This week's Goodgym mission took us to New Malden, Raleigh House, where Petra, Jana, Isabella, and Emily got stuck into some serious garden TLC for the elderly residents who use the day centre. Armed with brushes, rakes, and plenty of enthusiasm, we swept up piles of oak leaves, weeded the patio, and tidied the flowerbeds until they were looking neat and cheerful once again. The oak tree had clearly been feeling generous with its autumn drop, but we weren’t leafing until the job was done! We also planted colourful spring bulbs- little bursts of future sunshine to brighten the residents’ outlook in the months to come. Supervising our efforts was Purdey the dog, who kept a close eye on proceedings (and may have been scouting for cake crumbs). Speaking of which, Jana’s homemade carrot cake made for a perfect halftime treat - fueling us for the final push. Two hours later, the garden was looking spick, span, and splendid- ready to bring smiles to everyone at Raleigh House. A blooming brilliant effort from the whole team!

Alex from the Forest School welcomed us to our Saturday task. We quickly got on with removing bind weed from the fence around the school. We untangled it from as far as we could reach all the way to the ground incl digging up the roots and raking the bits away. Job well done. Welcome to Suparna on her first mission.

This morning we found time to weed between the paving stones amidst the surroundings of this well used space. A quick sweep was then made before entering a world of knowledge and imagination.

It had been a while since our last catch-up, so spirits were high when our GoodGym crew met at the Stay Well Centre in New Malden for a sunny two-hour garden blitz. In attendance were Sabir, Petra, Emily, Jana – and our special four-legged helper, Purdey the dog, who kept a close eye on proceedings (and an even closer eye on the sugary jelly sweets Claire from Stay Well kindly left for us!).

The task list was clear: plant new ferns and grasses in the flowerbed and give the patio a good spruce-up. The soil was rock-hard, so we gave it a good watering before planting. Petra and Emily soon got stuck in digging holes and settling the new plants in for the residents to enjoy. Jana tackled the leaves in the flowerbed and wrapped bags around the pesky bindweed, while Sabir powered through weeding all the way down the pathway.

We also blitzed the patio – the weeds didn’t stand a chance. In no time, it was swept and looking completely transformed. Between the gardening, we had plenty of laughs, stories, and catch-ups, making the work fly by.

Two hours later, we had a weed-free patio, freshly planted beds, and a very happy Purdey. A blooming good afternoon all round!