Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
an exercise, after you've had a chance to introduce the topic. For example, if you have a text-heavy
document you'd like attendees to read for a breakout exercise, hand it out
just prior
to the exercise and
make reading it part of the breakout. If you have general materials that are important but not relevant to
the meeting agenda, leave them on a table for people to pick up as they leave.
First Meeting Pitfalls
Don't get tactical too fast.
It is really easy to jump in and start talking about the number of beds the
group will build, whether there will be a storage shed, where the water will come from, and so on. And,
if you've kicked off the meeting with a list of givens, that just adds fuel to the fire. This is really fun
stuff! But it is premature. The goal of your first few meetings is to introduce people to each other, help
them understand what the group has to offer, and, collectively, to start forming the vision of the garden.
You will, no doubt, have some hard chargers at the meeting who have built gardens or been part of a
community garden before and
want to get it done!
It is great to have these people around and important
not to dampen their enthusiasm, but first things first. Take time to understand the why of the garden
before you dive into the how. Feel free to discuss these points in the Overview or Ground Rules section
of your meeting.
Don't be surprised by other agendas.
An agenda is a great tool to keep people on topic, but the word
has a double meaning. Often, particularly where community assets are concerned, attendees may show
up with other agendas, which won't be about the garden at all. This can be subtle or overt. These indi-
viduals may see this gathering as a chance to be heard on another issue. Particularly if you have local
government officials or other people with authority present, they may take the opportunity to address
things beyond the scope of, or completely unrelated to, the potential garden.
There may be disruptive participants.
Community projects often bring out people with lots of opinions.
Opinions are good—and welcome!—as long as there is respect for the group. You might find individu-
als who monopolize the conversation or, on the extreme end, have outbursts that are not productive or
relevant and make the group uncomfortable. Your first option is to table the issue, and kindly ask the
disrupter to let others speak their piece. The second option is to ask the disrupter to leave the meeting.
If that doesn't work, enlist the power of the group and vote him or her off the island. If all else fails
and things get really out of control, end the meeting or call 911. (Hopefully, you will never run into this
situation, but if you do, at least you'll be prepared!)
ATTRIBUTES OF A SUCCESSFUL GROUP
As your community develops over time, keep these characteristics of a successful group in mind and
work toward having them form the backbone of your organization. A positive, productive team is im-
portant. If people aren't engaged and invested, they will either go away or become ineffective.
Everyone is working toward a shared goal: the garden mission.
The group has agreed-upon norms of behavior, and has taken the time to arrive at these norms col-
lectively.
