GoodGym and MIND in Camden group run #2

Two runners took to the streets of Camden, braving some drizzle to stride the 1km to Alara Wholefoods.

Yes, drizzle. After a few weeks of hot, hot, hot, we were treated (!) to some refreshing rain. This didn't stop us embracing the great outdoors and striding with purpose towards Camley Street and the wonderful Alara Wholefoods (read their story here, they're pretty special). We were met by Alex, the founder of Alara, who took us around to the beautifully lush orchard and garden, to equip us for the task in hand.

I couldn't help mentioning how incredible the place smells (like freshly baked flapjacks!), which prompted Alex to give us each some muesli to take home - thank you!

Armed with a shovel each and a brush, we wandered around to the impressive compost heap, which is added to and taken from by various community gardens on a regular basis (there were some men with a truck filling up some sacks as we arrived). We could see straight away that the compost had burst its banks a bit and needed persuading back into place, so we set-to on the path and also an area of soil to the back of the heap. Alex pointed out some leafy plants, that looked a bit like sunflowers to me, that were almost up to their necks in compost, which needed easing back, to give them some space to grow. It turns out these are Yacon, a Peruvian root vegetable - have a read here if, like me, you hadn't heard of the plant before!

Once we had shifted and swept, we returned our tools and had a little look around the garden before marching back to Camden Road. Thank you for joining me this week Oliver, I hope to see you again soon.