Not a bad-sized group for this evening's task, joining the wonderful Trees for Streets team for the second time.

But first, the workout...

Team GG showed up early in pretty St Stephen's Green a little earlier than our Task Owners, to enjoy a short workout (and few Cadburys Heroes). We sped through some slow-out-fast-back shuttle runs; endless squat variations and speed skating, and other lower body warm-ups, before handing over to the brilliant Lizzie and Simeon for tonight's intro and instructions.

Armed with A3 maps, highlighters galore and the best local knowledge going, we were soon divided into three teams, over two Bow wards.

Those brush letterboxes

It was a busy evening out on these bustling East London streets but we all managed to blitz our areas: no letterbox too tough; no dog bark too ferocious, no street too long. We did good.

And it was really great to get the opportunity to chat to residents, some of whom opened their front doors (mainly those who heard us wrestling with those pesky brush letterboxes), to come out and find out what all the fuss was about: "Trees, I tell you, it's all about the trees"

We arranged to meet back at the Lord Morpeth after 8, to compare our leftover leaflet stash; flyering anecdotes, pics and post-task plans.

Well. Done. All.

What a team.

A huge shout-out to Simon, who not only took the reins at dividing up all those many streets into teams, but who's also just became the most recent member of our Task Force. Amazing stuff.

And to Charlotte who took some great pics, and to all those who showed up to this step-heavy, productive task tonight.

Until next week, folks.

It was a decent sized group in the end who gathered to meet Lizzie and Simeon from the Trees for Streets team.

The sun put in appearance; the Museum Gardens looked beautiful, the project interesting, and then brought beautifully to life by Simeon and Lizzie.

Why trees on streets matter

We started with an explanation about Trees for Streets: why we were there; the role of the lowly tree, and how more of them can benefit our beautiful borough. We learned about how the scheme is one of sponsorship, in partnership with the council, and how multiple households can club together for a tree to make this doable and affordable for all.

All a-ward!

Then the serious business of the leafleting strategy was revealed: divided up into two wards, using our local knowledge of house-filled streets, we were divided into teams, along with highlighters and maps and dispatched to five areas of Bow and Bethnal Green.

We blitzed road after road, chatting to interested residents along our way. Those who headed further East managed to get a bit more running in, ending up with a decent step count for the day.

Mine's a flat white

We arrived back at base at 8 (some of us, who insisted on squeezing in "just that last half a street" a little after). And so the remaining leaflets were carefully laid out in team piles on our weighing bench where our flawless, highly sensitive adjudication system ascertained the thinnest pile was indeed Team Stepney, consisting of just a two-man effort of Johnny and Leo. What work. The lucky team won a £20 voucher for the lovely Chiringuito summer meeting spot, to help fuel a future Flat White Saturday for the boys.

The after-party

We posed for some winning team pics, savoured the last of tonight's Cadbury's Heroes, before bidding farewell to Lizzie and Simeon, with some of the thirsty leafleters heading off for a post-task beer.

Well done, team. Massive congratulations on finding the perfect streets, covering multiple miles, turning out on a warm, free August Monday to get on board with this splendid scheme.

Until next time.

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.