GEF’s volunteer opportunities focus on K-12 sustainability education programs; volunteers can introduce GEF’s free on-line programs to any school. Volunteer to assist with a green team program, class activity or school wide project. Read on to learn more and to get involved today!
GEF Volunteer Program: Green Thumb Challenge
Green Education Foundation (GEF) has launched the largest youth based gardening initiative in history calling on schools and groups to plant 10,000 gardens during the Green Thumb Challenge! Following are some of the activities that you can assist teachers, students and school administrators with during the Green Thumb Challenge:
- Organize and plan the creation of indoor or outdoor school or youth gardens. Many steps and people are necessary to accomplish this task, however, a “go to person” or leader is essential to get the project started
- Fundraise materials needed to plant a garden. Organize a means to procure garden supplies such as tools, seeds, and organic fertilizer.
- Organize community members with equipment to prepare (till) land or technical knowledge assist with irrigation
- Build an enclosure around garden
- Build a water feature or bird house
- Organize or participate during the school summer maintenance of the garden
- Establish watering and weeding schedules
- Organize a team of volunteers to assist with these tasks
- Organize or help with the distribution of school and youth gardens harvests
- Coordinate with local food pantry to provide fresh produce
- Organize the canning or preserving of harvest
- Organize or volunteer school activities that promote healthy eating such as creating a healthy foods school cookbook or teaching nutritious cooking, creating recipes and healthy eating lessons
- Organize or help with composting either indoors or outdoors for school or youth gardens
- Build indoor or outdoor compost containers
- Help classrooms to start seeds or plant indoors container gardens
- Organize efforts to beatify schoolyard by planting spring bulbs or trees. These activities could be coordinated with events such as Arbor Day, Earth Day, or GEF’s National Green Week
- Volunteer to read gardening education books to children in classroom or library. Visit the GEF website for green book suggestions.
- Organize or help children do crafts relating to gardening
- Paint rocks for garden markers
- Paint clay pots for container gardens
- Visit the Green Thumb Challenge activity center for a multitude of activities