Welcome to Lucy for your first GoodGym session!

This evening, we were back at Eden Gardens Orchard in Philips Park to finish where we left off with a greenhouse needing to be built in place. Some of the frame from two weeks ago needed a bit of re-jigging and lots of the screws needed tightening, but bit by bit, we made some progress in the right direction.

While some screws snapped with some over-keen tightening (🙋‍♂️ guilty) we managed to get the back and 2 sides in place to screw together, with Jodie nimbly able to attach the clips connecting the frame to the base. Just in time, the front frame was ready to attach after some swapping of pieces, with a team effort needed to hold parts together while others screwed the bolts in.

As we tightened the screws, added more of the roof, and cross pieces were added for some extra strength, the structure became much more sturdy, shapely, and almost looked like a greenhouse (just without the glass).

Dennis from the gardens seemed very pleased, bringing out a northern staple of vimto, plums freshly plucked from the trees, and Julia supplementing with biscuits to keep us sustained. We had a potter around the orchard, seeing how sweetcorn is fertilised in lines, with a bit of weeding of the rocky path. Thank you to Peter for the Oregano!

Cracking effort from all involved. Next week we'll be helping weed and maintain the fruit trees 🌳 growing in Philips Park, including those grown with magic walnuts.

Jodie, Sanjeev, and Ben made their way up to Heaton Park to help out with a spot of balsam bashing near the tram museum.

A park rich in history coming into public ownership in 1902, Himalayan balsam was brought over during the Victorian era but it's ability to very quickly spread has made it difficult when other plants try to grow. Over the 600+ acres in Heaton park, there is plenty near the boating lake and pond, and we were helping out in an area nearer the eastern side of the park.

Between the three of us plus Ella from the park and her mum, we cleared a large area, initially aiming for the tree, but managing to go above and beyond to clear a decent chunk in 90-100 minutes of bashing. The odd bramble did get in the way, with a few pangs of pain and exclamations of "OUCH!" but all in all, a productive session.

Lots of information about the park, parkrun comparisons, National Football Museum, local bootcamps, corporate volunteering, plus much more.

We are back in the park on Sunday 2nd August to do some path edging. Juno will likely be coming along.

Welcome to Jodie, Julia, and Wojciech for your first GoodGym session!!

Today we were at Gorse Hill Studios community allotment, otherwise known as "Da Ruff Patch", to give the area a thorough weeding and clear up for others to use it and for growing the wide range of food already there.

Julia and Wojciech did a sterling job in the polytunnel, clearing out all the bindweed along one side and weeding around the tomatoes, beans, and basil (although one is now in a separate pot...) to leave it looking almost unrecognisable. After a long spell of warm weather the plants had taken off, with some growing toward the roof! A few frogs and caterpillars were found, photographed, and rehomed.

Jodie and Fanette concentrated on some of the raised beds to give the beans, carrots, kale, and salad some breathing space from the relentless bindweed, while Sanjeev took on the bindweed on the fence and many of the weeds along the border closer to the allotment entrance. Peter and Ben hacked away at whatever shouldn't be there, including lots of discarded metal and wood, lots of brambles, horsetail, bindweed, and sticky weed to free up the back corner while preserving the growing pumpkin and/or watermelon.

Very productive session with many hands making light work and lots of therapeutic and mindful weeding for the super seven. Time flew by and looking forward to being back again over the summer!