Community Garden General Volunteers

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All welcome, please register & book  online 

 

March 2023 Volunteer Schedule

( 08/03/23  12-3pm) - Sunny Hill Park

( 11-03-23  12-3pm) - Montrose Park

  

We aim to create a working model of an urban permaculture community garden  which demonstrates, promotes, educates, celebrates and advocates for environmental and economic sustainability in a healthy, diverse and supportive community.

 

No experience required just a community spirit & love of nature!

 

Our community gardens provides a platform where the whole community can positively engage with nature (not against), exchange knowledge/skills (to become self-sustaining) and become self-empowered through practicing permaculture wherever they go.

 

Our activities are conducted outdoors in Heybourne Park, Welsh Harp Allotments, Graham park (colindale), Sunny Hill park (Hendon), Welsh harp park (W. Hendon) & other open green spaces - we do not have an office.

   

Activities include:

Growing trees, fruit & veg, Soil Testing, Pruning, weeding, clearing, Clean-up,

Training on Permaculture, Organic Farming, Composting, Ecology, Conservation

Constructing bird/bee houses, Pond, wild meadows, forest garden, raised beds

Bonfire barbeques, Growing competitions, Art & craft competitions, Fund raising & marketing

Practical Tutorials, Bird watching, Guided allotment demonstration tours, Market research,

Conducting research & experiments on permaculture, Environmental campaigns

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Corporate volunteering                                                                                                                             | Meaningful CSR|

 

There is a growing drift in the UK for companies to contribute more than merely donating money to big charities – where often you never get to feel where the money goes. Many employees and employers prefer to be actively involved with meaningful corporate community projects, which aims to link employees' skills and time to the actual needs of the community. BEST has been running local community gardening sessions and corporate volunteering days with a selection of companies such as SONY, AECOM, Baker Mckenzie, FCA, Middlesex University, and local residents.

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Our core activities are based on community gardening and conserving the environment. BEST community gardens provides a conducive outdoor platform where your team can positively engage with nature, exchange knowledge & skills and make a real difference to the community.

 

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•    Corporate employee volunteering is a great way to show how your organisation plays a positive, responsible and active part in helping people within your community

•    A day at Barnet community gardens (BEST) offers your employees an opportunity to discover how to work cooperatively in a different outdoor setting – it helps them build new relationships and understandings.

•    It’s not all about the digging! You get stuck in to varied and practical outdoor seasonal tasks such as: soil testing / analysis, constructing raised beds, nature reserve clean up (including a canoe boat ride!) weeding, planting, pruning, mulching,  painting, watering or cutting grass.

•    No previous experience is required.  We supervise the teams and provide a risk assessment, orientation as well as a health and safety briefing.  We make sure there are tasks for everyone - whether they would like to do 'tough’ stuff like mixing the compost heap or digging up new raised beds, or more gentle work such as weeding or general tidy-ups.

•    The chores our corporate teams carry out makes a massive difference to Barnet community garden (BEST). There are always regular chores in the daily running of the garden. We also have several community projects that run throughout the year to encourage maximum participation regardless of the season. The projects that you will be directly supporting have been publicly endorsed by the community and voted for by thousands of locals and supported by Tesco Bags of help scheme.

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Benefits of corporate volunteering

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The benefits of corporate volunteering go beyond the fundamental act of giving back to the community .To name just a few, companies that volunteer see an increase in employees’ loyalty and brand buy-in, enhanced leadership and team-building skills, and ultimately, a better retention rate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A study conducted by Cone Communications found that employees who are very involved in their company’s volunteer program are 28% more likely to be proud of their company’s values, as well as 36% more likely to feel a strong sense of company loyalty than those who are not involved.

A UnitedHealth Group study found that 87% of people who volunteered in the last year said that volunteering had developed teamwork and people skills, and 81 percent agreed that volunteering together strengthens relationships among colleagues. Both internally and externally, it’s a win-win when companies volunteer.

Many charities see particular value in the skills that people from business bring, and what their staff and service-users can gain from working with employee volunteers – offering a fantastic opportunity for employees to make a meaningful difference according to a recent study conducted by THREE HANDS on employee volunteering.

 

 

Donation from corporate volunteers              | £0 per employee |                Groups of 5-20 | 

 

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