A Gardeniser (garden-organiser) is a key coordinating role working inside the community or urban garden. The role requires the Gardeniser to have both technical skills, like practical gardening skills, as well as the ability to enable volunteers and staff who work in the garden to be fully included in the work that garden is doing through good communication, mediation, organisation and management skills. A Gardeniser supports cohesion, participation, and social inclusion in the community garden.
The Gardeniser promotes community/urban gardens in their area by raising awareness of their garden in a community and the outcomes they can deliver for their area such as reducing social isolation, creating volunteering opportunities and enabling people to access fresh fruit and vegetables. They also support good communication between the public sector and the community active in the community garden.
Gardeniser’s profile
- Can describe and understand the urban/community garden model
- Knows the history and philosophy of the urban/community garden
- Has a good understanding of urban/community gardens and gardeners, in it including volunteers and staff that support the garden
- Has an understanding of the variety and different types of community/urban gardens which operate in their country
- Has an understanding of planning and designing in an urban garden including access to land and water
- Knows the tools and techniques required for a community garden
- Has knowledge of the legal status, regulations, and procedures required to set up and run a community garden
- Has an understanding of tools and techniques for measuring the impact of the garden in the community
- Has knowledge of sustainable practices within the garden
- Has an understanding of places to find funding and support for the garden and ways to make the garden sustainable.
