GoodGym Merton hit the ground running (and cycling!) tonight for a fantastic session at Wimbledon Guild. A small group run, a couple of enthusiastic cyclists, and a determined solo runner made their way to the task to clear the area.

Armed with gloves and garden tools, what followed was an impressive flurry of weeding, and chopping back bushes that left almost three sides of the building transformed. Eight bags of green waste and a mighty pile of branches - not too shabby for a mid-week session.

The hard work didn’t go unrewarded. A sweet surprise in the form of cake gave everyone a well-earned boost before heading off. Thanks Jon for having us, we will be back in a few weeks.

A warm welcome to Jo - great job on smashing your very first GoodGym Merton task! Also to Jon for signing up as a member and a big cheer for Audrey, who’s now added the home team badge to her group sessions milestone. Lovely to have you all with us!

Next week is a big one with two group sessions and our 6-month anniversary social - plenty of chances to get your GoodGym fix. Whether you're a regular or visiting from afar, we'd love to see you at one, some, or all of the sessions so do come join the fun!

Monday: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/wwf-x-goodgym-merton-help-with-various-outdoor-jobs-at-the-squirrels-community-scrap-scheme-hut

Wednesday, training task: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/induction-session-ahead-of-supporting-friends-of-raynes-park-station-with-jobs-at-the-station-ccdf0c6d-e37c-4f5d-97e9-3def6b3cb096 followed by task: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/help-friends-of-raynes-park-station-with-moving-compost social: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/celebrating-six-months-of-goodgym-merton

8 goodgymers represting Kingston, Merton and Wandsworth during this bank holiday weekend took time to drop off items for their local food bank to help those that struggle in their vicinity.

The GoodGym services of Jade, Caroline, Mike, Rachael and Rufu arrived promptly at Raynes Park Station for their induction journey.

First stop: orientation around the embankment. Next stop: a very warm welcome by the station master including a guided tour of the site, where important protocols were delivered with first-class clarity. Safety briefing highlights included a firm reminder: do not cross the yellow line and tracks are strictly off-limits!

With minds focused and spirits on track, we mapped out our future route for moving compost/soil which will hopefully go some way towards choo-choosing the best plan of action for our upcoming return visit.

Tonight, Jade and Peter were on hand to support with the clean-up post distribution and pre Easter. With the eggs-tra pair of hands there was time to attack the often-neglected nooks and crannies behind the storage boxes. Armed with a vacuum and determination, a proper behind-the-scenes refresh was completed after a hands-on sort-through of cartons, egg boxes, and miscellaneous bits and bobs.

This week's group session had the team pedalling into action to support Full Cycle with a hands-on task that wheely put our teamwork to the test. The mission? Clear out the side of the building - a tight, dark alleyway crammed with wheel rims, old bikes, and a jungle of brambles.

We formed a human chain to tackle the task, shifting rims, tangled bikes, and debris whilst clearing, sweeping and snipping. The overgrown brambles were quite an eye sore for some but the real challenge was carefully restacking everything back into the space, making it some what more accessible. Definitely a bit different to some of the usual tasks at this community project and what better way to spend an hour; a game of bike-themed Tetris in a confined space where we found plenty of energy to complete the challenge.

Congratulations to Luke who was debuting his new black t.shirt!