GoodGym members Paul, Richard, George, Rachel and Subham showed up for the Film screening for the Tiny Forest part of London Climate Action Week (LCAW) 20-28 June on what I believe was the hottest day of the year. We welcomed a full crowd at The Phoenix Cinema, which is also our local meeting point on Tuesday evenings. There were many Earthwatch folk as well as locals and we also were able to spread the word abour GoodGym as well as the Barnet Tiny Forest, which we often have helped with. After the film, which documented Tiny Forests in Europe as well as told more of the story of Prof. Miyawaki, the founder of the Tiny Forest method, there was a Q&A with members of Earthwatch as well as Paul representing GoodGym, which was well received. A great time was had by all! And we were able to escape the heat!

On Tuesday 23 June, GoodGym Barnet braved the heat warnings (sensibly) to stay active and help our community at Highgate Wood... actually, a great place to be in this heat!

Most of us met at the Phoenix Cinema, where the conversation quickly turned to Britain’s highest recorded temperature: 40.3°C in Lincolnshire in July 2022. Richard won the debate! This week may not reach that peak, but prolonged heat, humidity and warm nights can be particularly challenging because our bodies and buildings have less opportunity to cool down.

After a gentle warm-up, we headed through the woods to meet Cindy. She enthusiastically shared news from a recent moth survey: 47 moths were caught and a range of different species.

We then visited the developing visitor centre, which will showcase the history and ecology of Highgate Wood—including a Roman pottery kiln dating from around AD 50–150. There will also be a Cindy corner.( that sounds like a legacy)

Our task was to repair a woodland fence that had been pulled apart to build dens. With plenty of willing hands, it was soon restored, leaving time for some Forest) bathing , stretching and movement with the breath.

Thanks to everyone who came along Please continue to take care in the heat—it is not only the highest temperature that matters, but also the duration, humidity and lack of cooler nights.

shout out to Abdikani on his first Community mission great effort!

We started off as usual at the Phoenix, led by George and shadowed by our semi-back-marker, quantum-state Richard, before heading out for a leaflet drop. We tripped up garden paths (well, that of Rachel's secret soul mate) and out again, until we exhausted our leaflet supply, before turning our steps towards the allotments.

After briefly considering a game of cat and mice with the slightly late Subham, we entertained ourselves by skipping down the high street, and with Rachel’s question for the evening about coping well (or not) with a last-minute change. She told the story of a very last-minute change during a search and rescue exercise, where she managed to confuse the team slightly by forgetting who she was supposed to be as the missing person (having been upgraded from witness to witless lost person, at the last minute).

George then told us about watching for stag beetles with Daniella. Having waited a little longer than sensible they were just about to head home having not seen a single beetle when they saw a man, who had just arrived, catch a stag beetle out of the air. This stag beetle expert gave them a memorable evening helping him with his nightly survey. Result - more stag beetles than they could ever have wanted to see.

Then last-minute Subham was challenged over last-minute coffee choices. Apparently, the American isn’t a fan of an Americano. We let him espresso himself on the subject.

Then it was on to the allotments, where mattocks were wielded, plants were pulled up, bind weed was unbound, and great progress was made. There was a moment of peril when Beattie appeared to be held hostage by the horseradishes, which threatened to pull her down a very particular type of rabbit hole. Thankfully, she escaped before becoming fully radishilised. At the end of the session, we were rewarded with a last-minute offer of magic (non-coffee) beans (what could go wrong?).

Sheela helpfully released us into the wilds of East Finchley after the session was complete.

After leaflets, stag beetles, coffee confessions, mattocks, magic beans and one suspiciously powerful horseradish, we decided we had earned the right to head heroically home.

Despite the wild weather - on-off rain, sun, storms, gales - six sturdy Goodgymmers made it to tonight's mission. It was damp, but we were undeterred, and gathered at the Phoenix for our warm up - Beattie and Rachel first to arrive as usual, before hot-footing it to Stephens House. Sheela took our opening photographs, while Richard promised to do a better job of backmarking than recent reports suggest an unnamed individual delivered.

On site we were met by Theodore and our inimitable host, Helen, who laid out the task. 100m of fencing, with overgrowth poking through. How much could we clear in the next 45min? Well, we got stuck in secateurs and loppers, tearing and cutting, until, boom! We did about a quarter of the lengthy job, well above expectations and well worked out!

After a quick tidy up, we dragged the sacks of green waste to the north gate and set off back to the Phoenix for a celebratory pot of popcorn and chat, where Theo kindly gave us a demo of his (too small for him, but too-large for most of us!) barefoot running shoes.

Great work, though we'll undoubtedly need to go back and finish the job, hopefully before the summer growth hides our great work.