A Gardening Buddy is a volunteer whose role is to support/assist individuals to gradually increase their confidence and ability to enjoy engaging with gardening and other outdoor activities. The role is flexible both in scope and time commitment, so please contact us if you have a real appreciation of and interest in gardening, nature and the outdoors, and are enthusiastic about its benefits. Some experience is preferred (and a willingness to develop organic/sustainable techniques) but you don't have to be an expert!
You should, however, be a friendly and empathetic 'people person' who can understand the needs of our supported volunteers (some of whom may have physical and/or mental health challenges and/or learning difficulties).
There is strong evidence that spending time in the natural environment can improve both mental and physical health, so in addition to the personal satisfaction of supporting someone to connect with nature and the community, a Gardening Buddy can also benefit in this way themselves! We share fresh produce and work with other groups to improve the local environment. We currently work mainly in Bideford and Torrington but are looking at other locations in Torridge.
Torridge Growing Together CIC is a welcoming, inclusive group that values all of its supporters/volunteers and works hard to adapt to their needs and aspirations. We encourage feedback and suggestions for improvement and also actively encourage further skills development and training opportunities. We work closely with Bideford Work Club and this role gives the opportunity to develop a range of life skills and transferable employability skills, as well as the possibility of gaining experience in the social care or environmental/ horticultural sectors.
We are very conscious of safe working practices, and our Gardening Buddies will be required to have an enhanced DBS check before supporting vulnerable people. If you are not registered with the update service, we will organise (and pay for) the most appropriate DBS check for your role.
Application Process:
TGT prefers to take a stepwise approach to growing our Gardening Buddy Team. We recommend an informal conversation initially, to discuss the role more fully. We would then suggest that you engage in some general volunteering with us first and start the induction process. If you seem to be well-matched to this role, we will then initiate the DBS checks and may call for references, while you work alongside an established member of the mentoring team.