Welcome to Ashik for your first GoodGym outing! Great to meet you and look forward to seeing you again.

The last Saturday of the month is a regular slot for Ardwick Climate Action, so we joined Gordon, Dan, Zoe, and others for today's activities.

Today, our main task was to continue construction of a dead hedge at one of the green spaces maintained by Ardwick Climate Action. After a 10 minute stroll to the site near Mancunian Way, we split off with Tanoshi and Fanette clearing any litter, with 4 bags collected including some clothing and laughing gas canisters 🚮

Ashik and Ben went wood collecting, with lots of longer tree branches and chopped wood 🪵 As the wood piled high, others were using the stake basher to put long wooden stakes in the ground to help hold the dead hedge in place.

Bit by bit, we began filling in the wall of wood and sticks, with a nearby big broken branch providing lots of strong pieces to go into the hedge. Fanette took a battery chainsaw to some blackthorn (or hawthorn) to provide some extra filler too.

By midday, we'd reached as far as we could, and Ardwick Climate Action seemed very happy with the progress and quality of the build. After clearing up, we parted ways and look forward to returning for another task in future.

Welcome to Tanoshi for your first GoodGym outing!

Kudos to everyone today for getting out in the pouring rain 🌧 to help with pathway clearance at Albermarle allotments.

Hazel arrived bright and early so helped with moving some good-smelling woodchip before our main task could begin. One corner of the site, beyond a route known as bramble pathway, needed to be cleared to allow compost to be stored here and for access for allotment users 🌿

We had a range of tools including secateurs, loppers, saws, hoes, spades, plus power tools of a hedge trimmer, strimmers, and a chainsaw. The power tools proved very useful to remove and break up the larger clumps of brambles, while hand tools enabled the hedges to be trimmed back towards the fence. The trimmed brambles went in the green bins, other green clippings were composted 🌱

In just under 2 hours, we filled up countless green wheely bins, found the edge of the path, and endured many bramble pricks. With the pathway cleared and the rain getting much heavier, we headed for cover for a cup of tea and a biscuit, aiming to get out for another area, but with the rain becoming relentless, we called it a day.

Hope you all managed to get home to dry off and get warm! We'll likely have a monthly clearing task starting in the new year with the allotment group, so keep an eye out for that. Thank you Fanette and Hazel for the pics 📸!

Well done for getting out on a soggy Wednesday evening to run or jog their way around the 5 km city centre route, all to try and add to the charity total. The MCR 24 hr run events starts at midday on Wednesday to midday on Thursday with relay 5 km segments in between.

We signed up as a GoodGym group for the 19:20 wave, getting a good shout out and making sure not to slip on the trodden grass during the briefing and group photo.

Hazel and Laura went with the 40 minute group, and kudos to Hazel running their first 5 km continously! Fanette, Hannah, and Ben joined the 35 minute group.

With the rain, there were lots of puddles, slippery leaves, and hazards from passing vehicles, with a few of us getting a shower during the run. With so many running for a great cause, there were many smiles and a great atmosphere amongst all those taking part.

A few of us ran an additional lap at 8.20pm as the rain seemed to calm going into the evening

At time of writing, they had raised £50,345.54 so comfortably passing their target and last year's total.

More info and to donate

Big effort today for Hazel, Fanette, and Ben! 💪

Hils from Albermarle allotments needed 2 tonnes of top soil/compost shifting from the drop off location near the car park/main entrance to the community allotment site. This was no small task, not just given the amount and distance to cover, but also needing to lift it into the raised beds.

With various bags, several wheelbarrows, spades, and shovels plus David and Liz (?) as other volunteers from the site, we chipped away at the large bags of top soil.

As we approached half way, we had a break for tea, coffee ☕️, cake 🍰 and biscuits 🍪. The sugar boost and refreshment was much appreciated on a mild November day, and helped to spur us on with the task at hand.

Little by little, the piles got lower before we finally found the bottom of the bags and managed to wheel the remaining soil down to the community allotment site.

Top effort all round, and certainly a good arms, legs, and upper body workout with the shovelling and lifting. We're back on 6th December to help clear some of the pathways on the allotment site.