It was a beautiful Saturday morning for the second GoodGym visit to Denny Gardens. A local resident has taken ownership of one of the plots and has planted strawberries and a pear tree. Meg hopes that this will be the inspiration that the neighbourhood needs to start clearing, digging and planting the rest of the site. Mimi (Emmanuelle) and I dug an edging strip on the adjacent plot while Meg tackled the brambles. The recent dry spell has left the ground really hard and the ever present bramble roots make for tough digging. Pulling back the plastic, we uncovered a couple of slow worms. After a quick photo, we covered them over to resume their slumber. We were joined for a while by local city councillor, Tiago Corais and his canvassing supporter, Connor. Slow (worm) progress, but a satisfying session nonetheless 🪱

This evening we returned to the Meadow Lane playground project. Headed up by the amazing Usha, the project aims to transform the current playground into a more vibrate open and green play space for the community, encouraging children to make dens, explore nature and run free!

We have visited the playground a couple of times before and it is quickly becoming a favorite because we get to revisit our childhoods and BUILD DENS!!!!!

Today's structure was nothing short of amazing - surely classes as a one bed in a central location with good transport links to the city centre.......

A group of us also tackled the pesky metal fencing which is getting trickier to remove as we get to the parts where the trees have claimed the fence as their own. With bolt cutters,saws and determination we managed to clear another huge section.

Last but not least, grass was cleared and soil turned over for an incoming wild flower patch. Everything is beginning to take shape wonderfully!!

Welcome Goodgym Miguel, Nathanail and Genevieve. Thank you for coming and I'm really sorry about the map confusion!!

If you go down to the woods today be careful of what you may find; from sofa cushions and mugs to old record players and once loved plastic Christmas trees, our trusty litter pickers won’t leave much behind (Except perhaps Fred – who for a short time we did think had been traded in for our litter-y haul!)!

Between the picking there was chatter aplenty, floral celebrations for Joe’s 50th good deed (in record time too!), a team attempt for a baby squirrel rescue and much enjoyment of the sunshine.

As the task ended we collected & admired our haul, and noted where to come back for another go (or three) – keeping our green spaces enjoyable and litter free as we can.

And as the sun was starting to set a mob of red T’s could be seen disappearing off into the distance, after deeding well, time to get fit and check on the goodness seeded around the city!

Today's mission was an Odyssey to a new GoodGym venue at Denny Gardens in the shadow of the Kassam Stadium. Meg set the scene for us - an unloved patch of land was to be transformed into a community allotment. The brambles had been cleared from head high down to ground level. Our tasks were flyering, litter picking and digging.

Fred and Angus set about collecting 6 years' worth of litter. Bethan and Muireann made short work of the leaflet deliveries and joined Alice, Meg and Joe on the dig. Meg's plan was to demonstrate that the ground could become productive. With a 6 year head start, the brambles are dug in for the battle ahead. Ninety minutes of hard work created a satisfying pile of roots and a decent area of turned over soil.

Task completed without head torches, 3 of us set off by bike and 4 on foot.