A small group gathered on the steps of the Town Hall Hotel tonight before our task on the pretty Parkview Estate.

It was a gorgeous evening to sit and have a quick chat, soaking up the sun and discussing what we'd be doing that evening.

Setting out along Old Ford Road, we headed up leafy Approach Road, turning into Sewardstone Road, only to be greeted by task owner Catherine and young Liam, who were just heading out to meet us in the Community Garden.

Joined by fellow resident Seb, we were briefed on tonight's task: watering rather thirsty young fruit trees in-and-around the estate.

The estate gardens are large, and enjoyed by many residents, particularly those without their own gardens.

Adding fruit trees to the estate has meant residents also get to enjoy some edible produce (we were approached by several young residents this evening, keen to let Catherine know they'd tried some of the raspberries grown on the estate!).

With three teams tackling the whole of the estate, a lot was accomplished in a short space of time.

Danya, Esme and Seb headed off first to the areas of the Estate near Old Ford Road; Rosie, Catherine, Liam and I headed off to the fruit trees behind Sewardstone Road, while Heather and Martin remained in the community garden, watering each and every tree and plant!

We switched teams and trees every so often on meeting back in the garden to fill cans, bucket and barrows with water, pleasantly surprised at what a good little workout this task was proving to be.

We finished on Sewardstone Road, gathered around what appeared to be an exceedingly thirsty silver birch, before making our way back to the garden, stacking watering cans and buckets, and posing one final picture.

We said our cheerios, promising to return soon.

A really good start to the week.

Next week, we head around the corner to the Cranbrook Community Garden, to help Janet and Eileen with another grand gardening task.

Until then.

It was a nice-sized team who came together to help the Parkview Planting Team tonight.

A toasty 28 degrees didn’t deter team members from gathering for a run, cycling and walking their way to this enjoyable task.

We were joined for the warm-up and run/cycle to the task by our Chi, who we haven’t seen for ages, and whose presence is always a wonderful surprise and addition.

What were we doing and why?

The Parkview TRA is an active, committed small group of volunteers who help keep this large estate running smoothly. Committed to supporting the environment, maintaining a healthy green space for all residents and caring for the gardens of those residents unable to tend to them themselves, they can always use a hand from a productive, energetic group of GoodGymers.

And so to the briefing…

Gathering in the Community Garden at 7pm, Catherine and Liam instructed different teams to different tasks, along with new task owner, Seb.

Teams spread out all over the estate, wheeling multiple full buckets and watering cans to young trees who don’t appreciate the absence of rain as much as we do.

Runners also popped a few plants into the ground on their way round, and a dedicated team remained in the garden to plant dozens of new baby plants for the resident plant giveaway! It was here we learned from Sara that baby plants can appreciate a little light massage, along with the correct technique!

As always, the time flew by and it was soon 8pm and we were returning barrows and buckets to the Community garden; hosing down trestle tables and figuring out the best location for our final pic.

Fantastic work, everyone!

Shout-outs from tonight’s task

• To Kellie, who recently joined our Task Force, and will be joining us in future Group Runs to learn the ropes.

• To Chris and Sam who led the running group back to base post-task.

• To Sam, who joined us again from Southwark, and who reminded us that we will be playing a seasonal game of rounders again this Saturday, from 4pm in Victoria Park.

And next week…

…we return to the Meath Gardens watering task.

Until then.

Rain, rain, go away

When the heavens opened shortly after 6pm, it was assumed tonight's turn out would suffer. But no, not with the GG TH crew.

From 6:30pm, runners started to arrive at our gorgeous hotel meeting spot, safely tucked away in a warm, dry room, securely storing belongings and admiring crisp white bed linen.

We left for our task meeting point at 6:48 and arrived at 6:53. Impressive! We were speedy, we were a bit drenched and we were very happy to see our fellow GoodGymers.

Two teams, two tasks

We kicked off with a quick hello from Sam, our Area Activator in Southwark who was joining us for the evening, and reminding us about the upcoming rounders social in the middle of June. Sam then led half the team to the task to the Parkview Estate where the team spent over an hour watering (yes, they still needed it, despite the rain) new trees and plants, lovingly planted by...us and committed members of the TRA. The task was led by Catherine and young son Liam, who always loves picking GoodGymers brains on many different subjects.

