Every organization needs leaders. We are all part of groups where we may lead or follow based on our knowledge, longevity or availability. We have a large group of folks who lead in many different ways. Some plan behind the scenes, some help with compost turning or pickup, others deliver harvest to food banks or help with school groups that visit the garden. And these are just a few examples. This is one of the things I love about our garden. We are a family of many talents, interests and abilities.

In our first full season at our new location on Tingen Road, one of our biggest needs is for workday garden leaders. In order to keep the garden open 2-3 days a week and not overburden any of our current leaders, we really need new leadership. This isn’t as daunting as you might think. You don’t have to know everything or everyone. There is training if you want it, including a checklist. Basically you need to:

• be at the garden a few minutes before workday hours
• unlock the shed
• help folks find a job on the task list sent to you by the previous leader
• clean the filters or assign that task to someone else
• make sure all the gates are closed and lock the shed at the close of garden hours

You can tell me what days work best for you, what days to avoid and swap with other garden leaders if something unforseen comes up. Current garden leaders will be happy to have you shadow them for as long as you like until you are comfortable with leading. We have called this job “Garden leader” for a long time and that has stuck, but I think of it as “Garden host” as much as leading. Your main task is to make sure everyone is welcome and included. If you don’t know the answer to a question, there are others who do or we might need to research a question. It’s all good.

I know sometimes it’s hard to step up to something new, but I promise you will not be stuck or overwhelmed. We can’t do what we do without leadership. I hope you’ll consider this opportunity. Feel free to call me with any questions or just to chat about the possibility. I will be doing the spring calendar in the next week or two as we open on March 2, so I hope to hear from you!

Anne
919-616-6659
anneh21@gmail.com