Last night’s group session didn’t quite go to plan… at least not the group part of it.

With no one signed up, I (Rowan) embraced the solo spirit and headed out on a lone plogging adventure around Bolton.

I started by running up to Queen’s Park in search of one of the brilliant Volunteer Vaults positioned in the car park. If you haven’t come across these before, they’re secure boxes stocked with litter pickers, bags, and other tools that anyone can use to help tidy the area. They’re a brilliant, accessible way to empower people to take care of their parks and green spaces. A veritable treasure chest for community action!

With my bin bag in hand, I made my way back towards Bolton picking up absolutely every bit of litter I could spot in the dark. And there was plenty. My route took me past Bolton Hospice, Bolton Lads & Girls Club, St Paul’s Church, Bolton General Practice, and finally Bolton Central Fire Station, stopping at each to grab cans, bottles, wrappers, and everything in between.

And as I went, I found myself thinking about something I’ve believed for a long time:

*people don’t drop litter where there isn’t any litter. *A clean space tends to stay clean; a messy space seems to attract more mess. So even one person, spending one hour, filling one bag, can help set a different tone for the whole community.

By the time I reached Bolton One, that one person (me!), one big bag of litter, and one determined plog had made a tidy difference to one stretch of road through town.

Here’s to next week - hopefully with some GoodGymers signed up!

GoodGym Bolton officially hit the ground running last night - quite literally - as our team of four pioneers came together for our very first group run and community task.

Huge credit to James, Mumtaz, Karen and Hafsa (who made the journey by bus and train) for being part of this special launch event.

Our destination was Bolton Lads and Girls Club, where we set out to lend a hand with a site tidy-up. The conversation on the way was as lively as you’d expect from a brand-new GoodGym crew - covering local history, favourite ever inventions, and the many virtues of the humble potato!

On arrival, we wasted no time and dived straight into the task like true Wombles of (Wim)Bolton, filling five big bags of litter in just 30 minutes. We tackled the bushes and entrance areas, uncovering all sorts of interesting finds - from a discarded wallet and a Covid testing kit to some truly vintage crisp and chocolate bar wrappers (we’re fairly sure there was an old Marathon wrapper in there - for the younger readers, that’s what Snickers used to be called!).

GoodGymer Hafsa said:

> I had such a great time! I litterpick a lot on my own but there’s something so much more enjoyable and special about doing it with a group. It’s such a great way to meet new people and build community.

GoodGymer James said:

> I loved being involved with the first goodgym session in Bolton. It was great to meet new people and to help out in the local community. Lovely way to spend the evening in the outdoors, being active and with some awesome people all doing some good!

A huge thank you to Bolton Lads and Girls Club for welcoming us and to our fantastic GoodGymers for making history as the first to don the red shirts in Bolton.

Next week, we’ll be meeting at 7pm at Bolton One before heading over to Sutton Estate Community Centre, where we’ll be supporting Bolton Wanderers in the Community with a site spruce-up.

Last night was more than just a tidy-up - it was the beginning of something special. Here’s to many more GoodGym adventures in Bolton!