Volunteer with us

Calthorpe Community Garden is the perfect place for anyone looking for volunteer opportunities in a safe and secure environment. Your assistance allows us to keep our garden up and running, and to deliver essential services for vulnerable groups in our community.

Benefits to you

• A safe and welcoming place to socialise and make new friends while supporting the local community

• Gardening can reduce stress and generally improve your mental and physical well-being

• You will gain valuable skills which might open new work opportunities for you

• You will have access to workshops, training and events organised by us.

Current volunteer opportunities:

Compost System Volunteers

As part of our closed-loop food system, we collect and process food and garden waste into our five different composting systems. We regularly need help with processing the waste and by-products and maintaining the systems. 

• We need volunteers who are interested in sustainability, closed-loop systems, and zero-waste, who are hands-on, good team players  and passionate about the community.

• Composting systems sessions take place on Mondays and Fridays from 10am to 12pm and Wednesdays from 12.30pm to 1.30pm

• We would need you to commit to one of the weekly sessions for at least two months. No previous experience is required however the role calls for active listening, attention to detail and problem-solving skills.

**At the moment we need volunteers our Monday morning sessions**

You will gain valuable experience and training on a live closed-loop food  system working in a community setting and can take part in our community lunch on Wednesdays and Fridays.

For a full role description please click here.

Social Gardening and Food Growing Volunteers

We would love to have your help during our social gardening and food growing sessions on Wednesdays and Fridays. During these sessions, we focus our efforts on growing food that we use in our kitchen for our community lunches and cookery classes as part of our closed-loop food system. We also undertake other seasonal gardening tasks as required. 

• We are searching for volunteers interested in sustainability, closed- loop systems, and/or gardening and food growing, who are hands-on, good team players  and passionate about the community to work with us.

• Our social gardening sessions where we do most of our food growing usually run on Wednesdays from 1.30pm to 3pm and Fridays from 11.00am to 1.30pm

• We ask for a minimum commitment of 2 months. All skill levels are welcome, no previous gardening experience is required.

You will gain valuable experience in organic gardening and food growing working in a community setting .

Kitchen Volunteers

We deliver community lunches twice a week on Wednesdays and Fridays for up to 30 people that participate in our gardening sessions and craft activities, many of them are elderly and from migrant communities.

• We are searching for committed volunteers with kitchen experience who are organised, enjoy working as part of a team, are hands-on and passionate about community.

• For this role we would need you to be regularly available on either Wednesdays from 11.30am until 2pm and/or from 1pm to 3pm for at least two months.

You will have the opportunity to socialise with our friendly participants and volunteers during lunch. If you are interested in practicing Spanish, the best day for volunteering is Fridays.

Events Volunteers

We regularly run community festivals and events and need support on the day with setting up, welcoming the public, and other jobs.

• We are searching for enthusiastic and energetic volunteers who enjoy working as part of a team, are hands-on and passionate about community available for ad hoc festivals and events mainly during the weekdays. 

You will gain valuable experience working in a community setting and will get a chance to participate in the event.

Admin Volunteers

We need administrative support for the general running of the garden and community centre. This role would suit someone who’s looking to start or change their career in the social enterprise community sector, and/or looking to refresh their skills after a career break.

• We are searching for methodical and organised volunteers who are confident with using computers and have the ability to be empathetic and professional when working with people from a variety of backgrounds.

• For this role we would need you to be available for half a day on either Mondays, Wednesdays or Thursdays between 10am and 4pm (exact times to be agreed with the Office Administrator).

You will gain valuable experience in a community centre and community garden setting as well as playing a crucial part in supporting us to deliver our programme for the community.