Welcome to Megha and Olawale for their first GoodGym outing! Kudos for getting out to help today, particularly Olawale coming from Wigan 💪

Today, we were helping out the Friends of Peel Park tidy up following Salford Pride the previous day. Some of the gating and stalls were still up from what sounded like a good day, despite the long queues at the bar! 🏳️‍🌈

We collected 12 or 13 sacks of rubbish, mostly of cans, bottles, raffle tickets 🎟 and confetti 🎊. We found a football too, that a local made use of, and made a really good job removing litter from the playground that looks much more welcoming now 😀

Salford City Council's litter picker locker is really handy too, apparently being well used (and thankfully not abused or damaged) so locals can pick up litter when walking. Little and often really does help 🚮

Gaynor and Ben made the ~3 km walk from Manchester city centre there and back 👣 and thankfully, the rain steered clear 🌧 so we didn't get too wet.

Juno and Ben helped out at Fletcher Moss parkrun event #253. We ran and checked the course, helped with the setting up and clearing up, and marshalled at Old Bedians marshal point 5.

446 runners and walkers completed the 5 km route on a hot solstice morning.

Let me begin.

Peter, completing his 20th Good Deed, and Ben raided the cupboards and the shops to take much needed items to a food bank collection point at Asda in Hulme for Manchester South-Central food bank. In all we donated:

• tinned meat 🥩
• tinned fruit and veg 🥕🍍
• rice 🍚
• rice pudding
• UHT milk 🥛
• long life juice
• tinned beans 🫘 and spaghetti 🍝
• plastic bags (always handy to re-use)
• peanut butter 🥜

The trolley was well filled once we had unloaded, and the run 🏃‍♂️ back was certainly much lighter and quicker! We had a quick stop at Parakeet Parkway on the way 🦜

We'll have another donation drive before the summer holidays in July too, so keep an eye out for that.

We came to do good, we came to do good, so get out your seat and run around... (I'll work on it)

4 GoodGymers joined 3 others to carry the baton for Route #103 as part of the charity Relay Your Way 2025.

Maimoona as the first to arrive at Didsbury Sports Ground was handed the baton from the previous stage, and was quickly joined by Hannah, Laura, and Ben, plus 3 others who had signed up for the route.

With split groups, we hugged the bank of the River Mersey to carry the baton. Unfortunately, a flat tyre on the scooter meant another direct route was needed for Hannah, while the remainder made it to the finish point at Longford Park athletics track along the route.

Welcomed by medals 🏅 and a ceremonial passing on of the baton to a cycling group, we completed the course and wished the best of luck for the rest of the relay.

Big kudos to Laura for completing her first 10 km for a while, Hannah for sticking to it to make it to the finish, and Maimoona for carrying the baton the whole way 🏃🏼‍♀️🏃‍♂️👣👟

Ben went along to Gorse Hill Studios again to help at another volunteer gardening session, along with Katie and others. This time, we were on the allotment for the Green Rooms project that they had acquired earlier this year 🌳

With the warm and wet weather, many plants were doing well, especially the weeds! Our task wasn't clear as much as possible to keep on top of it so it can be used for and by the local community.

We ripped, dug, pulled, unwound, covered, and removed several piles of weeds and by the end, we managed to clear a good amount. The potatoes 🥔 were cleared, the pond was freed, the communal benches 🪑 were made accessible, and the poly tunnel was made more appealing.

All in all, a job well done. The robins made full use of the exposed spiders 🕷, worms 🪱, and other bugs 🐛 too for a tasty snack.

Welcome to Eloise for her first GoodGym MCR outing this evening! Great to meet you and hope to see you at another task in the future.

This evening, we met at the task at Gorse Hill Studios, to help make the first steps in the development of their Green Rooms initiative. With lots of weeds, overgrown raised beds, and a grand plan in mind, there was plenty of work to do 🌳🍃

Hannah, Peter, Stefanie, and Ben took on the raised beds and bushes nearby, while Eloise tackled the ivy and bushes on the other side of the green space along with Katie from Gorse Hill Studios. In amongst the ivy and bushes, several Christmas trees were found 🎄 still with the stand attached, alongside a few footballs ⚽️. With loppers, clippers, and plenty of elbow grease, they managed to prise out the overgrown vegetation.

Meanwhile, the wood being rotten on the raised beds made it easy to disassemble but the weeds made it a much tougher task. After removing the plastic undersheet through which many weeds had taken root, we kept digging away, making sure to allow the local moths and snails 🐌 to safety. In amongst the weeds, we found strawberry 🍓 and gooseberry plants, still thriving despite the weeds, many of which we managed to save and plant into pots to perhaps use in the Green Rooms fruit & vegetable garden.

We managed to remove as many of the weed roots as possible and thoroughly dig over the area, removing the wooden border around the area too. Peter was a dab-hand using the loppers and made light work of the hedges growing through from next door, unearthing a bug hotel 🐛🪲🐞, while some nifty saw work from Ben removed the majority of another bush growing through. The disused compost bins were emptied of weeds and rubbish and the soil dispersed.

A final sprint finish saw us weed the path to the shed that made the area looked more welcoming, especially after the removal of a wall several days before. The break for tea & biscuits was very much needed to keep us going ☕️🍪, with the weather closing in a bit too 🌧

Really active and fun task that made a big difference to a local community group. We will be back in stages to help out when we can so keep an eye out for those in future! Great work team 💪👏

The Green Rooms Idea

The 'Green Rooms' project at Gorse Hill Studios aims to transform under-used outdoor spaces into vibrant, accessible green areas that engage the community and enhance biodiversity.

The 'Garden Rooms' will feature a sensory garden, vegetable patch, and wildlife habitats (including a pond), while the 'Green Theatre' will provide a multifunctional outdoor learning and performance space.

The Rhubarb Community Cafe, run by volunteers and young people, will serve produce grown on-site, providing work experience and nurturing community connections.

These spaces will support horticultural therapy, environmental education, and local events, promoting well-being, sustainability, and a deeper connection with nature.