It was a mighty meetup on a pleasantly mild Tuesday evening this week with 13 GoodGymers joining 12 Edinburgh Trash Club litter pickers for a joint mission around Tolbooth Wynd Park and the surrounding area.

Walking and running groups set off from Edinburgh Street Food and made excellent time down Leith Walk to get to the meeting point. There we met up with Indy and the Edinburgh Trash Club for our first, but hopefully not our last, collab.

Edinburgh Trash Club meet up once a fortnight for cleanup duties around the city (and post cleanup socials in the pub) and are well worth checking out: https://www.instagram.com/edinburghtrashclub/

After some friendly introductions we got to work, armed with bags, litter pickers, gloves and plenty of enthusiasm. Over the next hour we set out to gather as much rubbish as we could, and there was plenty to keep us busy!

And what a transformation it was! So many full bags of rubbish collected and the whole area was noticeably cleaner and more welcoming afterwards. Our efforts certainly didn't go unnoticed too, with a number of local residents stopping to chat and sharing how grateful they were for the work being done with litter being an issue

A huge thank you to Indy and our new friends at Edinburgh Trash Club for welcoming us along and helping make the evening such a success. It was brilliant to work alongside another community-focused group that shares our passion for improving local spaces and bringing people together through local community action.

Here's to more collaborations, more community action and a cleaner city!

Shout out to first time Goodgymers Sam and Maya - hope to see you again soon :)

🧡💚🗑️✨

Please note there is no GoodGym next Tuesday 29th September as I'm on holiday, We'll be back in a fortnight.

Our group was celebrating being a whole month old and this Tuesday evening saw us return to Leith Community Croft, our first ever Group Run task. This is a fantastic community croft run by Earth in Common.

Ali was on hand to welcome us, dish out the tools, and point us towards an overgrown herb garden and surrounding growing spaces that were in need of some TLC. Armed with trowels, forks, spades, and plenty of determination, we got to work straight away.

An hour of solid effort later, there was a significant transformation. We tackled weeds, cleared beds, and helped bring some order back to the growing areas. There's always plenty to do at the Croft, but it's amazing what a motivated team can achieve in a short space of time.

We have been talking with Ali about the possibility of GoodGym taking on a dedicated corner of the market garden to maintain on a longer-term basis. Ali is really keen on this idea so it looks like we will be returning to the community croft on a regular basis. Watch this space for what could become our very own GoodGym Growing Project! 🌿

A special shout-out goes to Luke, who joined us from GoodGym Kingston for the second consecutive week while enjoying his holidays in Edinburgh. We hope you've enjoyed seeing a bit of the Scottish capital and thanks for being part of the team.

Also a big welcome to Imogen, Michael, Ian and Suilven. Great to have you onboard!

With the tools packed away and some energy to spare we squeezed in a quick workout before running back up Leith Walk and a nice wee crew stuck around at Edinburgh Street Food for some well-earned food and drinks, taking advantage of that 15% discount.

Five weeks in and we're already building partnerships, improving local spaces, and perhaps even planting the seeds for a project of our own. Here's to month two! 💚🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️🌱

We have recently set up a Whatsapp community - link to join is here: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LWdv5YU8SJ7LYNARbKFj6f

And don't forget to follow us on Instagram (any help with photos/videos and getting posts out is greatly appreciated) https://www.instagram.com/goodgymedinburgh/

Eight GoodGym runners gathered at Edinburgh Street Food for this week's group run. It was a slightly longer route today with plenty of uphill, bit shout out to everyone for managing 7.5km and getting so mulch done with our task too!

Our task partner this week was Friends of the Meadows and Bruntsfield Links (FoMBL) — a volunteer‑led organisation dedicated to protecting, maintaining, and improving one of Edinburgh’s most iconic green spaces. FoMBL works year‑round on projects that support biodiversity, preserve heritage features, improve access, and keep the Meadows and Links welcoming for everyone who uses them: runners, dog walkers, families, students, and wildlife.

We were glad to meet up with our task coordinator today, Neil from FoMBL (20 years volunteering with the group!) was ready and waiting for us, equipped with wheelbarrows, spades, forks, and a clear plan for the evening. With tools in hand, the group split into two groups:

Group 1 had their work cut shifting and spreading mulch around newly planted trees to protect their young roots and retain moisture. Group 2 got down and dirty picking weeds along the walking paths.

After an hour of graft we managed to make good progress. We had been able to clear whole sections of path from weeds and a whole enclosure of new trees was freshly mulched.

Why FoMBL Matters — and How to Get Involved

FoMBL is powered almost entirely by local volunteers who care about the long‑term health of the Meadows and Links. Their work includes planting, maintenance, heritage projects, litter picking, and advocating for the protection of these historic spaces. They have a regular meet up on Friday, you can find out more and get involved on their website:

Anyone can get involved by joining the charity, attending volunteer days, or supporting their campaigns. Their website includes details on membership, upcoming activities, and ways to contribute: https://www.fombl.org.uk/

A Strong Showing from GoodGym Edinburgh

This was one of our longest and most energetic group runs yet, and the effort showed. The combination of distance, hills, and physical volunteering made for a proper GoodGym workout — and Neil seemed pleased with how much we managed to get done.

GoodGym Edinburgh is off to a strong start. It's a simple concept - meet, run, help, connect, repeat. It's great to see our little community starting to get established after only 3 weeks!

Shout out to Holly and Rory for their first runs, both made big contributions tonight.

Also shout out to Katie for becoming the first member of GoodGym Edinburgh to take on the Taskforce volunteer role!

Wow, what a great first session launching GoodGym Edinburgh with a bang!

Big shout out to all the runners and walkers who turned up for the debut Tuesday Group Run. We were joined by GoodGym CEO Hannah Crane who made the trip up from London to celebrate Scotland's first GoodGym community getting started.

We set off from Edinburgh Street Food with our running and walking groups and made good time down to Leith Community Croft where the incredible Ali from Earth In Common was on hand to share out tools, tell us about the work they do and talk us through what needed done.

I was blown away by how much weeding, wheelbarrowing, clearing and tidying up we were able to get through in a short space of time. The raised beds were looking in good shape once we were done, we had managed to clear a good chunk of material off site into a skip and made a good start on the market garden (potential for a follow up task here I think).

Finishing off with a 'Bring Sally Up' squat challenge before tucking into some discounted grub and drinks at Edinburgh Street Food was a real highlight for me. Looking forward to seeing what other kinds of short workouts we can squeeze into future runs!

A huge thank you to Places for People for their support in helping bring GoodGym Edinburgh to life. Their partnership has been key to getting this new community off the ground.

For the next sessions I'll be looking for helpers in run leading and photography. There are also opportunities to get involved in setting up tasks as a member of Taskforce. if you'd like to help out with GoodGym Edinburgh just drop me an email.

big love,

Dave