On Monday evening this week, we were back at Eden Gardens Orchard in Philips Park to give the trees inside the orchard a bit of a trim. Ben and Peter completed a couple of laps of the park, while Scott cycled on a scenic route and Sanjeev used public transport, all to converge onto the site for 6pm.

The main focus was a plum tree overhanging some neighbouring plots in the allotment site. We were provided with ladders, various loppers (manual and ratchet varieties) plus a range of bow saws, hand saws, plus pruning saws (one of which could be extended to reach the high up branches). Peter was the main protagonist with the saw, climbing the ladder to saw the target branches and trunks to remove, while Scott and Sanjeev trimmed down any pieces to fit inside the tonne bags. Ben stabilised the ladder and caught any branches coming down from high up, combining this with a lasso-type method to encourage them to fall on the right side of the fence.

After tidying up the cuts and moving the equipment to the orchard side of the fence, we were tasked with pruning (lopping) a larger tree inside the orchard. While more accessible, the trunks were certainly thicker and through a combination of the extended pruning saw, tied ropes, and gravity, we managed to get the desired branches down, with only a few cuts and grazes to show for it.

The remainder of the tasks involved us trying to cut the pieces down to be small enough to fit in the tonne bags, with the larger and thicker trunks left. Three overfull tonne bags later, we were done, with the midges starting to come out and bite.

Tough task, with a loose adherence to health and safety, but we seemed to enjoy it all the same. We will be back at the orchard in the autumn and perhaps in the park to clear some areas for future planting.

The famous five made a fab job of harvesting and maintaining the community plot at Gorse Hill Studios allotment this evening.

After a stop-start run from Deansgate, we convened onto the plot in the overcast sunshine, ready to get a good session in. Scott and Ben harvested a surprising number of potatoes 🥔 of many sizes, with more and more being unearthed as we scoured the plot.

Meanwhile, Sanjeev and Fanette were on bean harvesting duty 🫘 with lots of runner beans picked out, while others continued to grow. There were also lots of tomatoes 🍅 harvested from within the polytunnel, with some not quite ready to pick, so plenty more to come.

Peter was lead waterer, planter, planner, and coordinator, making sure plots were seen to and planning ahead for next year.

There was also a lot of corn 🌽 harvested plus any apples 🍎 that were ready to pick.

Very productive session, and we dropped off all the bounty to Gorse Hill Studios for them to use in their community groups.

Afterwards, we had a well earned Wetherspoons tea and beverage, making full use of the Monday night deals, before making our way home in the Manchester rain 🌧

Another Manchester park ticked off the bucket list this evening with a litter pick in Heaton Park today! While much of the UK was baking, we had a nice evening with a gentle breeze for a nice stroll in the park while clearing up any dropped litter and discarded waste.

The magnificent seven: Peter, Gaynor, Fanette, Scott, Victor, Esteban, and Ben donned their gloves (some were leftover lab gloves admittedly) with a few litter pickers and bag rings to share around to scour the park following Parklife over the weekend.

While we had a map showing litter hotspots, the park was surprisingly clear, albeit we couldn't access the Papal Fields with the Parklife hoardings still up, but we still filled a grand total of 13 litter sacks with a couple of laughing gas cannisters. We met Steve from Prestwich Pickers too, also out for a stroll and a litter pick, and made friends with some members of local wildlife, including Highland cows, rabbits, squirrels, plus a few birds. Lots of thanks from those in the park (including a few cyclists and a running group).

We'll be back in a few weeks for some balsam bashing (there was plenty of that around...) so sign up if you'd like to go back for some more active volunteering in Heaton Park.

Day out for Scott, Ben, and Juno at the Manchester Volunteer Fair in St Ann's Square in the city centre.

Lots of conversations and connections with those looking to get involved, making links to community organisations, and giving GoodGym a thorough introduction to the people of Manchester.

Juno earned her grub by bringing in people with her natural charm, while t-shirts, photos, posters, and flyers giving us a way to show how much GoodGym groups can help out to local groups and to overcome social isolation often becoming an issue across many demographics.

Looking forward to following up on a few new potential tasks and activities, and good to see Sam and Sanjeev briefly during the day.