually been to a gym. I gave them a go, feeling thoroughly virtuous and a bit like a child on a playground, which, to be honest, was no bad thing.

By the end of the walk, Gus and I were both suitably entertained and I, at least, felt quietly heroic in that way one does after making even a modest contribution to the public good. I imagined that the council worker would drive by later, spot the neatly tied bag, and think to himself, “Ah, the work of a true professional.”

As for Gus, he was far more interested in finding the next promising scent, but I like to think that, in his own way, he was as pleased with our good deed as I was. It was a good walk, a good litter pick, and, as a result, a thoroughly satisfying day.

Three J's (the wonderful Jackie, Jacqui, and John) and an A (me) spent our Friday lunchtimes exploring the sun and green of Regent's Park.

Along our 6-7km of gentle running, we strolled past the zoo's giraffes and ostriches, and also took in the Park's latest new graffiti.

A lovely lunch with lovely folks :)