Root and Branch

12 Goodgymers helped their local community in Windsor and Maidenhead
Aidan Jackman
Sue Giles
Ben Darracott
Jack Douglas
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Windsor and Maidenhead

Wednesday 3rd April

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Report written by Windsor and Maidenhead runner

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We made a return visit to Nature's Haven to add some Goodgym enthusiasm and muscle to clearance work that is going on to make way for a new mini-orchard. We welcomed Aidan to his first ever Goodgym session, and what a welcome addition he was to the group. Nicola was sporting her new 100 Deeds Tshirt, and looked great! Our taskowners Claire and Aleks were on hand to give us instructions for the evening. One group tackled moving a huge pile of branches, which had been cut down from the old shrubbery, to an area at the other end of the site, where they can be picked up for disposal. As Jen commented It was a perfect demonstration of how many hands make light work. Just as they were congratulating themselves on clearing the area, Aleks found them another enormous pile to clear. But they weren't daunted by the task, and by the end of the session that pile had been cleared too. Great work! Meanwhile another group set to, digging the shrub roots out of the ground. Not an easy task, as they all seemed to be interconnected underground, and the roots were tough. Undeterred, the team battled on, and every so often there were little whoops of triumph as another root ball was lifted from the ground! As the light faded we called it a day, and were treated to hot drinks and toasted marshmallows round the firepit. We love coming to Nature's Haven! A very satisfying task and we look forward to a return visit, perhaps to help plant the orchard?


This task supported
Nature's Haven Community Healing Garden
Our mission is to enable our community to access and learn about the therapeutic benefits of gardening and nature.

Nature’s Haven is an outdoor retreat to escape the pressures of everyday life. We aim to give our visitors a sense of strength and protection with the intention of providing a more tranquil state of mind. Our healing garden will be filled with a variety of plants that promote a sense of wellbeing and hope. Our garden designs are based on the principles of a physic garden, focusing on the plants' inherent healing properties. It will be a place of refuge where peace, healing, distraction and stress relief is promoted. Nature's Haven will create, maintain & continue to develop healing gardens to generate an abundance of positivity. The gardens will be restorative and yet enabling too, allowing the visitor to 'simply be', reflect & be fully present in the moment and/or actively engage in gardening through our social therapeutic horticultural programmes. We will provide events and opportunities to engage as many people in our community as possible as we nurture and promote a feeling of connectedness. We champion sustainability and we are guided by permaculture principles thus avoiding synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. The gardens are designed with accessibility in mind. Wheelchairs will be able to access all areas of the garden and the paths and raised beds will help the visually impaired navigate their way around. We will also have adapted tools to assist with any mobility issues.

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Amy L
Amy L (she/her)

Wed 3rd Apr at 9:54pm

Brilliant work everyone!! A big welcome to Aiden too 👏 Thanks Sheila for leading and reporting ❤️

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Windsor and Maidenhead

Autumn Clearing & Gardening at Ray Mill Island
🗓Tomorrow 1:00pm

Support the Friends of Ray Mill Island

Jess Smith
3 GoodGymers are going