Armed with rubber gloves, cloths, buckets of water and a feather duster, we set to work helping the Eco Action Hub with some final cleaning ahead of its official opening this weekend.

Between us, we scrubbed skirting boards and steps, washed plastic chairs, cleaned a fridge and dusted shelves. It was great to see Mark at GoodGym and to be joined by honorary new member Emily - hope to see you again at another mission soon!

Not only did we get lots done in an hour but it was a true “spring” clean - as the clocks went forward at the weekend it was still light when we finished the task - hurrah!

This mission gave us a chance to have a sneak preview of the Hub, which includes a Library of Things to borrow for your home, a Repair Cafe, a seedling swap, a children’s corner, and even some tiny tadpoles!

If you’d like to visit, you can find them in the former Dorothy Perkins unit of the Nicholsons Centre - they’ll be open from 10am on Saturday 1 April with the opening ceremony at 11am. Find out more: https://ecoactionhub.co.uk/

The team met in the carpark of Braywick Nature Centre. Jenhad parked at Thames Hospice to get in some extra steps before the task – very impressive and we were delighted to be joined by Niviwho had brought newcomer Soheilawith her.

The team located the tools and headed off down the very dark path on the hunt for the pile of logs that had been left for us. It took some investigative powers from Garry and some intensive GPS navigational guiding from Amanda and Jen to find the logs that had been left for us to turn into a stag beetle habitat but once we did, we were treated to our own hidden patch of woodland in which to work. The team paired off to have a stag beetle hotel build-off. Jen and Nivi went for the palatial approach whilst soilmates Soheila and Amanda went for a more bejou style – definitely not a bungalow or an annex! There was lots of toiling but thankfully no one got in-dig-estion!

Garrywas tree-mendous at the sawing providing us with ample logs which the team laid horizontally into a hole in the ground before piling more logs on top to make a stag beetle heavenly mound. Amanda bugged everyone with some interesting stag beetle facts including that they are Britian’s largest land beetle at almost 8cm in length and they play an important role in the cycle of decay by eating and breaking down dead wood so that it nourishes the soil. Together the team managed to make four new habitats using all the logs provided. It was such a glorious evening to be out in this spooky yet majestical woodland.

On the walk back Garry treated us to some star gazing knowledge pointing out Beetlejuice (Betelgeuse), Casper and Pollux stars. Pollux and Castor are noticeable for being bright and close together which is likely why they have become known as twins whilst Betelgeuse is one of the largest stars visible to the naked eye. We also managed to see the planets Jupiter and Mars – a really special treat. Our route back also took us past the first signs of spring along a trail lined on both sides with crisp white snowdrops. This task was GoodGym at its best – a healthy, social, conservational, magical and educational evening!