Have you always wanted to learn basic gardening skills but don’t know where to start? Would you enjoy supporting a project that will directly impact thousands of school aged students this year? If so, look no further than GROW!  

About the project: 

At GROW, we are building the city’s first permaculture park space. This means we are creating an urban farming space where woodlands are maximized and food systems are integrated throughout the space we manage. It’s also our goal to demonstrate sustainable urban food cultivation practices that maximize space, improve soils, and conserve resources such as water.  We have a number of gardening spaces which need to be prepared for the upcoming season and we are seeking your help to get them ready!

Gardening Tasks 

• Raking and moving leaves to compost areas 

• Removing expired plant debris and general garden area cleanup 

• Removing invasive non-native plants that are encroaching on forest perimeter planting areas 

• Weeding out beds, planting new plants, trees and shrubs 

• Construction of an herb spiral rock garden bed 

• Installing new pathways in the nature playground and gardening areas 

• Planting cool season crops 

• Installing trellises for brambles, beans, and other vining plants 

• Preparing the pumpkin patch and row crop planting areas 

• Relocating existing plants to new areas and installing replacement plants 

• Spreading wood chip mulch  

Special skills you might learn or get to practice 

• Agroforestry and permaculture style farming techniques 

• Identification of native plants and invasive non-native plants 

• Basic carpentry 

• Learning about various tools used in gardening and small scale farming (micro-farming) 

• Companion planting and planting for the benefit of native pollinators  

 Need-To-Knows 

• There is no running water or electricity at GROW. Volunteers should bring their own water bottles and charge their phones before arrival.  

• There is no shelter from severe weather at GROW. In the event of severe weather on a scheduled work day (lightning, impending severe thunderstorm, or tornado watch/advisory) this event will be canceled.  

• Volunteers should wear protective clothing appropriate for outdoor work including: pants to protect legs, closed-toed shoes, breathable layered shirts for comfort in outdoor weather and protection from sun/brambles/stinging insects 

• Parking: Volunteers should park in the small GROW parking lot, located at the Northern edge of Two Rivers Park near the Stones River Greenway.  Entrance to our roadway is across from the dog park. You must drive between the green posts and follow the roadway to the left to find our parking area. From there, it is a short 3 minute walk past the gate to the worksite. 

 Impact 

The demonstration gardens and nature playground area not only benefit park visitors but also function as an intensive ecology classroom for area students from April – October each year. Some of the groups who’ll benefit from your volunteerism include: 

• Elementary students who come for science field trips 

• Students who attend GROW’s conservation themed summer day camp 

• Scout troops who come to work on merit badges and volunteer