Tonight we were blessed with an indoor task due to the downpours. Our task: stock take and organise the drink and snack cupboards after a very busy open day for the farm. Lucy and Ashleigh tackled the front of house while the rest of us started sorting the drinks into categories. We then had some careful planning to ensure everything fit back into the cupboards neatly and so it would be quick to access. We discovered Dr Pepper is the most popular drink and you can never have too many Jaffa Cakes!

We were very excited to visit Cedar school for the first time to help them make their gardening area a bit tidier and more accessible for the pupils. We cut back some overgrown trees and pushed back some soil to make a clear walkway around the greenhouse. We also moved spare equipment and rubbish out the way to remove any trip hazards. We had a little time left for weeding one of the raised beds and sweeping before packing up to go home. We hope to go back soon so we can help in the forest school area.

This evening we decided jobs based on who looked like they were dressed for winter and summer! People looking well wrapped with assigned car washing duties while the short wearers, ouchie hand person and a birthday Wilson went up to the loft. In the loft we split into a painting team and a t-shirt sorting team. The t-shirt cupboard was the Mary Poppins bag of cupboards with seemingly endless varieties of t-shirts to organise. The painters were stuck with other quandaries such as how to get a very stuck sticky label off and how to paint both sides in one evening. We just about got everything folded up and and base coated in time. The beginnings of a human fruit machine ready for the summer events!

Wishing a big Happy Birthday to Wilson and Leszek

We were very excited to set off to do our first (amateur) bat survey this evening guided by Lucy with her new bat detector! We didn't have to wait long before we heard pipistrelles both Common and Soprano. We also think we heard Lesser Horseshoes, Serotines and Daubentons so a very successful first attempt. Lucy was matching the sounds heard on the detector to bat sounds on an app to verify they were what we thought. It started to rain a bit harder so the bats called it a night and so did we!

This evening’s GoodGym task was a really special one, as we celebrated our 3rd birthday back at Aldermoor Farm, the very place where GoodGym Southampton began three years ago! Before we even lifted a tool, Ellie was busy dishing out birthday headwear. Bunny ears, birthday hats, tiaras and even a chicken were among the options, all enthusiastically (?) worn by the group. We paused for a group photo holding a birthday banner, making it clear from the outset that this was a special evening for us all.

We had a fantastic turnout and a real mix of GoodGymers, which made the evening even more meaningful. It was lovely to see Hannah, Lauren and Derek, who we hadn’t seen for a while and also to have people who have only started their GoodGym journey this year with us, alongside members who have been with us right from the beginning — a brilliant reminder of how welcoming and supportive GoodGym is. We also welcomed Jason from GoodGym Leeds, who happened to be visiting Southampton and decided to enjoy a spot of GoodGym tourism while he was here.

We had been set a task to cut back the big hedges which had become very overgrown, along with removing the sycamores, pruning the willow, cutting back plants to widen the paths and litter‑picking outside the farm. Just as we had started, we were joined by a journalist from the Daily Echo, who had come along to find out more about what GoodGym is all about. Wilson and Ellie both happily chatted away about how wonderful GoodGym Southampton is, while other members shared their own GoodGym journeys and what being part of the group means to them.

The task was completed and the area we had cut backed looked much better. Then to make the celebration complete, Ellie treated us all to cake. It was a perfect way to end a brilliant evening.

I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved over the last three years. We really are a wonderful team of beautiful people, all happy to give back and support the community around us. Fingers crossed that when we make the front page, that message comes across loud and clear (though not sure the wacky headwear will help - just glad i wasn't a chicken 🐔)