Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
5.
MOBILIZING
Developing a Team of Gardeners and Vo-
lunteers
Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming
gardeners who make our souls blossom.
—Proust
By now, you've likely gotten the message that without a community, you've just got a big garden that,
doubtless, you can't maintain on your own. Volunteers, no matter where they come from, are essential to
a thriving community garden. These helping hands may be those of the gardeners themselves, service or-
ganizations, corporations, or just neighbors who aren't into growing food so much but love their commu-
nity and want to see it improved. Many high school programs nationwide require students to participate
in a set number of service-learning hours to graduate. Churches, local businesses, and other organizations
are a great source of volunteers; you shouldn't have to do much arm-twisting to get them engaged in the
garden.
The trick to engaging volunteers is to include the following key elements in your management pro-
gram: safety, good communication, organization, meaningful work, and, most importantly, appreciation
and celebration. You may worry that rallying volunteers will be difficult, but who knows? There may be
a surprising overabundance of help and interest in your garden. Everyone who contributes is part of the
community and should be recognized as vital to its success.
GETTING GARDENERS SETTLED: REGISTRATION AND
ORIENTATION
After all the work of organizing the community around a mission, designing and planning your space,
getting all the ongoing gardening logistics worked out, and setting up a sound business structure, it is
time to set your garden in motion in a major way. This is where registration and orientation come in.
Registration is the process wherein people interested in becoming members of your community
garden provide information and payment (if applicable). Orientation is sharing the ground rules of the
physical garden with participants, so you're all on the same page.
There may be people who volunteer in the garden but don't want to actually garden. They don't ne-
cessarily have to go through this process—it is up to you to decide how to track non-gardening volun-
