16 of us ran along to Alice Park to do some important maintenance work to the beautiful public space there. We spent a gorgeous and sunny evening running along the canal to paint some benches and sweep up the entrance to the park. We were really happy to run nearly 7km at a good pace.

Welcome Vicky and Kathryn!

We met at our usual spot outside the leisure centre, by the river. We had a good turnout tonight, including two new runners. We welcomed Vicky and Kathryn to their first run with GoodGym. Thanks for getting stuck in and helping us out last night! I hope you had fun and I hope you will be back to run with us again soon!

We took the scenic route along to Alice Park. We joined the canal path and ran by the water. It was a warm and sunny evening and we all enjoyed being outside. We paused at one point to gather our breath and managed to get some extra training in by doing some squats.

Our host, Tony, met us at the entrance to the park. Tony gave us an overview of the park and introduced the tasks for the evening. Our tasks revolved around maintaining and improving the facilities in the park. We broke into small teams to make sure we got everything done in the time we had!

We deserved a sanding ovation!

There were lots of small teams of runners painting benches. The benches are constantly exposed to the elements of English weather and haven't had a coat of paint in several years. First we sanded down the benches and then thoroughly painted them. We really let our inner-artists shine through!

We found that most of the benches drank up the paint really quickly, so we needed to give them several good coats of paint before we left. This was surprisingly more tiring that we first thought and we came away having done some good exercise.

What a sweep idea!

Several of our runners were on sweeping and tidying duty last night. The area around the cafe and entrance to the park needed a good sweep up. The area is used a great deal by community groups and all manner of leaves, rubbish and dirt builds up over time. We gave the area a thorough sweep and scooped up the rubbish for the bin. As well as making the park look tidier and appear cleaner this also makes the paths less slippery and safer for everyone to use.

I feel like we were going around in circles...

The park has recently had a circular path installed all the way around it. The path is exactly a third of a mile long and one of the purposes of the new path is to encourage more runners to come and train in the lovely outdoor space. Challenge accepted! We sent one of our speedier runners, Dan, for a lap around the path while were packing up the paint and paintbrushes. He just missed out on the course record (which is pretty good since he had been training earlier in the day and ran all the way there with us!).

We said goodbye to Tony (and his doggy, little Susie!) and thanked him for arranging for us to come along. There are plenty more opportunities for us to get involved and help improve the park so we will be back again soon, I am sure!

Goodbye, for now, Dan

We said goodbye to one of our regular runners, Dan, last night who is moving away from Bath. Thanks for all of your hard work and commitment over the past few years! Make sure to come back and visit us!

Upcoming runs

• This Saturday (25th May) we have been asked to clear a garden at a care home in Bath
• On Saturday 1st June we are gardening at Dry Arch Growers
• On Saturday 8th June there is a Community Mission to paint the children's section at Moorland Road Library
• On Saturday 8th June there is also a chance to help out at the Saltford Summer Festival
• Next week we are heading back to Alice Park to do some gardening!

15 of us ran to the Community Gardens maintained by Bath Organic Group. We did some composting and create a new bark chip path that ran around half of the garden. We had lots of fun being outdoors and were really pleased with how much work we got done.

Well done Alison!

We met outside the leisure centre and I shared the latest news with everyone. A massive well done Alison for running and doing so well in the St Illtyds Way Ultra Marathon at the weekend! I also shared a summary of a recent Community Mission where some of us ran to help set up Larkhall Community Festival. It was a lot of fun and we will be back to help them out again soon!

After a warm-up we were on our way. I lead the group through town and along Upper Bristol Road. It was a short run meaning we had more time for volunteering at the task.

We love gardening ... it really grew on us!

We met our host Tim at the gardens maintained by Bath Organic Group and he gave us an overview about the space. The garden has been running for nearly 30 years and is run completely by volunteers. They grow a variety of fruit and vegetables. Anyone is welcome to help improve and maintain the garden. They have volunteering sessions each week, on a Tuesday and a Saturday. They are a really friendly and welcoming group of volunteers who are always looking for more people to get involved.

