Group runs are baaaaaack

A few of us celebrated the return of group runs by jogging to the Children's Allotment, tin of flapjacks in hand! Baked goods are always required to celebrate milestones, no matter how disintegrated they get on the journey over! Well done to Lorenzo and Sarah on your 50th and 100th good deeds!!

Tonight we returned to one of our favorite spots The Children's Allotment. We have loved coming here over the past few years and it is fantastic to see the progress of the site, and so exciting that it is nearly ready to open!

Alice set us to work weeding areas of the site, cutting back enthusiastic plants (ivy, brambles), shifting wood chip and painting the shed and new compost toilet structure. We discovered interesting spiders (the Fake Black Widow with its round bottom, the Kardashian of the spider world maybe?!?), accidentally gave woodlice a blue tinge and marveled at the plants in the snazzy new poly-tunnel.

A warm welcome to Jules and Matty joining us for the first time, we hope to see you again! And a huge thank you to Alice for allowing us our repeated visits and being so welcoming and joyous!

Took a biiig loop of Wytham Woods. Spotting deer, birds, bees and fancy moths along the way.

Our Wednesday commitment to Oxford Mutual Aid continues...

Today we finished preparing all the parcels due to be delivered or collected on Wednesday evening, and started getting the non-chilled items together for the Thursday deliveries.

There's always plenty of work behind the scenes to keep the hall running reasonably smoothly. Most Wednesdays we sort and dispose of the fresh goods which are going bad, get the fridges in order, take out the rubbish and recycling, and do a bit of shelf restocking. Tonight was no exception.

And yes, someone opened the perilous fridge!

About Oxford Mutual Aid:
Oxford Mutual Aid formed in response to the Covid-19 crisis in March last year. As the crisis overwhelmed local infrastructure they focused on seeking out all those vulnerable people who were struggling to access food support.

Last week's stats:
Food parcels reached 1014 people last week, including adults, children and babies. As the only source of emergency food support available in Oxford 7 days-a-week, multiple requests were received from St. Mungo’s and the City Council, as well as self-referrals for urgent food support. Through the Kitchen Collective program (precooked meals) an additional 255 meals were delivered to 90 households.

After a recent fresh produce drought the OMA hall today was full of fresh fruits and veggies! Cherry tomatoes, green beans, cauliflower, spinach and strawberries for all! Welcome to those new to packing, who got well stuck in! Hopefully these parcels will make the week a bit easier for the families they are on their way to.

Harvest@Home have a new allotment plot in South Oxford to use both to grow food for Cherwell Larder and to teach larder users how to grow their own fresh produce. The snag in the plan is that the plot has been unused for years and so the grass and brambles have now reached head height. Our challenge was to tame the wilderness! 17 GoodGymers, a car load of tools, and 1.5 hours; sounds doable.

We cut paths through the long grass to access the shed and swing/climbing frame, laid down weed-suppressing tarpaulins, unearthed glass and loads of junk hidden away all over the plot. Determined teams dismantled wire fencing which had become embedded in the soil and enmeshed in the long grass (a very difficult task!), while others unearthed the compost heap and weeded and lopped away, rediscovering the plot sign in the process.

The GoodGym flash mob treatment resulted in significant transformation of the allotment plot, which was very satisfying and made the hayfever snuffles just about bearable.

The next steps will be clearing more of the long grass (a strimmer may be required), laying cardboard down for further weed suppression, and getting started on some no-dig gardening.

Well done to Hattie on doing your 10th Good Deed - rather warmer and sunnier than your first one!