Planning and starting your community garden by Russ Grayson + Fiona Campbell

< making a start < challenges < bottom-up approach < let's start planning
< where will we garden? < designing the garden < let's start building
< the management phase < gardening cooking and eating
< your community garden project < useful skills for community garden organisers
< member agreement < full document for printing

MEMBER AGREEMENT

The level of formal organisation in a community garden depends on the number of participants and how well they know and get on with each other.

For larger gardens, having new members sign an agreement covering their gardening activity is a way to:

• make known gardener's rights and responsibilities
• ensure the garden is managed in accordance with the wishes of the group.

The aim is for an informal, hassle-free garden.

A gardener's agreement might make clear:

• the purpose and objectives of the garden
• what is allowable/ not allowable if the garden is to be cultivated by organic techniques
• the dispute resolution structure
• how decisions are made
• membership fees, how and when they are paid and the consequences of non-payment in gardens with private allotments, how long an allotment can be left unused before it is passed on to someone else
• the contribution of time to shared garden space and the maintenance of the grounds, structures, equipment and shared composting facilities.

PAGE UPDATED... Tuesday, 15 January 2002