Tim gave us an overview of our tasks for the evening and I split us into teams as we had lots of work do to!

A chip off the old block!

A big task was to create a new bark chip path around part of the allotment. There was some fantastic GoodGym team work on display here to make sure we managed to get the job done in time!

Taking a break with a rake!

Some of the volunteers were loading up wheelbarrows with chipping and whizzing them around to be laid. A team spent the evening weeding and clearing the path ready for the new chips. The final part in the production line was a team of volunteers using rakes and spades to shape and mould the new path on the newly-cleared ground.

We glove to do gardening tasks!

Our hard work here was really useful. The chipping makes the pathway clearer to people so they can see where to go (and to not accidentally walk over any plants!) and makes it safer than walking on the mud which can get slipper.y Also, the path makes the space seem much more tamed and reminds people that it is a tended community garden and not just a patch of land.

A big heap of work!

The other big task last night was sifting and working the compost heaps. There are several areas of the garden dedicated to creating compost to help the garden grow. One team worked on the compost bins by the entrance.

We learnt how there is roughly a 1-year lifecycle for the Bath Organic Group compost where any discarded vegetation usually takes 1 year to mulch down into usable compost. Our task, specifically, was to shift all of the most 'mature' compost into a separate container and separate out any roots and shoots into the 'less mature' container.

We managed to move an enormous amount of earth in a very short space of time and this means that other volunteers can focus on other areas of the garden when they next come to volunteer.

Many hands make light work!

Another composting team had a similar task of moving compost into a separate container. Their pile was sightly different in composition and it was a lot harder to dig in and shift the earth! Their target was to reach an elusive carpet which marked a dividing line between two different sections of compost. They didn't quite manage to work all the way down to the carpet but they got super close and managed to move a huge amount of earth!

Tim was really pleased with the hard work we had done and he very generously offered us some apple juice that was grown and pressed at their orchard last Autumn. In fact, it was made with apples that we helped to pick back at the end of last year! We appreciated the sugar boost for the run back home.

Thanks!

Thanks a lot to Tim and the volunteers at Bath Organic Group for organising for us to come down for this task. We will return! Thanks to Emma for backmarking for us and thanks to Una for the pun this week!

Upcoming runs

• On Sunday 26th May we are volunteering with The National Trust to help on the Bath Skyline Walk
• In June there is an exciting race in Cheddar Gorge that some of GG Bath have already signed up for
• In June we are also helping at the Saltford Festival
• Next week: we are painting furniture at St Johns Court

A massive group of 21 runners ran along the canal path to Cleveland Pools. We did lots of jobs to help keep the grounds clean and safe. It was really exciting to contribute towards a historic and important part of Bath! We ran 3km in total.

Welcome Anni!

We met outside the leisure centre and I gave the introduction talk. We welcomed Anni to her first GoodGym run. It was great to have you come and join us, we hope you come back again!

After a quick warm-up we were on our way. We took the scenic route and enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the canal path. I encouraged the runners to do some exercises by the side of the canal and we formed a conga line of walking lunges!

You don't pool me!

Our host, Sally, met us at the pools. The building and swimming areas at Cleveland pools date back to the Georgian period. In fact, it is the last surviving lido (outdoor swimming pool) that still exists in the UK. It fell into disrepair and hasn't been used since the 1980's. We have been to help maintain the grounds of the pool before, but since we last visited the team there have worked tirelessly to secured a game-changing amount of National Lottery funding. Hopefully with a further bit of fundraising the team can look to get regeneration work started and open up to the public again in the next few years.

Sally had lots of work for us to do and we split into teams.

Pool me once, shame on you. Pool me twice, shame on me!

A group of us donned our gardening gloves and tidied the grassy banks around the pool. We removed lots of sticky weeds, ivy and general weeds from the grounds and disposed of them. This is to stop them taking over the whole area!

We have hidden depths

A duo of runners worked together to 'fish' various weeds and plants out of the pool. They filled two wheelbarrows full of their treasure! Great work! Luckily we had Mark, our trained lifeguard, keeping an eye on things on this task! Thanks, Mark!

