Service Commitments
Service Assignment
Dowling Community Garden is made up of people who use their time and energy to maintain this land as a pleasant place to garden. To share responsibilities fairly, each plot's gardeners are collectively required to commit 4 hours minimum to service activities for the garden each season. If a physical or other constraint would prevent you from participating, please reach out to dowlingcommunitygarden@gmail.com to ensure we find the right way for you to contribute to the Garden.
Service assignments are made in the order that Gardening Agreements are received each year.
Water Barrel Filling
Check and fill water barrels for either the north half or the south half as assigned. Task is expected to take at most 1 hour if barrels are empty; considerably less time may be required, depending on usage. Flush water barrels if requested. If barrels do not require filling, perform other routine maintenance tasks instead.
Plot Surveyor
Walk your assigned area regularly and examine all plots to encourage garden tidiness and safety. Ensure that Garden rules and city restrictions regarding weeds are enforced, that planting and cleanup deadlines are met, and that plots are being maintained and used fully. Report all findings and issues promptly to an Enforcement Coordinator for action.
Food Shelf Donation Delivery
Perform a valuable service to your community: collect donated produce from the Garden four times on a fixed schedule and deliver it to area food shelves. Must be able to lift and carry up to 40 pounds, have a vehicle, and be committed to dropping off donations as scheduled. Collect a receipt from the donor organization with a record of pounds donated and put it in the wooden box.
Common Beds
Help plant and tend public flower beds. Edge and weed plantings, turn over beds as requested, haul soil amendments and mulch. Install plant materials in garden areas. Water and mulch plantings, pick up trash, and clean up plantings in fall.
Garden Angels
Support fellow gardeners who need an extra set of hands to maintain their plot, or who have taken over an abandoned plot.
Manure Helper
Help unload composted horse manure several times during the season as scheduled.
General Maintenance
Regularly inspect shed and shared tools for damage. Assist in making repairs, if needed. Sharpen mower blades, make sure community tools are in good repair, and organize hoses and tools in the shed as needed(regularly). Clean up and weed around the shed. Special projects include repair or major maintenance of Garden infrastructure, e.g., raised beds, benches, etc.
Cleanup Days
Perform tasks assigned by the session’s coordinator. For example, pick up litter and perform seasonal chores and maintenance. Mow common areas and paths. Trim overgrown vegetation in pathways. Apply wood chips to Garden entrances and paths that use them, including around raised beds. Add compost and manure to raised beds in spring. Weed pathways around raised beds and elsewhere as instructed. Clear the 46th Street fence and sidewalk of weeds and debris, to keep our face to the neighborhood clean and presentable. Clean up around and in the shed; straighten hoses and tools left in a mess. Move composting materials in the school’s compost area to allow new materials to be unloaded in the back where they belong.
Events Support
Work at special events, including the plant sale, meet-and-greets during some monthly cleanup days, and possibly a summer festival. Tasks include preparation and set-up, working during the events, and take-down and clean-up. If the number of events is insufficient to provide enough service time, some gardeners initially assigned to events support may be reassigned another task.