*Knaphill Lower School Restoration Project*

Another Saturday morning and another opportunity to help out at Knaphill Lower School Restoration Project.

Wayne, Julie, and Stephanie met Vicki and her husband at the school to see what Goodgym could help with.

The garden has changed alot since goodgymers have been coming, really starting to come together.

The first task was for Wayne and Julie to move some logs from one of the out buildings over to the new secret garden luckily we had two wheelbarrows that made light work of the this particular task 😀

Stephanie then arrived and was tasked with cutting some big branches into smaller sections for the new bug hotel 🐞

Once Wayne and Julie had finished putting the logs in place they joined Stephanie and together managed to cut various sizes of branches that were neatly put into the hotel, 🐜

the ground was damp but at least it was not raining and we even had a little bit of sunshine ☀️

Stephanie and Kirsty were back at Knaphill Lower School this week, cheerfully soggy but undeterred, helping the PTA continue the transformation of the outdoor space into something special for pupils to play and learn in. Our mission: support J, a Duke of Edinburgh participant, in planting 50 hawthorn wicks (that’s roots, for those of us who still think gardening involves guesswork and hope) to form a new hawthorn-lined hedge alongside the living hedge created by GG on previous tasks. we didnt quite manage to get all 50 into the ground, but honestly it was hard to count!

As ever, the project is being powered by the seemingly limitless commitment of Vikki and Mark, with son O firmly in the mix. Proof that community energy, much like hawthorn, thrives in all weather. Rain-soaked, muddy, and oddly satisfying: another GoodGym task well planted. 🌧 Well done Stephanie and Kirsty

What a wonderful task organised by Julie, who kindly provided all the paint, paintbrushes, pots, tablecloths and even drinks and snacks.

It proved to be a popular task as there was a good turn out from the Woking GoodGym gang to paint bird boxes for Knaphill Lower School. We were given a wooden bird box to unleash our creative painting talents. Becky and Anne shared a box, and went with a very practical camouflage design, as did Julie and Kirsty who went with a beautiful shade of blue plus a cheerful yellow sun.

Nadia did GoodGym proud by not only painting a colourful box but also bringing along a friend for January in the form of her mum who is a good painter as demonstrated by her berry design. Adam ran to the task now he is getting back into running in time to paint a colourful red and blue box.

Ola showed his creative talent by using masking tape for his design. Vicky from the PTA popped along to see our hard work and explained 20 bird boxes will be placed along a trail for the lower school children to try to spot them all.

Vicky's son picked Stephanie's as the the best painted bird box, which was well deserved, as she was able to combine a practical but stylish design of green leaves.

Alys & Stephanie got their rakes on at St John’s the Baptist Church in West Byfleet this morning.

It was chilly 2 degrees and thankfully we’d both brought our boots as it was rather muddy underfoot.

After being equipped with rakes, a leaf scoop and black bags, we got to clearing the drains first so that all the rain were bound to get flows freely where it’s supposed to. Stephanie did a great job clearing them of mud too with the help of a trowel. She did nearly fall down a hole though!

I set to raking the leaves and getting them into black bags. We probably filled around 8 bags (including 4 very large ones) of leaves, and they were helpfully whisked away to the dump by one of the church’s own volunteers.

After weeks of hushed whispers, knowing glances and enough rumourfuel to power a sleigh, tonight the truth finally landed: Woking GoodGym had once again received the words we’d all been waiting for: “Could you help pack the Xmas bags at the foodbank warehouse in Knaphill?”

Could we?

Oh yes, yes we could, and no one thought we couldn’t!

Like elves hearing the first jingle of Santa’s bells, we were ready to fill 90 sacks with Christmas time treats.

Each bag received a carefully curated mix of food, treats and love, ready to be delivered across the local community. Every time someone shouted, “We need more cereal!” it sounded like a joyful Christmas emergency.

This task is always a highlight for Woking GoodGym: an evening where teamwork, generosity and seasonal silliness blend perfectly. Knowing that every bag will brighten someone’s Christmas is the best reward.

It was lovely to see Louise from the Woking GoodGym alumni joining us with her son Henry, alongside a fellow alumni Bryan, the 2025 newbies are now well settled in, but of course, veterans, Anne, Adam, James, Katie and Wayne were missed from the production line. 90 bags packed within 45 mins, our most efficient effort yet AND no one lost a finger to the stacking containers, a Christmas miracle!

🎅 Well done GoodGym – another year, another mountain of Xmas bags, and another evening of excellent elf-level teamwork!

Thank you for the photos Nadia! 📸 Welcome to the crew, Zoe - you’ve earned your tutu 💃🏻