Background to today’s task

13 colleagues from Rabobank volunteered their time at the Grow to Share initiative this afternoon, a project based in Rocky Park Community Garden, Bethnal Green.

Grow to Share brings people together to grow food, learn new skills, and maintain a welcoming, fruitful, outdoor environment in the heart of East London.

The initiative doesn’t receive any funding, so today’s contribution from the team really did make a difference as Margaret, who runs the initiative, explained on our arrival.

All the produce from the garden, including the fruit trees in the orchard and potted plants, are shared among local residents and local community groups.

Our job today? To work alongside regular garden members Margaret and Ash on a range of seasonal tasks, from preparing beds and composting to planting and general maintenance.

And so to the start…

9 members of the team got the afternoon off to a thoroughly active start as they gathered in Reception at 60 London Wall before maintaining a decent-paced run along Bishopsgate, through Shoreditch and Bethnal Green before arriving at today’s task.

Cold water and a warm welcome from Margaret and Ash awaited us!

After a little background on GoodGym and the Estate’s work, and all its voluntary initiatives, the team set about tackling the numerous tasks prepared for them.

A busy afternoon

One team headed with a large board of wood to the back of the orchard. Once the wood had been established in its new home, the team set about repairing the sides of the compost bays, including reattaching a sad ornamental bumble bee.

Another team proceeded to clear the many, many weeds from the walkways around the planters.

“Why is this important?”

Margaret explained, “Weeding keeps clear access for garden users…Keeps the surfaces slip-free! It helps remove trip hazards. Essentially it’s good housekeeping in a garden used by so many.”

Another team were assigned to potting, planting and spreading mulch in some of the new border gardens.

With the compost bays tackled, the orchard team were then reassigned to other areas of the garden, including a clear out of the congested area by the hut.

It was a busy, busy hour and a quarter.

Pausing for a brief ice lolly break an hour-and-a-quarter in, we then wrapped up the last few tasks (including the report pun – thanks, Simon); shuttled the last couple of barrows of rubbish around the corner, cleared away, and enjoyed a top-to-toe stretch before heading back onto bustling Bethnal Green Road.

A fantastic afternoon’s contribution (confirmed by Margaret’s text following the task, “Thank you for today – a great group.”).

Indeed.

Until next time.

9 GoodGymers made their way to the Parkview Estate on Old Ford Road for an evening of well-organised, hands-on estate gardening.

We were warmly welcomed by Des, a long-time resident who knows the area like the back of his hand.

Des had already mapped out a neat list of jobs, and after a quick intro, we split into teams and got cracking.

The first group headed to the front of the community centre, where pruning shears, loppers and wheelbarrows were quickly put to use.

Shrubs were trimmed, mulch distributed, and before long this small garden area looked more purposeful and less overgrown.

Meanwhile, a determined team of four made a beeline for the green bench in the play area (no ordinary bench - reportedly the pride of the garden). A fresh coat of paint went on smoothly in the evening sun, genuinely giving the bench a new lease of life.

The third team headed closer to the road, where buddleia had taken over and graffiti had accumulated on the community notice board. Trimming the plants back and slowly prising stubborn spray paint made an immediate difference – no dramatic transformation, but the kind that makes things a bit nicer.

As the pruning task wrapped up, John and Leanne shifted roles and headed around the corner, taking on some hoarding opposite Victoria Park. Armed with rollers and steady hands, they covered a surprisingly large section before we had to call time.

As we left Des was still going strong with a paintbrush in hand.

A very satisfying evening indeed: a nice example of those physical tasks with a visible result.

Well done to everyone who came – and thanks to Des for leading the way with thoughtful planning and good humour.

Next week it’s back to Limehouse to see Kamal at the Tower Hamlets Community Transport hub.

Until then.

Actually Awesome

8 goodgymers braved the heat to come to Columbia Primary school and put some proper elbow grease into Monday's task.

Thanks to Ingrid who kindly provided gloves and equipment. Shout out to Ed from down the road who lent us a few extra spades.

A very warm welcome to Alex for coming along to his first task.

Enter the Sandmen: Chris, Kareem and Alex who got to work clearing out the sandpit which had become full of toys. Once this was done they emptied out as much of the sand as they could, which Ingrid wanted to save for future use, into bags.

Emma joined us (once she managed to find the right entrance) and was hired on the spot to be trolley team leader. The job description was moving sand to the garden down the road. It involved navigating a busy cycle super highway and not mowing down pedestrians (mainly ourselves).

Ilana, Sam and Anna were the planter posse. This industrious team emptied out the soil from two worn out wooden planters. Once completed, they came in like a wrecking ball and forcefully dismantled the planters. The way Anna kicked the planters down suggested a serious background in martial arts.

We all came together in the end to tidy away the wooden shreds of the planters and do a general sweep up of the soil.

An amazing effort by everyone involved

Who knew there was a sandy beach behind Barge East, with the Olympic Stadium as a backdrop? Not me. But GoodGym were beach-ready and shovel-ready

First, was this really Tower Hamlets territory, as it was close to Hackney Wick station and within a javelin’s distance of the Olympic stadium, which is associated with Newham? Yes, we were re-assured, there was some re-drawing of boundaries when the Olympic Park was built

Emma was an early sign-up, but didn’t want to be the only one. Never fear, Lucinda arrived in record time from work, and David turned up for his first ever GoodGym session, all the way from Lea Bridge Road. He used to cycle through the Hackney Wick area and but found it somewhat changed, since not many years ago

Bola Beach Tennis is a London Legacy Development Corporation project introducing beach tennis to East London. It’s run by East London Tennis Solutions CIC, which uses social grants and raises revenue to deliver new, inclusive opportunities in tennis locally

They’ve got a very nice set of sandy tennis courts, but the wind, and general usage, have resulted in much of the sand ending up where it’s not needed – outside the courts. Our task was to shovel the sand back where it belongs, then rake it so it’s nice and flat. So GoodGym were joining the levelling-up agenda

Meanwhile, Emma and Lucinda undertook a typical GoodGym task: moving wood from one place to another. Kat was accustomed to the beach, as she’d just returned from Porto. She wants to take up beach volleyball but made do with an enjoyable game of doubles tennis after we’d finished.

One by one GoodGymers gathered at tonight's task in Clarkson Street.

We were here tonight to help Margaret and Ash of the Teesdale and Hollybush TRA relocate a large mulch pile around the corner in the orchard area of Rocky Park.

Mulch helps the soil stay moist, reduces the need for watering, and keeps weeds in check. In the orchard, mulch protects tree roots, adds nutrients to the soil, and helps fruit trees grow stronger and healthier.

What looked like a manageable pile turned out to higher, denser and wider than it appeared, and so even with numerous wheelbarrow runs across the estate, the mound of mulch remained.

We took turns in filling wheelbarrows and shuttling them along Clarkson Street around the corner where Margaret was steadily raking the mulch across the orchard area.

We boosted step count, worked upper body and honed agility skills wheeling the barrows up the makeshift ramp.

And the time flew.

It seemed like we'd been working for no time at all before we were sweeping residual mulch off the pavement, gathering tools and - get this - enjoying ice lollies courtesy of Margaret.

Having posed for the all-important group shot and voted on the pun (thanks to Rose for tonight's winner - but thanks to Anna​ and the team for some top suggestions too ;) ) we headed out into another warm, sunny June evening.

Next week we're Columbia Road-bound for an SOS, sandpit-emptying task at a local school. Do join if you can!

Until then.