Granny's
Garden School

 

Teaching


in the gardens


 
Find a volunteer job to fit you.

Year around
__ Assist our administrative assistant with various activities, including data entry and organizing teaching material.  The projects are on-going throughout the year.  Some can be done at home and others have to be done in the office. 

__ Organize craft supplies that is used in Granny's Craft Room at special event i.e. the Cincinnati Flower Show in April. This is on-going.  We routinely receive donations of various items that are integrated into the craft room.  We are seeking 2-3 creative people to oversee the project, come up with ideas for things to make with the donated items and keep supplies organized.  This has to be done at the office.

__ Organize our seeds: compile a database of how much we have of what seeds.  This has to be done at the office.

__ Trade seeds we have for seeds we are seeking.  There are websites, i.e. the Garden Web where people from across the country connect to trade seeds.  We receive donations of many flower and vegetable seeds but we also have a list of seeds we are seeking, i.e. downy sunflower, anthriscus sylvestris ravenswing, and snow on the mountain.  This can be done from home.

__ Writers - write articles to submit to various media sources. There are many behind the scene stories we would like to share, i.e. The classes that are exchanging information and ideas with a classes at a school in Scotland that also have school gardens. The many Eagle Scouts that have completed projects in the gardens.  The classes that are bringing joy to members of the community through the Bouquets Wheels Programs. The Granny's Garden School board members who are doing a great job of developing a structure that will support the organization into the future.

 __ Sustainable School Garden Growing Project - we are developing a model for growing perennials and annuals from seed and cuttings - without a greenhouse - that can be sold to raise funds to support the school garden program.  This program continues year around.  We need volunteers to work with our project manager on all aspects of the project.  What you will be doing will vary depending on the season. 

Work in the gardens
 
__ Pick bouquets   -  this is something you can do whenever is convenient for you.
__ April - frost, weekly, picking and deliver bouquets to assigned locations.
__ April - frost pick and deliver bunches of flowers to retirement center for them to press.
__ Saturday, June 20, 8 a.m. - 10 a.m. pick bouquets for tables at Loveland's Amazing Race.

Each season we set a schedule of when we will be working in the gardens and invite you to join us.  The time of day changes to take best advantage of seasonal temperatures. i.e. March - April temperatures are usually most comfortable 10-3.  As it warms up we start and stop earlier.  Then October-November we are back to mid day.

.__ Work in the gardens __ by myself __ with others.  Some people enjoy socializing with others as they work in the gardens while others prefer to work on their own, sometimes listening to music.  The set times mentioned above are good for those who like to socialize.  If you like to work alone we can give you specific job assignments or, if you are an experienced gardener, and we know you will not mistake our sunflower seedlings for weeds, you can come whenever works for you.

Work on the nature trail
 
__ Manager - work with volunteer groups to oversee the continued development and management of the nature trail.
__ Trail guide - lead classes through nature walks during the school day.
__ Develop a field guide featuring the plants, trees, insects and birds found on our grounds. 

We would love to see a group of people adopt the nature trail.  It is a valuable teaching resource and the students and teachers love it but we do not have the staff to dedicate to the trail.  Groups of volunteers come out 2-3 times a year to lay down the wood chips but it needs more regular attention, not heavy work just walking, observing and reporting what is going on (plants and animals spotted, condition).  We are slowly working on removing some of the invasive honeysuckle so the trees will be able to replace themselves as time goes on. 

 Work with students 
 
 __  March - May  and August - November class garden volunteer - mature teenagers or adults to assist the garden coordinator and classroom teachers guiding students in the gardens and/or on the nature trail. Your support is more important than your knowledge.  This is a weekly commitment. It is not helpful to have people dropping in here and there.  We need to know we can count on a certain number of volunteers for each class.
Camps
 
All of our camps are outdoors.  We need volunteer camp assistants for every 5-7 children to work with the camp leaders guiding the children in various activities.  Each camp is a week long and runs from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The dates are not set for 2009 but they will all take place in June.
Special events
 

__ Community Service Weekends in March and April.  We designate a number of weekends in March and April as community services weekends to accommodate the high school and college students who need to complete their community service commitments before the graduate.

__ April 25-26th. help children make theme garden baskets in Granny's booth at the Cincinnati Flower Show Small Wonders Weekend.  It's in our backyard at Symmes Township Park this year.

__ Granny's Spring Garden Party takes place the first Friday and Saturday in May.  This is the place to buy annuals, herbs and perennials. Knowledgeable plant people from Turner Farm will be on hand to answer questions.   Volunteer jobs include: 

__ Friday 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. -  set up tables and tents and unload plants
__ Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. loading plants for customers
__ Saturday, 5-8 cleanup.

August 25th, Flower For Teacher 

__ 8:30-11 pick flowers for the kids to give their teachers.
__ 2:30-4:30 pass out flowers to the children as they enter the school building.

October 24th-25th,, Make a Difference Community Service Weekend in the gardens. 

December, Loveland's Homemade Christmas
   
__ I did not find the kind of volunteer job on the list that I am seeking.  I would like to discuss other possibilities.
"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant."  Robert Louis Stevenson

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