To mark the end of the Easter weekend, the best of Lewisham (and Greenwich) met at Glass Mill to run to Ladywell Fields to try and get to the end of the pile of woodchip.

Focusing on one woodchip pile this week, we began shovelling and wheelbarrowing and carrying bucket full of woodchip to the hedge saplings.

It was a good strength workout and we definitely got our steps in as some hedge saplings were quite far from the pile of woodchip.

With all saplings mulched and the pile much smaller than when we arrived it was time to say our goodbyes and head back to Glass Mill.

We've helped plant and care for these hedge saplings over the past couple of years so it's wonderful to see them growing.

Thanks to Ivar for the pun!

Next week we are heading to The Albany which will be around 4.5km run in total and we'll be joined by the garden team so expect more tasks like shovelling and woodchip over the usual litter pick.

A star-studded cast to celebrate GoodGym Greenwich's 10th Birthday!

An unseasonably mild Sunday morning greeted 18 goodgymers as we made our way to Brooklands school in Kidbrooke. Whilst the school is a little tucked away, the huge grounds provide plenty of outdoor space for the children and their families.

We joined a group of existing volunteers from the school, and were soon wheelbarrowing soil to the growing beds as well as clearing weeds. One of our target areas was an enclosure containing a pond; again involving clearing weeds, bracken and planks to free up the pond area for its proper use. Discovering a few baby dragons* added to the magic of the event, along with a confused toad and lots of ladybirds.

(* thankfully these turned out to be the non-fire breathing variety, which are Newts to us (!) They were carefully looked after by a member of the team to be returned to a safe habitat).

A busy hour soon runs out, so a final group photo provided the icing on the rake for GGG's birthday mission. Special welcome to Iyabo for your first good deed with us - and lovely that you could join us for our lunch to celebrate our birthday!

Coming up...

On Wednesday we're continuing our painting of the hall at Charlton Manor Primary School.

On Sunday we've got our (optional) group run and litter pick on Woolwich Common.

And the following Wednesday we're helping at St Richard's.

Thanks all & see you at the next task! ⭐

It's week two of the 2026 January Challenge, and this week's Wednesday group run took 12 GoodGymers to the Prince Phillip Maritime Collection Centre in Kidbrooke. This is one of our regular missions, often involving moving pallets, ceiling panels & boats, but tonight's task was an adventure in winter gardening.

We got to the task ready for anything after a run from Charlton House, where we were briefed on our tasks, including some weeding of the raised beds, a spot of litterpicking, and turning of the compost heap - you could say we were met with a worm welcome...! The compost project involved removing the top layer of vegetation, spreading the soil beneath on the plant beds, and replacing that plant matter back - a quick biogeography lesson in practice for us, and a great growing environment for the fresh plants come spring!

As usual, time slipped through our gardening gloved fingers, so it was time for a group photo and back to our roots. Great work all & see you soon 😊

Ps. check out our insta video to see an overview of the session!

Coming up...

As well as our regular Parkruns volunteering, on Saturday we have leafleting for the White Swan and Sunday is our 10th birthday celebration when we'll be renovating the pond at Brooklands and heading to Sapori's for pizza afterwards!

Next wednesday we're painting at Charlton Manor Primary School.!

That's the thing with ivy- it creeps up on you 🫣 And before you know it, you need GoodGym to come and see it, say it, sort it.

For our first group run of 2025 we discussed our new years ressies before running the 1.3km to the church, Jackie meeting us there having looked like she was breaking into the church a bit further up the road😁 Great to have you back with us Jackie and extra kudos for coming and doing a good deed so that all those miles you're clocking for Ironman count for the Jan Challenge! Amazing.

We enjoyed a productive half hour at the Village Church pulling up and lopping down as much ivy as we could get into the bin bags. Ashton was definitely man of the hour, providing milk chocolate hobnobs (hands down the best biscuit ever invented.)

Next Wednesday we're back at Prince Philip Collections Centre

This weekend we've got the usual parkruns, Conservation at Oxleas, Maintenance at Westcombe Woodlands and Clean up Charlton .

Lots to keep us busy over January!

Until next time,

Rachel