Today was a fantastic session where thirteen GoodGymers from GG Bexley, GG Greenwich and GG Ealing came together to make a real difference at Crossness Pumping Station, built in the 1800s as part of London's first sewage system.

It was lovely to have Dinali and Ian with us for their first GG task, and celebrate Mo's 10th good deed.

We were met by Tom, the museum's Volunteering Manager who, after a warm welcome, split us into two groups.

'Team Ballast' worked with regular volunteer Rob and others on the narrow gauge railway. We dug out a shallow trench under the lifted tracks, and shoveled in ballast stones to help restore the line ready for re-opening to the public.

Rob said that it would have taken one person a whole day to complete what we achieved in just one hour 💥.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the site in the Victorian Formal Garden, 'Team Lavendar' was busy cutting back lavender. It smelled lovely! The cuttings will be used to make bars of soaps, which will be sold in the shop.

For both teams it was amazing to see how much we could accomplish by working together.

After tea and biscuits in the Ness Cafe, we had a brief look at the historical display of toilets in the museum - including one of the first flushing models by Thomas Crapper.

Then we put on hard hats and safety glasses, for Tom's tour of the incredible engine hall, giving the opportunity to learn more about the history and engineering behind this fascinating place.

We certainly put all our senses to work, including experiencing some of the distinctive smells associated with the historic pumping station and its original purpose 💩!

Overall, it was a brilliant opportunity to contribute to the local area, learn about its history and engineering, and make a positive impact through volunteering, and show that when we come together and work as a team, we can achieve so much more than we could alone.

We hope to help out at the museum more regularly from now, on so watch thus space if you'd like to join us!

I joined Friends of Lesnes Abbey and Woods for their monthly litter pick, where ten of us braved the heat.

Three volunteers stayed to scour the ruins area which was pretty quiet today.

Seven of us branched out to Knee Hill and the woods area which was quite cool and shady. We speeded around the route and collected a few bags of rubbish each so it was a successful couple of hours.

At one point we was greeted by a field mouse who wanted to lend a hand with the litter pick 🐭! We also found a thermostat - the heat didn't need to be turned up today 🥵.

We came back together and did a stroll back to Chestnut cafe where it was an order of cold canned drinks all-round as we sat to cool of in the Monks Garden before heading home.

We'll be back again next month - we'd love to have you along for a lovely chatty morning in nature which really makes a difference.