If darkness hadn't quite fallen by the time we arrived at Sivill House, it was certainly teetering over the edge. There was some illumination from the estate lights, and people brought head torches, but our main concern was the effect of the gloomy conditions on those all-important task photos!

Task owner and GoodGymer Ed directed us to a very large pile of woodchip which had been donated to Columbia TRA. It was happily sitting in the car park, but it really needed to be in the gardens, the other side of the estate. It didn’t look too large a pile, until we realised how far back it went…

Still, we had five wheelbarrows, plenty of shovels and bags, and most importantly a 17-strong squad of GoodGymers. It felt like a real workout as we persuaded the reluctant woodchip to separate from the security of its pile, to a new life – mulching! This technique suppresses weeds, conserves soil moisture, insulates plant roots and improves soil health and fertility. Yes, we’ve enabled all those things!

A special welcome to newcomers Angelique and Ryan, who really threw themselves into the task. Hope to see you back soon! And thanks to Fiona who took some good photos after all!

Despite the darkness, the night was still young as we headed off, with a suggestion that one of the task owners had invited us to the pub. We didn’t know where we were supposed to go, so after wandering around for a bit, four of us headed for the Royal Oak to congratulate ourselves on all our good work

We were back at the Hollybush Estate this evening, rolling up our sleeves (and working up a sweat!) as we helped Margaret and Ash shift mulch from Middleton Green over to Rocky Park. Teamwork made light work of those heaping barrow-loads, and we definitely got our steps in along the way. 💪🌱

A big shout-out and warm welcome to Ciarán, who joined us for his very first GoodGym session, thank you for jumping straight in and lending such great energy! It was also fantastic to catch up with John, Charlie, Ivo, Lucinda, and Martin, so good to see you back after a little while away. And of course, we can’t forget our four-legged cheerleaders, Basil and Wicket, who kept spirits high with their wagging tails. 🐾

On an exciting note, you may have seen that GoodGym was recently named one of the winners of Sky’s Zero Footprint Fund 🎉, which will help us share our sustainable mission even further. As part of the project, we’ll be creating a TV ad to air next spring. We’re planning to be back at Hollybush Estate this Sunday (28th) at 10:30 AM to film some content for the commercial. If you’re free, come along and be part of something special, we’d love to have as many of you there as possible!

We absolutely love welcoming new faces to GoodGym, so it was a total pleasure to have Emma and Duran along to their first session - great to have you join us!

We were back at a much loved community centre in the middle of an estate near Vauxhall. It is used for support groups, residents' celebrations and classes, but it has been in need of a glow up for some time. The residents association asked for our help and we have had been there for two previous sessions to give it a good lick of paint.

The end was in sight - there was only one wall to give a first coat and the rest needed its second coat. So we wasted no time grabbing brushes and getting to work. Kamil and Emily took on one massive wall, while Martin and Duran both tackled some technical areas. There was plenty of chat about upcoming races, why missions are so rewarding, countries who have changed the legal side of the road for cars, and...lime bikes!

Before we knew it the time had flown by - and we were tantalisingly close. One more session and the transformation will be complete. Great work everybody.

Apologies for the spectacular photo fail of our huge job from me - I must have been distracted by the transformation (or paint fumes?!) to take any more exciting snaps than one of a beige wall!

Will be having a session every single Tuesday evening at different community organisations across Westminster, so watch this space for the next one (I'm away next Tuesday, but normal service will be resumed the week after!