Gardening Together

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Regular meetings in a garden to include different people in a garden
project.

Description of the activity

Twice weekly garden sessions take place on the allotment plot on a Wednesday 10-3 and a Saturday 1-4. The project coordinator and garden coordinator/session worker organise these sessions, with around 5 particiants at a time joining them to share seasonal gardening tasks.

Competences

There are no specific competencies required, besides a basic understanding of gardening and a willingness to work with a wide range of people.

Steps for the implementation of the activity

Agree on the type of garden session you want to run.

Promote the session at a range of places in your local community (this could be community centres, universities; colleges; sports clubs and other ecologically minded groups as well as via local media)

Get active on social media

Get a core group of engaged volunteers

Set up one regular garden day that a few people can commit to

Start recruiting more volunteers

Add more sessions as your group grows

Materials and methods

Infrastructure:
Chairs/bench and stove to make tea. A handwashing area is also useful, as is access to a toilet.

Materials and human resources:
Compost, seeds, plants, human energy and water and snacks to sustain it!

Time/Workload:
Workload is seasonally variable but up to 8 hours per week in the summer – with less in the winter.

Costs:
Rent of land, cost of tools and seeds, cost of infrastructure if required. Look to reuse or recycle where possible!

Learning outcomes for the participants

Participants benefit from improved inter-personal skills, they learn more about gardening and native wildlife, they learn observation and participation skills and also how to set up and deliver activities for other people. Many participants benefit from improved language, and everyone benefits from improved wellbeing as a result of engaging in creative activities and outdoor work.

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