Garden Events Volunteer
March - September 2023
We are looking for 1-2 volunteers to join our team at Hackney Herbal. This is for a specific volunteering role that involves working alongside our team during our free monthly community events held at Trowbridge Gardens. These events are free to attend and open for everyone to join. We normally sell herbal tea, cakes and plants as part of the events and have some free workshops or activities for people to take part in. Some previous events have involved seed swaps, cyanotype (sun prints), herbal tea blending, seed sowing and making string from nettles.
This is a great opportunity for someone who wants to gain experience of working in the community gardening / social enterprise / herbal sector and gain skills relating to delivering community events. We normally have at least one event eg. an open day each month with our bigger events taking place around summer solstice (June) and autumn equinox (September).
Our first event of the year will be on the 4th February so if you would like to get a feel for our events before applying do pop by!
About Hackney Herbal
Hackney Herbal is a social enterprise promoting wellbeing through herbs. We specialise in creative activities that connect and inspire people about the extensive uses of herbs.
We are based at a garden in Hackney Wick where we support local people and volunteers to learn about horticulture, herbs and natural crafts and where we grow herbs. We run regular community courses, weekly nature-based sessions, volunteering and social activities that support people to develop new skills, make friends and improve their physical and mental health. Our key outcomes follow the themes of health, education and community resilience.
A core focus of our work since the beginning has been ensuring our work is accessible and freely available to people in our local community. As a social enterprise we use all the profits generated from ticketed workshops, privately booked herbal events and herbal tea sales to fund free nature based activities connecting people and herbs in Hackney.
Look us up here: www.hackneyherbal.com / Instagram @hackneyherbal
Role Details
The volunteer role will run from March - September 2023
This is an unpaid volunteer role but we are able to cover travel expenses you incur whilst carrying out the role
Events take place once a month on a Saturday or a Sunday. Most of them are on Saturday afternoons
Event times vary from 2-4 hours with most being about 3 hours long, and there is generally 1 hour of setting up and about 1 hour of packing down before and after the event. This varies depending on the event.
The events take place outdoors and unless there is extreme/dangerous weather go ahead in all conditions
The role will be based at our garden in Hackney Wick. The address is Trowbridge Gardens, 1 Trowbridge Road, E9 5LD. Both gardens are on one level/step-free and are attached to an accessible building with an accessible toilet.
This role is open to adults aged 18 and above
Key responsibilities
Assisting HH staff on the day with the prepping and delivery of our garden events which involve tasks like:
Setting up the space, putting up signage, getting workshop areas ready
Assisting with the plant sale
Serving tea and cake
Generally welcoming people into the space
Helping out with activities - these vary across events eg. seed swap, craft workshop, seed sowing and making herbal remedies
Packing away after the event has finished
Additional responsibilities
There are some additional ways (optional) in which you can also help us in relation to our public events but these are not essential to the role:
Helping to promote the events:
By putting up flyers in the local area
Spreading the word online
Event prep, getting materials ready ahead of the event:
Making herbal tea to be served on the day
Prepping materials needed for workshops
Key benefits of the role
Experience working with a fun and creative nature-based social enterprise
Opportunity to develop skills and experience relating to organising and running community events
Free access to some of our paid/ticketed workshop
Access to free training and opportunities that are offered to our organisation by others.
Requirements & Commitment
We are looking for someone who is:
A social person who loves being around others and enjoys getting stuck in
Eager to learn new things as well as develop skills and confidence relating to organising and running community events
Passionate about being part of a fun and creative community enterprise
Happy to get on with tasks on their own as well as working together with others as part of a team
Able to commit to supporting one event a month. We are flexible on this though as we appreciate you will have other weekend commitments and things already booked in.
Ideally based in Hackney or close to the garden. As a place-based organisation we would love someone local to us to take up this role
How to apply
To apply please send us no more than 1 page A4 document outlining the following:
Why you are applying for the volunteer role
What experience you can bring to the role
What you are hoping to get out of the role
Confirming your availability for weekend events (particularly if there are times/dates you know you are not available)
If you prefer you can also send us a video or voice recording that is no longer than 3 minutes.
If you have any problems with applying or need any further assistance just ask us. Send an email to Nat on hello@hackneyherbal.com It’s much easier for us to get back to you on email but you can also call us on 020 8986 3389. We are often out and about so leave us a message on the answer phone with your details and we will call you back. We are happy to help you!
Please send your application to Camila at camila@hackneyherbal.com by 9am on 20th February 2023. Please write your name in the subject line like this: 'Your Name - Volunteer Application'
You can also post your completed application to us at Hackney Herbal, Studio 16, Celia Fiennes House, 8-20 Well Street, Hackney, E9 7PX.
Shortlisted applicants will be invited to an interview on Saturday 4th March.