Book an Adventure

Come and join our Community Garden at
Basecamp North Lakes!

Community Garden Benefits

  • Improves the health and wellbeing of those involved – Our garden will be designed to be accessible to people with a wide range of mobility levels.
  • Improves the quality of life for people in the garden – People report feeling happier and healthier through their involvement in gardens.
  • Connects people to their community – Many people talk of never seeing their neighbours, not feeling part of the community, feeling isolated – being involved in a community garden enables people to connect with their community in a meaningful way – one that respects difference and promotes diversity.
  • Provides a catalyst for neighbourhood and community development.
  • Stimulates Social Interaction.
  • Encourages Self-Reliance.
  • Improves local biodiversity.
  • Produces Nutritious Food – Food costs have risen significantly in recent years. Organic food is often beyond the reach of many, especially those in receipt of pensions, disability allowances or benefits. Being able to grow and cook fresh organic produce makes a real difference to diet and health. Many people who would have limited the range of vegetables they would have used, tend to increase the range and quantity of vegetables and fruit they cook with every week as result of involvement in a garden.
  • Reduces Family Food Budgets.

Getting Involved

The Community Garden project is run by our Garden Coordinator Mel who works with us on Tuesday and Wednesday, volunteering days are usually open on one of these days a week. It is located at our home site at Basecamp North Lakes, Troutbeck, Penrith, CA11 0SG. Our hope for the garden is to make it as accessible as possible for anyone who wants to get involved, so even if you have no prior experience with gardening but would like to give it a go then don’t hesitate to get in touch. If you have any disability or mobility requirements then again please reach out to us to discuss how we can best accommodate. At this stage of the project we aren’t able to facilitate the involvement of children under 16 however this is a long term goal of ours :)

We’ve had an amazing start with several superstar wonderful humans offering their time and effort into getting the initial beds laid and we’ve got big plans for the future, so if you’re interested in joining our community garden please contact us at:
[email protected]
or give the office a call on 017687 78438.

What To Expect

Induction

On your first day at the farm you will have an induction, which will include a tour around the farm and provide you with Health and Safety information. Most training is done as part of your work with us. We will explain and guide you through each new task; we’ll also explain how to use tools safely and efficiently every time we use an unfamiliar tool.

Checking that you are settling in

One to one review meetings are available on request. We believe that open communication and feedback is a must, so we will check regularly to make sure you are happy with the tasks that you are being given and in your work with us generally. Any comments or suggestions towards improving specifics or the farm more generally are welcome.

How we communicate

The Volunteer Coordinator will send you regular emails which will have key dates for events and plans are for the upcoming weeks. As a volunteer group, we chat and send photos to each other using ‘Whatsapp’. You can contact the Volunteer Coordinator over the phone or by email.

Volunteer and staff meetings

We have volunteer meetings quarterly. This is your opportunity to have an input into the scheme of work on the garden, learn about the seasonal action plan and get a clearer picture of the growing strategy.

Taking home vegetables

When available, we give volunteers surplus veg as a thank you for your hard work!

What will I need to bring on the day

You should wear work gloves to protect your hands – please bring your own if you can. We can however provide disposable gloves or work gloves if this is not possible.

Wear strong boots or shoes, steel-toe caps are needed if you are working with anything heavy. Bring old clothes which you don’t mind getting dirty. You’ll also need to bring waterproofs. This winter, make sure you come with plenty of warm clothes as indoor time is limited.

Please feel free to bring enough of your own food to keep you going throughout the day. We would also be delighted to offer you a 15% discount on food and drink in the cafe from the cafe, and a 10% discount on your shopping in the Farmshop as a thank you for your volunteering!

Health and safety insurance

We will provide you with a safe working environment, suitable protective clothing and training where required. Please make sure you use tools and personal protective equipment as advised, listen to H&S advice and tell us when you are concerned about any potential problems.

We try to make sure tasks aren’t too strenuous, but please be aware that you might be doing activities that your body is not used to. Work at a pace which suits you, take regular breaks and drink plenty of water. If you’re unsure about how to do a task, or would like some tips- please just ask. If you are finding a job too difficult, we can try to find you other things to do.

Please read through the additional H&S Information and Risk Assessment given to you at your induction. We have insurance in place which covers volunteers. More details of our insurance is available on request. We need to make sure that all our volunteers have had the right information so that you can start volunteering safely and with confidence.

Donation

£