A bit about what you will be doing:

Work is mostly physical in the gardens, working alongside our Garden Co-ordinator Max. Golden Bay gets pretty hot in Summer: ranging from 25-35C. We tend to start early in the Summer to avoid the midday heat, and love to cool down in the nearby swim spots.

We have a number of buildings that are rented out for community events, so we share a weekly cleaning rota to make sure they are welcoming.

• In Spring you can expect to be getting beds ready to sow, propagate and plant seedlings, and (of course) weeding.

• In Summer, you can expect to be tending plants, sowing salads, weeding, and lots of watering.

• In Autumn you can expect to be getting beds ready to sow, propagate and plant seedlings, and a large amount of harvesting from our Orchard

What we will give you:

Accommodation in either our Earthbuilding/Cabins. Or you may choose to stay in your van.

• The Earth building is a shared attic above our volunteer lounge space (with fireplace and books etc.).

• The cabins are two single accommodations (without electricity), and look out onto our beautiful gardens.

Our life is based on maximizing time in the outdoors, and you do walk between our facilities.

We have a basic kitchen with a fridge, cooker and oven; and some food processing equipment.

We have a washing machine on-site.

And, WiFi!

Food - we have a budget that will be shared between the volunteers for dry goods. Our freezer is stocked with harvest from last year, and as fruit and veg come into season you will have access to fantastic regeneratively-grown food. We encourage slowing down, by buying pulses and spending time making nourishing food. You will be cooking your own meals, and we will share a community lunch once a week.

Knowledge - Each week we aim to give you some dedicated teaching time. This will (hopefully) cover:

• Propagation - how to sow seeds effectively & water.

• Foraging in Aotearoa - Healthy weeds to eat and use in the garden.

• Composting - how to build and flip composts

• Feeding the soil - JMS, foliar feeds, Comfrey & nettle teas

• OR Preserving - if available - kimchi/relishes/pickles/drying herbs/drying fruit.

• OR Earthbuilding - if a tutor is available - working on Earthbuildings.

Access to bikes - We have a few bikes to get to town (~5mins cycle) and to the nearby beaches (~25mins).

What we expect from you:

• 20hrs focussed and enthusiastic work - Although we are a community garden, we also function as a commercial market garden and so need some things to be done quickly and efficiently. We love to teach, and understand that you are learning as you go; but we hope that you will give as much as you can.

• One weekend of your stay - We ask that once during your stay you commit to checking the seedling watering, and re-stocking the stall. This only takes an hour each day, and we will reduce your hours in the week to make up for this.

• Functions and events - Most Summer stays will involve a Community Event, we would love you to help make these happen and will give you time off, or delicious treats, to make sure that the energy exchange feels fair.

• Keeping to the Volunteer Agreement (will be e-mailed to you on request).
  
  

DATES AVAILABLE:

• Sun 8th Dec - Sat 4th Jan (4 weeks) - Includes POPUP CAFE

• Sun 5th Jan - Sat 25th Jan (3 weeks) -Includes POPUP CAFE

• Sun 26th Jan - Sat 15th Feb (4 weeks) - Includes POPUP CAFE

• Sun 2nd March - Sat 29th March (4 weeks) -Includes POPUP CAFE & HARVEST FEST & PEOPLE's PANTRY

• Sun 30th March - Sat 19th April (4 weeks) Includes - PEOPLE'S PANTRY

• Sun 20th April - Sat 10th May (4 weeks) Includes - PEOPLE'S PANTRY

If this sounds interesting, please email the general manager at general.manager@gbslc.org for more information.