Meanwhile, over at the Cranbrook Estate, the team of 8 were busy cutting back hedges, trees, gathering leaves and litter aaand...putting up bunting. Of course. It was a busy old 75 minutes. Luckily the rain stopped fairly on during the evening, and we were able to enjoy this decent gardening workout to a backdrop of the sun peeking through the clouds as we approached 8:15 and the end of the task.

A small group made their way back to the Hotel to gather belongings, while the rest of the team headed straight home, glad to have made it out on this damp Monday night, reconnecting with multiple communities, putting fitness to good use, and ending the day with a sense that the week had got off to a good start.

Until next time.

Catherine at the Glasshouse had a delivery of baby plants - but they urgently needed to be planted. So who's she going to call? GoodGym of course!

With less than 48 hours notice, she had four of us on site, willing and able to strip the covering from dozens of plants, insert them in flower-pots, and line up the pots in trays. Most of the estate's residents haven't got gardens, so they'll now have a chance to "grow their own".

And that wasn't all - we filled buckets of water from a hose, to provide much needed irrigation to two large trees (which we made earlier), much to the gratitude of one resident.

Catherine's son Liam, a big fan of GoodGym, was even on hand with "food" provision, though the earth, twigs and stones on offer weren't the most appetising.

We always knew it was going to be a good one.

When Catherine of the Parkview Estate got in touch to ask for a hand planting two fruit trees, we were pleased to say the least.

It’s been a while since we visited this pretty, large estate that borders Victoria Park, and so we were delighted to be heading back to this well populated area, served excellently by a committed TRA, including Catherine and her family.

And into teams it was...

Teams were soon divided, with a larger group digging the holes for the trees (and uncovering all sorts of treasure in the process); another team was tasked with filling barrows with compost, while another, unrelated-tree-team were dispatched to clear a large-ish roadside bed of weeds.

It was all go.

Assisted by Catherine, husband Des, and son Liam, the team dug, planted, shovelled, wheeled and watered for well over an hour. It was tough, it was pretty tiring and it was a tremendous task.

We congregated in front of the community food garden after 8, to drop trowels and say our cheerios.

A brilliant night was had by all.

We can’t wait to return and the shout-out’s go to all this week.

(…But especially to our Leo, who last week headed back to the Kedleston Community Centre, the night after our great Monday night task, to address the TRA about the activity GoodGym have been involved with at the Teesdale and Hollybush Estate over the years.​

This was a much appreciated contribution, and one that Leo offered to participate in very generously at the last minute. Leo was presented with a certificate to thank us for joining in. Way to go, everyone).

And as for next week, keep your eyes peeled for next week’s task, details of which are being finalised as we speak…

Until then.

Amazing gardening work from Team TH this evening.

Yes, a sturdy crew of 15 helped Catherine de-weed the large Parkview Estate, of thistles, bindweed, and just about every other menace to a garden you can imagine.

How it started

We met in our current meeting location to the East of Victoria Park, where we separated into two groups: a small team headed out on a shorter, more leisurely lap of the park, while Chris, for the second week running, took out a bigger team on a much longer loop.

What we did

We gathered together by the community garden, where Catherine had prepared maps and Weed Teams (more wholesome than it sounds) before we all made our way to our respective corners of the garden.

It was thistle-y, it was tough...We dug, we tugged, we loaded, we binned. It was a humid one too, so more pats on the back to tonight's team.

The time flew by, and soon we were posing for a final couple of pics, before Catherine led us through several relaxation and grounding exercises, the theme being 'letting-go-of-the-day', along with any unforeseen difficulties (yes, unexpected adversities, we're looking at you).

...And how it ended

A team then headed off to the pub, for a cooling drink and a chat - a great way to start the week.

Next week, we're two-tasking it: yep, we're at Hollybush cutting back more overgrowth of the Family Area and heading to Meath Gardens for a litter-pick and weeding. It's all go.

Until then, have a really good week.