Successful community gardens have motivated leaders and a broad base of support. Your community garden permit application requires a list of coordinating committee members, committed gardeners, and garden leaders.
1. Pick four to 10 planning leaders and decide roles.
Community gardens are most successful when they involve multiple coordinators who can share the work required to plan, build, and maintain the garden. This group communicates with neighbors and may need to explain the need for a new community garden.
In most community gardens the coordinating team includes:
- A treasurer
- An outreach coordinator
- A site coordinator
- A member coordinator
2. Create a generic email for your garden, such as gardenname@gmail.com.
This helps you stay organized and makes things easier for future garden leaders.
3. Communicate to the public about the new garden.
Ways to do this include:
- Create social media accounts, a listserv, or both.
- Share them with your contacts.
- Ask neighborhood groups and community members to like or follow your pages and update them often.
- Advertise in neighborhood newspapers, community council newsletters, or bulletin boards.
- Put a sign on the lot announcing the future garden.
- Put up flyers in community centers or public places.
4. Find people to volunteer.
Talk to neighbors, business owners, and civic groups, such as:
- Daycare centers, schools, and community colleges
- Garden groups
- Neighborhood associations
- NextDoor and other social media platform groups
- Spiritual and faith-based communities
- Youth organizations (Boys and Girls Club, sports teams, outdoor education groups)
- Doctors' offices and clinics
These groups may be interested in assisting large projects, new construction, or weeding. Consider providing lunch, water, gloves, tools, and a first-aid kit when a community group volunteers. Always send a thank-you note afterward.
Invite people of different ages and cultures. People get involved at different times for different reasons.