The Parkwood springs lantern festival is a yearly celebration of the community, bringing in light, fire, drums, fun and joy to this beacon of the cityscape.

Friends of Parkwood Springs organise the event, with the participation of super creative lantern makers.

This year the theme was "under the sea" and us Goodgymers - Celine, Ellie, Michael and Joseph - were tasked with helping to carry the fish from the top of the hill - the old beacon - back down to the playing fields at the end of the procession.

Welcome to Michael whose first Goodgym good deeds it was!

I did not know it would be so much more fin, sorry fun!

First of all the big fish was biiig! it was about 5 metres from nose to tail of gloriously stunningly bright colours, with even an articulated head and tail.

Then, after a long drum roll from the famous Sheffield samba band, its belly was opened upwards on both sides to reveal ... a shadow puppet theatre!

To the delight of what felt like hundreds of children, an impromptu puppet show was performed by the children coming behind the scenes and moving shadow puppets on the screen; it felt like gently organised chaos, and all children who wanted to take part took part, sometimes multiple times!

When the procession left the beacon, we waited for all to have left so we could safely carry the fish - a mere 9 people! - down the slope, avoiding the trees as best we could.

A very successful festival!

It was bitterly cold this afternoon at Parkwood Springs, but dry at least. 3 Goodgymmers braved the cold on our bikes along with lots of local families to help plant a new hedgerow. We got the lowdown from Treemendous Tim of Kids Plant Trees - most of the planting had been done in the morning session, so we left the remaining planting to the children and turned to a very familiar task - woodchipping! We trundle back and forth with barrows and trugs until all the planted whips had a good layer of nutritious mulch, getting a good strength workout in the meantime and just about keeping warm!

There was plenty of Friends of Volunteers getting on with various pruning, weeding and hacking back tasks. I helped clear lots of marjoram from the main flower bed and rather than compost it all I decided to drop a large bag off to Pipers Artisan Sausages to see if he could use it. Also seabuckthorne fruits are out now.

We joined Friends of Parkwood Springs in their monthly community volunteer day in the Forest Garden. Spring had really sprung. Gooseberries, goji berries, wild garlic, violets and fig trees were all planted. Bind weed was weeded out and a crowded plum tree was pruned. Cups of tea and lots of expert advice from Tim. Lovely morning!

Two GGers, Caroline and Rachel headed up once again to the lovely forest garden at Parkwood Springs.

I'm always amazed at how much I can learn with Goodgym. We learnt:

• the differences between male and female Seabuckthorn and that many people make the mistake of buying just the female, but then don't get fruit if there's no male nearby
• Filbert is similar to Hazel. It has catkins (the male part), and tiny flowers that look like a sea anemone (the female plant) on the same branch. Because they had both they're hoping to get some nuts (although the squirrels will probably get them all!)
• the intricacies of pruning blackcurrant bushes
• the gossip about the new Parkrun starting up
• much more besides!

Lovely spot, lovely people, lovely snacks! We'll be back again soon

Two goodgymers joined the dedicated Friends of Parkwood Springs in the permaculture garden to prune the fruit trees and blackcurrant bushes.

We should see the “fruit” of our labour this summer!

It’s not all hard work though as we always break for hot drinks and homemade bakes; this time we were serenaded by 2 robins establishing their territory with bird song.

What a gorgeous place!