It was a crisp frosty morning in Richmond. Some might have shied away from being out in -2 degrees, but not us. Led by our resident hardly Canadian, we set out to plant some trees! Midlands Hawthorne, and Black Thorne were the species we settled in to new surroundings. After the usual safety briefing – “Plant the tree too deep .. it will die! Plant the tree too shallow … it will die! If you get pricked by Black Thorne, and get sick.. tell you’re doctor!!” – we dug 50 muddy holes and planted out all the trees. Welcoming them to their new home, just near to Rosie’s duck pond, we headed off for coffee and to take in the amazing view from Richmond Hill. Welcome to Emma and Cameron doing their Second and First Goodgym tasks for Richmond! Nice to meet you guys!

And Emma added a message: Great to get outside and meet new people! Planted native trees in Petersham Common :)

Four Good Gymmers turned out on a nippy January Saturday morning to help continue work on a traditional hedgerow in Petersham.

Before starting, we welcomed Cat , who was taking part in her fourth Good Gym mission and her first in the Richmond area.

We were tasked by Ken to firstly trim back the brambles and with the help of cutting hedge tools we laid the trees and bashed in the posts to extend the hedgerow.

We will aim to be back soon to weave the branches in.

See link below for upcoming missions and tasks. https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions

Two GoodGymers turned up to plant a native hedgerow along the fence boundary of Petersham Common. The hedgerow is being planted to help soften the harsh urban fence to the ancient woodland and the National Nature Reserve to provide vital habitat for native songbirds, invertebrates and small mammals and improve the aesthetics of the woodland. The new fence that is being screened, was put up by the neighbours of the grade II listed Wick House property which was originally the home of Sir Joshua Reynolds, English Painter and the founder of the Royal Accademy of Arts. 550 native trees of Midlands hawthorn, field maple and blackthorn were planted to screen Joshua's fence. Now to let it grow.

0 trees on the wall, 760 trees on the wall. One GoodGymer turned up to plant them all. 759 trees on the wall 759 trees on the wall. One GoodGymer turned up to plant them all. 758 trees on the wall....repeat over and over again but now 637 trees on the wall....

Join me on Thursday to get incolved!

Setting off for a run outside a cosy pub on a rainy night may have a touch of insanity about it but when it's part of a group and you're off to do good, it's surprisingly possible!

This evening's 2km run took us through Richmond centre and out to Petersham Common, via many dark puddles to dodge! We met task owner Ken by Petersham Farm gates where he took us through the simple instructions to plant 300 native bluebell bulbs in the woodland, away from the paths. Between the lot of us the task was soon complete, even through the rain, and Ken shared out kit-kats for the team.

At the end of the session the cosy pub beckoned us back to Richmond and the 2km run back ended with a Taskforce meeting in the warmth. 🔥

A trip up the hills of Richmond for us last night, to build the foundations for a new horse trough at Petersham Common as part of 'Britain in Bloom'. Starting with a steady climb up over 2km, the running group arrived with task master Ken who had already dug a suitably sized hole and lined it.

How deep is your trough?

The group set to work emptying bags of MOT gravel into the hole which is a physical task given the size and weight of the bags. Meanwhile three people took on the task of reducing the mound behind the trough location to make it more level: shovelling is always a sweaty one!

I'm going to level with you...

After filling the hole with gravel, bags of sand were added on top that could be levelled out with a very large spirit level to lay the slabs on top. Overall a good bit of hard work for everyone and some active strength work that does good for the area. A final run back down the hill and into Richmond Town Centre finished off the evening well.