Another team were trusted with hand-held scythes and saws to cut down some aggressive stinging nettles that were taking over a patch of land. Their removal will make it easier for builders to eventually get work started.

Better great than never ... April pools!

A few of our number picked sycamore seedlings from the ground surrounding the buildings. If left, these seedlings will grow into fully-fledged trees which can disrupt the foundations of the buildings. It was an important job to nip in the bud!

Some of the runners worked together to clear other weeds and old tree roots that surrounded the old changing rooms. These pesky roots were starting to disrupt the brickwork and removing them means more of the buildings can be salvaged.

An old bra came to support us!

The rest of the runners were hunting in the disturbed ground near the entrance to the pools. They were acting like Indiana Jones and searching for any ceramic pieces of pottery that has been swallowed by the mud over the many years that the pool was used. We filled several tubs and the plan is for them to be made into a large mosaic by schoolchildren. Some of the odder things we found were half of a Lego character, a small rubber monkey and a very old and very disgusting bra!

Overall, it was great to spend the evening outside in the fresh air and make a valuable contribution to an important piece of our heritage in our wonderful city. Sally was really pleased with how much work we got done and we were really proud of our efforts.

Thanks!

Thanks Steph for backmarking for us and thanks to Sally for hosting us. Thanks for the pun this week, Catrin, and thanks to everyone for all the other puns included in the report!

Upcoming runs

• We have a great Community Mission on Sat 27th April at The Orchard
• We are also doing a really fun Community Mission on Sun 28th April as part of the 2019 Worldwide City Nature Challenge
• Next week: we are gardening at Donkey Lane
• In June there is an exciting race in Cheddar Gorge that some of GG Bath have already signed up for
• In June we are also helping at the Saltford Festival

A group of volunteers ran along the canal path to the community garden at Alice Park. We did some fun tasks to help improve the fantastic community-led gardening project that is based there. We had lots of fun and enjoyed being outside in nature for the evening.

Well done on 100, Joe!

We met at our usual spot outside the leisure centre in town and I shared the latest news with the group. The first item on the agenda was a massive congratulations to Joe (our very own 'Master of all things punny') who was going to be earning his 100th good deed that evening. Well done, Joe! This is an incredible achievement and something for us to all aspire towards.

Welcome Alice and Richard!

It was great to welcome Alice and Richard who were 'on tour' from GoodGym Bristol. Thanks for coming over and lending a hand at the task last night and please come back soon!

In other news I have a meeting with some of the team from GoodGym HQ next week so please let me know if you have any feedback or questions you want me to pass on. Emily also shared news about a fantastic race/event coming up soon at Cheddar Gorge that some of us have signed up to; see the link below at the bottom for more info! I then introduced the task for the evening, we did a warm-up as a group and then we got on our way.

It was just the one swan, actually!

We are blessed in Bath being based near a beautiful and peaceful canal path. We chose to run along this route (pausing to do some walking lunges on the way) where we spotted some swans in the canal. We were speedy and made it to Alice Park with plenty of time.

We met our host, Kathy, at the park and she gave an introduction to the project for those who hadn't visited before. A group of volunteers transformed a section of Alice Park (off to the left behind the hedge) into a community gardening project over 10 years ago. The team of volunteers have cultivated the land and grow a variety of produce including fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers. Absolutely anyone can get involved and help with the gardening tasks and also everyone is welcome to enjoy the produce of the garden that is grown for free (although a small donation or some time to help out in the garden is really appreciated!)

We had 3 main tasks last night and we split into groups to make the best use of our time.

Will(ow) they or won't they?

One group spent the evening organising and preparing willow branches. There was a big pile of them left to one side of the garden and the team had to find some decent-sized branches, use some loppers to cut off the smaller shoots and then neatly pile them up.

Old sage and wisdom

Another team used the willow branches to make a fence around a bed of flowers. There have been lots of excited dogs that like to jump into the flowers and herbs that grow in the bed and it is hoped that the new fence will act as a barrier to stop them! Kathy showed the group of runners how to weave the willow together around some stakes in the ground to make a secure barrier using the tension in the wood. This required patience and team work from the volunteers to make sure that there were no gaps and that the fence had structural integrity. Nice work team!

