The second instalment of the "Operation Pond" at The Grange Primary School saw an influx of GoodGym forces, with four Ealing regulars: Steph Ducat, Sevan, Afshin and Kash, a frequent Hounslow guest: Maxime, and three faces new to Ealing: Ines, Breda and Libi. For Libi, it was her very first GoodGym session, and she welcomed the opportunity with a constant smile.

Nova, the school's garden club teacher and the lead of the mini wetlands centre project, had several tasks today for the GoodGymers, volunteers, parents and children who joined the Saturday afternoon session. Breda, Libi, and later Sevan were digging the grass around the pond and transforming the slightly overgrown area into flowerbeds and even one raised bed, which suddenly materialised in the middle of the session (thanks to one crafty volunteer). They planted a variety of flowers and herbs, daffodils, wild garlic and spinach. Maxime was busy with a general tidy-up, litter picking, raking and wheelbarrowing leaves to the faraway compost pile, and lending a hand in multiple side-quests he kept discovering.

The biggest operation that needed the most volunteers was, of course, the pond. We were surprised to see that it was filled with some water again. Maybe it shouldn't have been so unexpected, given the recent weeks of rainy days. Armed with buckets, we quickly dried the pond to a reasonable degree, pouring the water into a tank and then into a drain on the playground. A couple of youngsters joined in, guided by their parents, and we were amazed by their enthusiasm and determination.

Between our first and second sessions at the Grange Primary School, Nova had secured several half-tonne bags of donated material for filling the pond. Gravel, sandy soil and topsoil were one ingredient for making the pond shallower. The second ingredient was the muscle. Ines, Afshin, Steph, Sevan and Kash, together with one super-strong volunteer, were shovelling the dirt, carrying bucketloads of earth, dragging and tipping really heavy bags, and moving the soil to shape a smaller pond with less steep banks. Then they moved the soil again. And again. It was hard graft, but eventually they carved a neat, muddy bowl and covered it with a liner. The other half of the old pond, which would become its own project, was separated from the new pond with a barricade made of tyres.

That was the point where we stopped, as we had run out of material to continue filling the basin and ideas on how to further improve the pond at that point. Nova was pleased with the result today, and mentioned she'd be keen to host another session with GoodGymers once she secures additional funding for the mini wetlands centre.

GoodGym is nothing if not varied - and that's what keeps it interesting! One week we can be delivering leaflets through hidden culs-de-sac for Wild Chiswick in the icy rain and the next we're assembling no fewer than seven different flat packs ranging from kitchenettes to toddler trampolines!

GoodGym Hounslow really put its collective skills into use last night when we ran to Chiswick methodist Church to help with a flat pack assembly job like no other. This community hub is home to various groups, including the Stroke club, baby and toddler groups and youth activities. Carol, who manages the space, had a huge construction job for us.

This included a mini kitchen, a trampoline, massive media station, two sets of shelves, a baby climbing frame and a decorative arch. It was a true team building exercise, and without any delay, we split into four groups to tackle each kit.

Tish and Beth proved themselves to be experts in shelf-improvement, while Beatrix, Jon and Ariane had a little bounce in their step as they expertly put together the trampoline. Michelle, Steph, Maxime and Luis proved there is no such thing as too many cooks as they created a beautiful kitchen, while Breda, Florian and Kymm were in pole position creating a table arch. Chris alternated between a power drill and an unfeasibly large allen key making sure media stations and climbing frames alike passed all health and safety checks.

Unbelievably, within 45 minutes all flat packs were constructed and put away. Great work everybody, you've more than earned yourself a plate of Swedish meatballs.

If that wasn't challenge enough, we took advantage of the nice warm indoor space to do a quick but intense core session that featured corkscrews, reverse crunches, plank jumps and sprinter crunches. Abs-olutely smashed it, team!

There's no denying that last night was a bit of a damp squib - but in true GG Hounslow style we made the most of the rainy evening. We grabbed every piece of waterproof clothing we could find (including Gus' fetching plastic trousers), headed out into the drizzle and met with Jo from Wild Chiswick to spread the word about hedgehog habitats.

The last time we delivered leaflets in a different area of Chiswick to let people know what they can do in their gardens to protect the hedgehogs, the charity received three enquiries before the evening was out - so the task has a proven track record of effectiveness. We tried to bear this in mind as we did the rounds of the sodden culs-de-sac!

There have been growing numbers of hedgehogs spotted in the area but it's crucial we do everything we can to help them thrive. They are in decline in Britain and are now listed as vulnerable on Britain's red list of mammals, with numbers falling by up to 30% in urban areas and 50% in rural areas. Wild Chiswick want to let people know what they can do and have volunteers who travel round the area to create hedgehog runs through peoples' gardens so they can find the food sources they need.

After 40 minutes of damp delivering we decided to call it a night and made a run for hot tea, warm pubs and to see if the local water supply had been switched back on - fingers crossed!

Next week the weather is meant to be quite chilly so thankfully we have an indoor task at Chiswick Methodist Church - see you there for a rare toasty task!