Share the Work

Monthly Garden Tasks

Community-based garden organizing is a year-round job.  Here are some sample monthly task lists–use these as inspiration to create your own timeline.

• Garden Organizer Monthly Tasks, from “Community Garden Management Toolkit,” Springfield Food Policy Council, MA
• Sample Garden Maintenance Activities Schedule, from “Community Garden Management Toolkit,” Springfield Food Policy Council, MA
• Plan Your School/Neighborhood Garden Worksheet
• Annual Planning Calendar for School Gardens, Cat Buxton, Grow More Waste Less
• Sample Bethel Elementary School Garden Regular Tasks, Cat Buxton, Grow More Waste Less

 Volunteers

Community-based gardens wouldn’t exist without volunteers–whether they’re in the form of site coordinators volunteering their leadership, gardeners volunteering hours to community work, students and teachers volunteering their time in the garden, or community volunteers recruited to support maintenance.

• Planning Your Garden’s Volunteer Workday, VCGN
• Volunteers: Garden Leader Discussion, presentation by Laurie Dana, Coordinator of Volunteer Mobilization with United Way Chittenden County
• Volunteer Job Description Worksheet, Susan Ellis, from “The Volunteer Recruitment Book”
• What Do Your Volunteers Want?, Joanne Fritz
• Volunteer Validation: The Dedicated Volunteer Rises, Luci Miller
• Summer in the School Garden: A Resource for Working with Volunteers to Maintain Your School Garden, Pritha Golden and Karin Pfeiffer-Hoyt, Confluence Environmental Center, OR
• Sample Volunteer Handbook, Edible Schoolyard Berkeley, CA, 2014-2015
• Sample Haven Gardens Volunteer Handbook, Upper Valley Haven, White River Junction, VT

Youth Engagement

How do you get children and youth engaged in the garden? What roles can they play? The answers to these questions are in some ways developmental in nature, but also related to the unique individuals you are inviting to join your garden. Most importantly: ask and involve. Ask what interests them and involve them in as many aspects of the garden as possible, including decision-making.

• An excellent article Effective Youth Engagement, from Cornell Garden-Based Learning, plus related resources such as Hart’s Ladder of Youth Participation, Considering Age Appropriate Activities, and more
• Got Veggies? ECE Edition, by Community GroundWorks / Wisconsin School Garden Network, for Early Care Educators