Green Gym

The Green Gym is a new and innovative way to get physically active, and make a difference to your local environment.

Join us to explore landmark locations, discover hidden green spaces, improve your health and stamina, learn new skills and give your body and mind a thorough workout in the great outdoors.

Green Gym Poem for 2012

Green Gym Exercise is healthy, some swim and others run But come and join the Green Gym, it really is great fun To join it costs you nothing, yes it really is for free Not like any sports gym, there really is no fee

Cleaning out the runnels, chopping up a tree Stopping to take a breather and have a cup of tea And if you’re nifty with a spade or rake You’ll even be offered some homemade cake

Mending bridges, hanging gatesand some weeding too Find a job for all of us there is nothing we can’t do Come and join the workers, get weight of those bellies You don’t need posh shorts or trainers just a pair of wellies

by AG (Chipping Norton Green Gym )

This year BTCV have expanding our existing BTCV and Community led Green Gym's working with even more partners and the community to develop and launch 3 brand new Green Gym's in the London Boroughs of Bromley, Lewisham and Waltham Forest.

Wellbeing Comes Naturally to the Green Gym. Check out this Short Film that Mind, the UK's leading Mental Health charity produced with the Green Gym in Camden. Some great interviews with our volunteers and a great introduction as to what to expect from the Green Gym.

Green Gym in London

There are currently 10 Green Gym's running each week in the London Boroughs of Bromley, Camden, Haringey and Newham and it's free and easy to join in and find your nearest Green Gym

Each session starts with warm-up exercises to prepare you for the work ahead and ends with cool-down exercises to relax you after your exertion. There will also be a variety of tasks offering different levels of physical challenge so you can work at your own pace.

Green Gym's at the Parish

Churchyards are fantastic sites for wildlife, with many in London now recognised as sites of impotance for nature conservation, providing important oasis for nature in the city, rare acidic grassland habitats and a place for lichens to flourish.

Hampstead and Newham Community Green Gym's meet each week to look after Hampstead Parish Churchyard and East Ham Nature Reserve, which is set on the site of the 800 year old Norman parish church of St Mary Magdalene.

Both Green Gym's are free and easy to join and led entirely by volunteers, with Newham running each Wed and Sat, and Hampstead every Friday, to find out more email: NewhamGG.or, HampsteadGG.

Read Stephen Timms MP feature on Newham GG

Get active in Waltham Forest with the Green Gym

BTCV are launching a Green Gym in Waltham Forest in partnership with the London Borough of Waltham Forest.

The project launches at Coronation Gardens on Frinday the 5th of August so do join us, and get active and transform the environment!

Camden

BTCV run a Green Gym in Camden in partnership with LB Camden, NHS Camden, The Royal Parks and Ecominds. Events run every Tuesday and Thursday in parks, nature reserves and green spaces across the borough.

Listen to volunteers in Camden enthuse about the Green Gym in this video clip produced thanks to NHS Camden

Transform Winsford Gardens with Penge Green Gym

BTCV run a Green Gym in Penge in partnership with LB Bomley and The Glades Shopping Centre. The project has captured the imagination of local residents and has already made been the catalyst for a major transformation, so do pop down and see what all the fuss is about.

Community Green Gyms

One of the aims of the BTCV scheme is to encourage and train volunteers to take over managing the Green Gym groups themselves with our support. There are now volunteer led Green Gyms running in Camden, Haringey and Newham, helping maintain nature reserves and community allotments.

With BTCV's support, Haringey Green Gym recently got funded through ITV's People Millions, check it out on BTCV TV.

To find out how BTCV could help you start a Green Gym in your community, contact our Senior London Green Gym Officer Chris Speirs at c.speirs@btcv.org.uk or call 020 7278 4294.

Schools Green Gyms

BTCV also offer Green Gyms for schools – providing an enjoyable alternative for the non-sporty youngsters who flinch at the mention of football.

Working with staff and parents we help pupils learn about their environment and how to care for it, grow plants and vegetables, and increase their physical activity. They can work alongside existing and new friends and the school grounds or local area get a caring facelift as well.

For more information about Green Gyms visit:

The BTCV Green Gym national web page