The Maiden with Swans is a much-loved and iconic sculpture on Ray Mill Island created by Eunice Goodman and donated to the Island in 1988. Over the years she has suffered some damage, with holes appearing in her base which has let in water and debris. She has also lost her original bronze colour, and the Friends wanted to try and restore her to her former glory. A local creative artist Richard Grant offered to carry out the renovations but needed some extra pairs of hands to help out. Nivi and Sheila helped out on the first morning together with a couple of other volunteers. First job was to brush down the sculpture, getting rid of as much of the debris as possible, including scooping out all the muck from inside the base. The stonework around the sculpture was taped off and then it was time for a chemistry lesson. Two chemicals were mixed together vigorously, poured down paper tubes positioned in holes in the base, and after a few minutes they expanded to form a structural polyurethane foam and left to harden. Fascinating! Sheila returned on the afternoon of day 2 to find the base fully stabilised and repaired, and one of the swans painted with bronze resin. The next job was to rub down the rest of the sculpture, brush it down and clean with acetone before painting. By the end of the afternoon the second Swan had been finished as well as the Maidenhead seal. It was fascinating to be part of the project and contribute to the restoration of this beautiful statue

A creative team of Goodgymers joined forces with Friends of Raymill Island to brighten up and enhance the fun pavement games we had created a few weeks before.

A full dozen of us gathered on Raymill Island and welcomed Ailsa for her first Goodgym session, it was great to have such a large group from both teams.

Our job was two-fold tonight, first re-paint what we had created last time to make the colours pop again and secondly to create some more fun activities for visitors to play! We split ourselves up and some took on the previous creations of, wiggly worms, walking the stem, popping bubbles and hopscotch and gave them a new sparkle! Others helped to create the new bright rainbow, paint the letters of the alphabet, add ladybirds to the hopscotch and paint plasters to the tree roots (to show we were helping to mend and give new life to the island).

It was great fun and everyone brushed up well together to bring the creations to life. Well Done All!

Ten of us joined fellow GGer and task owner Nivi at Ray Mill Island on a perfect summer evening. Our task was to paint some murals on the paths to make them pop!

Some got going with cleaning the path for the artwork, while others chose what they wanted to draw from various drawings that Nivi had chosen. Chalks and paints in hand, the more skilled ones drew out the murals, some tested their drawings for accuracy (see the hopscotch-ers), and then everyone joined in with paints and brushes.

Universally hailed as the most fun task in a long time, it was hard to pull people away from it. Some stayed back a bit longer to finish their handiwork.

Nivi and Sheila got stuck in to some creative tasks at Ray Mill Island. Nivi continued painting the mural at the rear of the toilet block, adding water lilies and dragonflies. It's looking fantastic, and really brightens up this area. Sheila put together some hand-painted signs advertising the bird trail, so that they can be hung from a tree. We are gearing up for the 1st birthday party for the Friends at the beginning of July, when we hope that as many people as possible can join us to celebrate the transformation that has been made to this area.

Welcome to James who joined us for his first Goodgym task.

A couple of hours were well spent doing various tasks. James and Jen tackled tidying up and deweeding around the pots before then fetching some soil from the compost area to help Shoshan repot some plants.

Meanwhile Michael joined Tara and Nivi with moving logs.

Four GoodGymers gathered at Ray Mill Island to help the Friends with their ongoing project to transform the area into a more welcoming and biodiverse place. Today's task was to continue with the dry hedging which is separating off an area which has been sown with wildflowers. Various old branches had been collected which we added to the hedge, and some stronger, more flexible hazel branches were woven over the top to help hold everything in place. We also planted a small oak tree in the area which we hope will one day grow as big as the copper beech which is on its way out (but is still a treasure trove of biodiversity) We all learned some new skills. The last job was to water the recently- planted areas - Mick using the hose, and Sheila making use of the Thames water whilst not falling in!

Four GoodGymers joined other volunteers at Ray Mill Island to continue the great works to transform the area. Nivi worked on painting the mural, adding some lovely green bushes to the scene. Mick worked hard on removing the winter heliotrope from the rockery. Not an easy task as the plant puts out hundreds of rhizomes which all need removing, as well as there being lots of rocks under the surface. Rachel and Sheila were planting Lily of the Valley and Heuchera plants which had been donated by a local gardener and transported across the Thames on a paddleboard! The next task was to water the plants in - water was acquired by dipping our trugs into the stream whilst trying not to fall in! Mission accomplished! We then joined Mick at the rockery, and helped plant some Japanese anenomes in the space he had cleared. Afterwards we enjoyed delicious ginger cake provided by the lovely Rachel, and herbal tea from Tara. Another productive session

On the warmest day of the year so far, Mick, Nivi and Sheila helped out at Ray Mill Island. Sheila potted up some lavender cuttings and violets, which were handed over to Nivi. She set about fundraising, asking the park users for donations in exchange for the pots of plants or wildflower seeds. This will enable the Friends to buy more plants to further enhance this beautiful spot. Sheila moved on to sign-painting to ask the public to keep off newly-planted areas, while Mick weeded one of the beds and planted it up with celandine. A few trugs full of water gave the plants a good soaking and hopefully keep them going until the rain comes

On International Rewilding Day, the Friends of Ray Mill Island hosted an all-day workparty with 40 corporate volunteers from the Active Learning Group. Goodgym were invited to come along for the afternoon session and after sampling some cake from the Handmade Cake Company and our very own star-baker Rachel, we got straight down to work. Sheila K joined the corporate volunteers clearing the over-grown paths, followed by planting up an area with ferns, Tiarella and Periwinkle. Sheila A helped our local tree expert Martin Woolner put up painted signs which had been prepared by the volunteers in the morning, labelling the trees with their name. It took a bit of trial and error to work out how to hang the signs securely without damaging the trees. After a group photocall with the Maidenhead Advertiser Sheila A then joined Rachel who had been sanding one of the picnic tables. We set to work, treating it with preservative . A lovely afternoon, in some brilliant spring sunshine, and so much was achieved with an enthusiastic group of people