I'm not mud, I'm just disappointed

The third team were sieving compost (yes, that is actually a thing that people do!). This was a fun (and muddy!) task to get involved with. The compost has been maturing in a container since the last time we visited and 'turned' the compost before Christmas. Our task here was to use a mesh net and a bucket to sieve out any sticks, stones, large pieces of mud or snail shells from the compost. We then spread it over a flower bed to make the perfect environment for growing new plants. Among the compost we found a rather large grub that we think will turn into a beetle (which is really good for the health of the garden) and we made sure to tuck him back into the remaining compost.

Thanks Kathy - we shall return!

We sad goodbye and thanks to Kathy for taking the time to host us for the evening. We had lots of fun and we will be returning again in a few months time. Thanks Kathy!

Thanks!

Thanks to Ollie for kindly offering to backmark for us and thanks to Joe for the awesome multi-dimensional pun this week!

Upcoming runs:

• We have a great Community Mission on Sat 27th April at The Orchard
• We are also doing a really fun Community Mission on Sun 28th April as part of the 2019 Worldwide City Nature Challenge
• Next week: we have a fun outdoor task helping at Cleveland Pools
• In June there is an exciting race in Cheddar Gorge that some of GG Bath have already signed up for

On a sunny Tuesday evening, 19 of us ran to The Nest Project in Bath. We sorted and organised a heap of donated childrens' clothes and then ran them up the stairs to store they away in boxes. This was a really rewarding task that we enjoyed a lot and we were thrilled to run over 8km overall.

Welcome Jamie and Paddy!

After meeting inside the leisure centre we formed a large circle outside in the forecourt. We welcomed two new runners, Jamie and Paddy to the team. We hope you both come back and join us again for some volunteering! After introducing the task, running through the risk assessment and warming up we headed on our way.

Good to see you again, Sam!

We were delighted to have one of our top GoodGym members, Sam P, who used his day off to come back to Bath and run with us again. Great to see you, Sam, and thanks for your help last night! Hopefully we will see more of you soon!

Pub quiz last week

On the last Thursday of every month we field a team in the pub quiz at St James Wine Vaults. Thanks for Emma for organising this and well done to the group who represented us last week!

You've seen the rest, but then there's The Nest!

The Nest Project is based in Brassmill Enterprise Centre in Lower Weston, near the Locksbrook Inn. This was the first group run of 2019 where it was light enough to run along the river. We were delighted to be running along the Avon and enjoying the wildlife and the scenery! We even managed to get in some extra training in the form of tricep dips on the wooden fences along the river path.

We made it to the task in good time, eager for the task ahead!

Our host, Pip, met us at the task. She is one of the volunteers who coordinates the project and she gave us an overview of what the team there do. They receive donations of children's clothes and equipment for ages 0-5years. Anyone from the community can come and ask for clothes, completely free of charge. This is a fantastic charity and a great community asset that we love going back to help.

The task for the evening was to sort a small mountain of donated clothes into different sections, based on gender and age. There were 10 different categories in the end and we made sure to stay organised with signs on the floor and by placing boy's clothes in front of the plastic tubs and girl's clothes inside the tubs.

Dress to impress!

Among the clothes, some of the best finds were a pair of cute little converse shoes, a wonderful red hat and, strangely enough ... a bra!

Time flies by at The Nest!

After our organising, we then formed a line and ran the clothes up to the storage areas upstairs. This will make it easier for the team of volunteers to distribute the clothes to families who come to the project.

Thanks!

Thanks to Pip for helping arranging this task and spending her Tuesday evening facilitating us! Thanks also to Chris and Emily for backmarking for us last night and thanks to Sam P for the pun.

Upcoming runs

• We have an awesome Community Mission on Sat 27th April at The Orchard
• We are also doing a Community Mission on Sun 28th April as part of the 2019 Worldwide City Nature Challenge
• Next week: we have a really fun outdoor task where we are gardening at Alice Park Community Garden. Sign up here!