It was wonderful to see quite a few signed up, some last minute sign ups and easily persuaded GoodGymer's joining us at a brand new task in Deptfod.

We didn't really know what was in store for us but what we did find was an amazing community garden tucked away from the street. I'm not sure you'd know it was there unless you were in the know.

There was plenty of tasks for us to get stuck into and our hosts were very excited to have us there. Once we divided up tasks, we all got stuck in. There was the standard alkinet removal, digging up some plants, sweeping up leaves, clearing under some bushes and then last but not least, sitting on a yellow chair to fill the buckets with water.

That leads me to mentioning it was Mo's last group run before his move to Geneva. We celebrated with some swiss rolls! We'll miss you Mo and thank you for all your hard work. You've been a big part of the group!

8 Greenwich GoodGymers made their way to St Alfege Primary School Community Garden in Greenwich this evening.

Our task was simple: clearing as many weeds as possible... Our main target was the raised beds, which since our last visit have been planted with crops including beetroot and some impressively large radishes. The makings of some great salad there! So keeping the weeds from taking over in these areas is key.

We also made a start on clearing a larger area of overgrowth which required a bit more digging and getting to the root of the matter. We were very impressed by the gardens grapevines, beautifully draping over a pergola area, the perfect spot for a group photo.

(Mean)time got away with us, and it was time for a quick water for the plants and a little post-session social for us, where conversation was slightly overwhelmed by the bells of St Alfege Chuch. Weeding bells indeed.

Welcome back to Olga for her second group run with us!

Next week we're back at the Prince Philip Maritime Museum - see you then!

15 GoodGym Barnet members took part in this year’s Big Butterfly Count (18 July–10 August), adding our sightings to the UK-wide citizen science survey. I managed three counts myself—numbers were low in my patches, so I’m keen to see the national results.

Butterflies are brilliant indicators of environmental health, helping scientists track the effects of climate change, habitat loss, and pollution. Early reports suggest a good year for gatekeepers, red admirals, and peacocks, plus a UK first—the southern small white fluttering in from southern Europe!

Citizen science is easy, fun, and open to all—you don’t need to be a runner or an expert. Next year, let’s get even more people involved: friends, family, neighbours… the more counts, the better the data.

Thanks to everyone who took part—your 15 minutes really can help protect our environment.

🦋 Count them, love them, protect them.

The lovely Friends of Luxmore Gardens attempted to play down the amount of weeding needed when we got there - it looks more weedy than it actually is.

So nine of us set out to prove them right - our numbers swelled by Conall who was doing his very first GoodGym good deed. Despite a heavy downpour the weeds were moved to a large compost pile. There was even time to move a logs into a location where they can be used for sitting.

Despite the rain it was a really enjoyable task - hopefully we'll see Conall again soon.