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Jack Wood 31st July 2026 As July draws to a close, the busiest part of the bird breeding season is largely behind us. Most woodland birds have now successfully fledged their young, allowing us to move away from working on paths, verges and meadows and back into the heart of the woodland. By waiting until this important stage of the breeding season has passed, we can carry out essential habitat restoration while minimising disturbance to nesting birds. This session, our 16 vol

Shepherdleas Wood - Berry Hill Bluebell Slopes Tuesday, 28th July 2026 Today brought a much more typical English summer's day. It was pleasantly cooler than the temperatures we've experienced recently, making it much more comfortable for both volunteers and wildlife. Our Tuesday sessions are always a little different. With a smaller group of volunteers, there's far more opportunity to chat while we work, catch up on the latest news and enjoy each other's company. It's a wonde

Jackwood House Garden Saturday, 18th July 2026 Despite the continuing high temperatures, with grass everywhere turning dry and yellow, our wildlife-friendly garden is thriving. As our eight volunteers worked their way around the garden—cutting back vigorous growth along the edges, trimming the grass, tackling persistent bindweed and carrying out general maintenance—they found themselves surrounded by wildlife. Every flowerbed seemed alive with movement. Insects buzzed and flu

Hotel Field and Middle Path Opening Friday, 17th July 2026 What a wonderful group of volunteers we have here in the woodlands! Eighteen people attended the session and worked their socks off, shovelling, sweeping, chopping and pulling to improve the woodland for both wildlife and walkers. Once again, our aim was to find as much shade as possible for our activities, so we split into two large groups and headed to different areas. Those who enjoy path work returned to Hotel Fie

Oxleas Wood - The Ride Saturday, 11th July, 2026 We had another good turnout of 12 volunteers on Saturday for our monthly SHWWP session. Not only did we have a group of our regular volunteers and a couple of old-timers, but we were delighted to welcome two new, equally-enthusiastic volunteers to our happy troop. While it was another stifling-hot day, Oxleas Wood was probably quite a bit cooler than most places, beneath the dappled shade of the trees. The woods themselves we

Woodland Borders - Rochester and Welling Ways Saturday, 4th July 2026 Saturday saw us back at the woodland edges bordering the Rochester and Welling Ways – one of our regular litter and fly-tipping hotspots. Of course, our mission isn’t simply about making the area look tidier. That’s a welcome bonus, but our real aim is to stop litter being blown deeper into the woodland where it can harm wildlife and the wider environment. Plastic breaks down into tiny fragments, cigarette

Hotel Field - Paths and Verges Friday, 3rd July 2026 With another hot day forecast, it was important to find a shady spot where we could continue our woodland improvement work, and several paths and verges around the edge of Hotel Field offered some great opportunities for the day's session. Once again, we were delighted by the fantastic turnout — 22 volunteers! Our morning got off to a slightly unexpected start when we discovered we couldn't access the shed where our tools w

Despite the hot weather, volunteers made an early start on Sunday 21st June to continue work in Jackwood House Garden. Terrace beds were weeded and cleared before GoodGym volunteers helped uncover more of the hidden paved path, with around 12 metres now revealed.

Oxleas Wood 19th June 2026 Beating the Heat with a Fantastic Team Effort The weather forecast certainly got it right! We were promised a very hot, sunny, and humid day, and that's exactly what we got. So, it was completely understandable that some volunteers decided it was simply too hot to join the session. Looking after ourselves in extreme weather is always important. What was amazing was that an incredible 17 volunteers turned up ready to help and make a difference. A new