Charly and Ben went along to Peel Park to help out David for their regular session tidying up the green space 🌳🍃

First thing was clipping and weeding a small hedge near the flood mark monument (8' 6'' back on November 16th 1866!) to remove thistles and to keep it tidy.

We then weeded and removed much of the deadwood from the beds in the centre of the park, all whilst removing any litter that we came across. Lots of Lambs ear (Stachys byzantina) was removed to prevent it taking over in some areas, and drain gutters were cleared as much as possible of weeds 🌱

Good to meet the other volunteers too! In 90 min, we completed what we could and headed for cover before the Salford rain arrived 🌧

Welcome to Uzondu for his first GoodGym Manchester outing this evening! 👏

Today we were tasked with brushing and scraping down the metal fence and gate at Ladybarn Community Hub. Charly, Uzondu, and Ben walked or ran to help them out.

With metal brushes, cloth, and wearing eye protection (safety first), we made steady work with Dr Coull, one of the trustees, to remove the top layer and flaking paint from the fence. Charly made the first step in getting paint onto the fence, a fetching black colour, closely followed by the others 🎨🖌

With people each side, and others filling in as we went, the fence was quickly covered in a fresh black shine, managing to completely cover the fence and gate, leaving out the musical note 🎵 on the gate.

Once a hastily written Wet Paint sign had been attached, we cleared up a bit, washed hands, and made our way home.

Really active local community group with lots of sessions and initiatives for local people, and a well kept garden and pond. We hope to be back again, perhaps to paint more of the fence or with other tasks.

Charly and Ben met up in Manchester city centre to embark on a litter picking trail through some of the green spaces in Ardwick 🌳

After a short run to Gartside Gardens, we made a lap of the park, picking up litter as we went. In the high winds, lots of apples 🍎 were scattered around the park from a couple of apples trees 🌳 After filling a sack of rubbish 🗑 and enlisting the help of locals, we moved up to the Hanworth Close allotments, where we found lots of discarded clothes, condoms, butchers dog food, and lots more besides.

More was to come, with the narrow ginnels, alleyways, and footpaths containing some fly tipping, including rugs, pillows, and several Barbie figures, but also the normal plastic bottles and tin cans 🥫🍶🧴

A final collection in the Groom St and Grosvenor St areas gave another few sacks of rubbish, making sure to empty any bottles that still contained liquid.

7 full sacks plus several other large items collected in all. Good collection from a few green sites, particularly following storm Floris.

Good session with Smithfield Garden Club, clearing lots of litter from an area near The Wheatsheaf in Northern Quarter 🚮

Welcome to Tyla for the first time, joining a bumper group for a rare Wednesday night task.

Louise and Phil were in charge with Robert, landlord at the Wheatsheaf, also lending an able hand. We got bag rings, gloves, bin bags, a makeshift sharps bin, and brooms with dustpan to do a loop of the area.

Some notable collections:

• battery 🔋
• mattress 🛏
• hoover
• various clothing 👖
• lots of broken bottles, glass, cans

We also trimmed one of the communal beds and had an introduction to the amazing work the local group had done to develop the area, including some of the planted areas that were looking good 🌳🌱🍃