On a warm Monday evening, 13 keen Goodgymmers arrived at the idyllic Olden Community Gardens, just opposite Drayton Park station. This beautiful spot is could be easily missed when walking by Arsenal Stadium, but there are hidden allotments, butterfly gardens and neighbourhood connections built on an area that was dedicated for gathering WW2 debris in the past!

More information about Olden Community Gardens can be found here: https://www.oldengarden.org/

Welcome to first time Goodgymmer Lisa - Thank you for joining us!

We had a variety of tasks on offer for us, stretching between the main garden entrance, past many fox dens, and over to "the bridge gardens" (which expand over a working railway bridge for National Rail services).

- Task 1

Together, we helped to shovel 2 full builder's merchant bags of mixed compost from the main entrance (the only vehicle drop point for gardening material), over to a more convenient location. At least 6 of our crew filled portable tubs of compost, before carrying this material by hand. By the end of the session, we came together to lift the final bag of mulch safely and carefully to the intended spot. Great job all!

- Task 2

Our team helped with preparing the gardens for the potential heat wave next week! We located all of the available water points for hose pipes and watering cans, and set about dousing as many of the plants and saplings as possible. This was a difficult task, as Olden Community Gardens is set on a hillside, and we needed to stretch the hose pipes around awkward corners and down slopes to effectively cover as many beds as possible. Between us, we did a smashing job within an hour of problem solving and teamwork!

Following our session, we enjoyed a trip to the Highbury Library bar and bottle shop to celebrate former Area Activator Simon's 800th good deed! A great way to close up a quality evening of Goodgymming- well done all!

We had another great visit to Simon at Thorlands this week. It was lovely to have Laura join us once again, being back in London for only a short time!

After our short run from Old Spike Café, the group split up with Sam, Laura and Paulin getting stuck into moving leaf mould from the compost bin to the main garden. The rest of the team weeded, cleared an area and shifted a large planter into its new spot.

With 45 minutes of solid work done, we wrapped up and ran back to Peckham – another evening of good running and good deeds!

On a warm summer evening, we set off from Old Spike and made our way—running the 5.5 km (with a little unplanned detour) to Blackfriars Estate. It was a long group run, but the sense of pride when we arrived made every step worth it.

There, we were warmly welcomed by Corin and got straight to work, shifting heavy bags of soil to clear space for the final stages of their landscaping project. It was serious, sweaty lifting, but as a team we got the job done.

With the task complete, we made the return journey to Old Spike—tired, but with that satisfying feeling of a mission accomplished.