This evening we headed to our sponsored riverside plot at the Three Pigeons. We go every month but this one was different as we were saying goodbye to a very special GoodGym Richmond member: Anita

Anita has been a member since 2017, was the first Richmond member to hit 500 good deeds and is already 150 beyond that. Beyond how much Anita has done for the community, she has been instrumental in the taking on, designing, leveling up and maintaining of our riverside plot. On task nights that means instructions with military precision but behind the scenes there has been even more work, liasing with the council, getting plant donations, planning task nights to make the most of them, and single-handedly looking after the area through drought periods and special events.

Although there is sadness at Anita's leaving as she heads off to an exciting new chapter in Swansea, the evening was a celebration of all that Anita has done - including her signature tasks: watering from the river and weeding with table knives! You can see more of what we got up to here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOX_wlTCBPT/?igsh=cDYxanUzbm43eXJ5

❤️Thank you so much Anita, from all of us and everyone who has walked past the arcade and Three Pigeons ans enjoyed the results of her hard work. ❤️

On a lovely warm Saturday morning, Sharon of the Friends of Ham Lands welcomed 5 Richmond GGers to do some good in the sunshine.

We first walked a good long way from the meeting point to the riverside on the other side of the Ham Lands, to find our target site. We needed to be near the river as our focus for the task was on “bashing” balsam.

Himalayan Balsam is an invasive species which grows rapidly in wetter areas during the summer months, blocking light for other plant life and generally causing a nuisance for native flora and fauna.

The great news is that bashing balsam is great fun. It’s very satisfying to pull up the plants, which can grow at least 10ft tall, and we made good progress, cutting a wide swathe through a densely growing area and building a huge pile of the bashed balsam.

The only problem was stinging nettles, and those who had come in shorts soon regretted that choice. We did our best to cut them down with loppers as we went, but a few stings and rashes were picked up along the way.

We finished up and headed out separate ways this time - the Swiss Bakery is closed in August. We’ll be back (and the bakery open again) in September - sign up here: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/goodgym-richmond-helping-the-happy-ham-landers-3b829ff3-0842-4cc9-96a6-49a17d3d149e

A glorious sunny morning welcomed a grateful eight to the Ham Lands today, as we welcomed two new joiners for our monthly session helping the Friends of Ham Lands in their habitat preservation.

We set up in the same location as last month, near the Thames Young Mariners, and Sharon briefed us on the morning's task to cut back and clear the wild clematis and giant dock which had clustered (to make my punny title work) in one particular area.

The team selected digging tools and shears and got stuck in, digging out the clematis by the roots and cutting down the giant dock low to the ground, being careful to remove it without dislodging too many of its seeds.

We made fast progress as everyone worked steadily, clearing the low lying clematis and clusters of dock and filling sack after sack, which were regularly dragged to the undergrowth to be emptied on a compost heap.

Sharon was on hand with refreshments and we stopped to wet our whistle with the best cuppa ever to be served from a plastic cup, before a final push to finish off. Shear delight!

As usual, we rewarded ourselves for our efforts with a visit to the famous Swiss Bakery for coffee and snacks. Big shout out and warm welcome to Alex and Ann - hope to see you both again soon!

Next time at Ham Lands is on 12th July. You can sign up here: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/goodgym-richmond-helping-the-happy-ham-landers-4b814934-05f6-47e4-a6b2-cf6839ee6cc6

It’s been a very spring like Saturday morning, no coats needed, but we needed the tough gloves to tackle the brambles. We were tasked to tackle an area in the Ham Lands which was overgrown with brambles and Goodgym along with the Friends of Ham Lands did a great job clearing the area. After a little tea break, we cleared our area and then went off for a coffee in the sunshine.