Introduction
To successfully complete this wonderful project for which you have laid the foundations, you need to surround yourself with people and open up the idea to others. Let’s not forget that this is a community garden with many stakeholders! As the project leader, you’ll have to convince people of its social relevance, find partners and, together, build the framework for the collective project. This stage is essential if you want to communicate more widely and attract the interest the community.
Lessons
L1. The Different Stakeholders of the Garden
A community garden is made up of different players. Who are they? What do they do?
Your idea may arise from:
- an opportunity, for example, a plot of land available.
- a desire, for example, to create an educational or community garden…
- a need, for example, for a shared space in an apartment block.
If you are the initiator or initiating group, you have usually a first idea of what you expect or wish from the community garden you want to create. This is why you worked, during the first module, on the document of intent.
The initiator or initiating group then identifies, or votes to choose, a project coordinator and facilitator who will represent them. If the community garden was created on behalf of a company, association or municipality, the latter might become sponsors of the garden, which is different from a community garden created by a community. The garden organizer is also in charge of facilitating the group work to create what we call here the “framework document”. This document will be a public document that could be shared with the potential local partners.
When needed, the project coordinator will search for suitable land for the garden project, and then discuss it, validate it with the initiator or the initiating group.
She/he will also look for the means to finance the remainder of the project (studies, work, tools, salary of a professional organizer, etc.).
Together with the facilitator, the group defines the garden’s uses and operating methods and designs its layout. All decisions are made known to all: the participant-gardeners, the project leader, the partners… It’s a way of ensuring that everyone buys into the project.
The volunteers
The volunteers are key players in the garden. They commit to taking action and supporting the garden’s missions over the long term. They take part in the Annual General Meeting, voting on the moral, activity and financial reports:
- They take part in the garden’s various activities according to their abilities, desires and availability, in consultation with the coordinator or referent.
- They may be appointed to coordinate a particular task.
- They take part in garden activities, such as garden maintenance…
- They can be initiators, project leaders, partners, funding partners…
- They enrich the garden’s activities, for example by co-hosting an event.
- They can take part in events such as farmers’ markets.
- They contribute to the financing and credibility of the association.
Each garden has its own, rules, specificities. Whatever project you have, you might have a different idea of what means facilitating when working with the group of volunteers. The next two tasks can be done at two levels: by yourself, and with the volunteers themselves. To make the group work as a well-functioning community, these approaches need indeed to be discussed and approved: an “autocratic” can work in really rare occasions, for a short amount of time, but to be sustainable, a more participative methodology is always the best.
In the first activity we will ask you to think about the meaning of the verb “to facilitate”, whether you do this work individually or within a group.
The second activity will present you the roles of the Gardeniser, as its role was developed in the last years by community gardens across Europe. Will you be able to list all of them? Do you agree with all of them? Do you think some of them are missing?
Activity 2: From the following video, I attempt to list the know-how, interpersonal skills and knowledge of a community garden organiser (or gardeniser):
L2. Building Partnerships
Building a strong, lasting partnership is vital for a community garden’s success. Partnerships provide essential resources like funding, tools, and materials, reducing costs and ensuring the garden’s sustainability. Diverse partners bring a wide range of skills, from gardening expertise to community organizing, ensuring effective garden management.
Collaboration with schools, businesses, and non-profits expands the garden’s impact, building community and promoting healthy eating and sustainability. A shared vision among partners supports long-term sustainability, securing funding and government support, and ensuring the garden thrives despite changes in leadership or community dynamics.
Lasting partnerships also encourage community ownership and involvement, leading to greater pride and commitment to the garden’s success. Additionally, partners can raise the garden’s visibility through advocacy and media engagement, generating awareness and support from the wider community.
Building an effective and lasting partnership
Here are the key steps to building a successful partnership:
- Clearly define what you hope to achieve through the partnership.
- Ensure that the partnership is aligned with the mission and values of the planned community garden.
- Ask yourself the question of the garden’s social relevance: what is the social utility of the future garden?
- Based on the document of intent, prepare an oral presentation of the project (project pitch) to be punchy and convincing.
- Choose the right channel for making contact (email, telephone, face-to-face meeting).
- Understand the potential partner’s needs and expectations.
- Explain how the partnership could benefit all parties involved
- Clearly identify the common objectives of the partnership.
- Consider the roles and responsibilities of each partner.
- Maintain open and regular communication.
- Adapt strategies and actions according to feedback and new circumstances.
Conclusion
By following these steps – identifying common objectives, making contact, defining and developing the partnership – you can create effective, mutually beneficial collaborations that increase your chances of success.
L3. The Project Framework
The framework document, on which you will work, structures the essential aspects of your community garden project. It gives a general description of the project, the general objectives and the planned activities. Involving participants in its construction is essential to its success. It helps to align your initial objectives with the real needs and to create a group cohesion.
This document outlines the human and financial resources needed for the project. It details the skills and personnel required, considers local assets to ensure feasibility, and defines the financial resources. Additionally, it includes a provisional budget to forecast costs and available funding.
At this stage, the group discusses the most suitable legal framework for the community garden and drafts a general timetable for planning the various phases of the project.
This document provides a clear roadmap for the implementation of the project.
To help you draw up this document, we suggest you use a technique known as the Quintilian system or 5W method. This method was invented by Marcus Fabius Quitilianus in the first century AD. 5W’s stand for “who did what, where and when, and why .”
These famous 5W’s are a summary of the method developed by Quintilian, the father of rhetoric in the 1st century AD. From the Latin: “ Quis, Quid, Ubi, Quibus auxiliis, Cur, Quomodo, Quando ” (Who? What? Where? When? How? How much? Why?), it presents the 7 questions that define the “circumstances” of a situation. An effective method for covering your prospects’ issues simply and logically. You’ll be able to ask the right questions to get the right information.
It enables you to analyze a situation from all angles and find solutions. It can be applied to all kinds of situations, such as analyzing needs, sorting information, organizing an event…
In the next step, we propose you to define in a concrete method your project with the community. It will allow you to use a method derivated from the World Café to work on your common project, before formalizing it in the document we propose.
Now that you completed your mind map, you will need to fill the “Project sponsor framework document” that you can download below. You can take all the time you need to fill it. This document is the second one to include in your final portfolio that will be ready at the end of the Module 3. It will be an important part of the vademecum you will be able to present to any stakeholder.
