Soil, Seedlings & Sustainability: Urban Farm Renewal Day

Urban Farm Regeneration & Renewal Day

Join Growing Hope Gardens for our Urban Farm Regeneration & Renewal Day, a hands-on community climate action event at our quarter-acre urban farm in Santa Monica. Together, volunteers will help restore and strengthen the farm while supporting healthy soil, local food production, organic-waste diversion, and greater climate resilience.

About the Role

Growing Hope Gardens successfully opened and expanded 15 urban, organic, regenerative resident food gardens and fruit trees, and a 1/4 acre farm, at distinct affordable housing and homeless shelter properties in Los Angeles County. All of the resident food gardens are supported with our bi-monthly maintenance visits, with the goals of helping the gardens thrive and increasing onsite resident knowledge and stewardship. Educational signage informs how harvest, care, nutritional content, and suggested use is placed each season in the gardens. We also support the increase in plant-based knowledge with our online portal.

Responsibilities

• Help restore and strengthen the farm
• Support healthy soil, local food production, organic-waste diversion, and greater climate resilience
• Volunteer activities may include:
• Turning and rebuilding compost piles
• Sorting and preparing plant material for composting
• Clearing and refreshing growing beds
• Applying compost, straw, and mulch
• Pruning and harvesting crops
• Planting seasonal vegetables, herbs, and pollinator plants
• Preparing seedlings for the farm and our Resident Food Gardens
• Cleaning and servicing hydroponic growing towers
• Organizing tools and improving shared growing areas

Requirements

No gardening or farming experience is required. Growing Hope Gardens staff will provide instructions and help volunteers select appropriate tasks.

Qualifications

We welcome individuals, families, community groups, students, and experienced gardeners. Volunteers should be dependable, comfortable working collaboratively, and willing to follow safety and tool-use instructions. Many activities involve standing, bending, lifting, digging, or working outdoors in warm weather; however, lighter and less physically demanding assignments will also be available.

Skills

Volunteers should wear comfortable clothing that can get dirty, closed-toe shoes, sun protection, and gardening gloves if they have them.

Benefits

By participating, volunteers will help regenerate a farm whose impact extends far beyond its physical boundaries. Their work will divert organic plant material from the waste stream, improve soil health, conserve water, support pollinators, and produce food, compost, and seedlings benefiting residents across our network of 16 Los Angeles County communities.

Pay

Volunteer activities are free of charge.

Schedule

The Urban Farm Regeneration & Renewal Day occurs on a regular basis, typically once per month.