URBAN HARVEST
What Is It?: A nonprofit that, through its community gardens, education, and Farmers’ Markets, “inspires and empowers people of diverse backgrounds to grow and share healthy foods, in the process enriching the city we all call home.”
Help Needed: Gardening; helping with classes or events, such as the annual fruit tree sale; working on large-scale Earth Day projects.
Minimum Age to Volunteer: 3. Volunteers under 12 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian throughout the activity. Volunteers aged 12-17 must provide a waiver signed by a parent or guardian.
Help Needed
GARDENER
Volunteers are always needed and welcome during workdays at community or school gardens.
For community gardens, find a garden in your area here, then fill out a group volunteer form. An Urban Harvest representative will contact you to place you. For school gardens, ask to join the email list and you will be invited to regular work days.
CLASS ASSISTANT
Help garden educators teach Houston-area school children after school at a youth partner site. Volunteer as a weekly assistant or for specific activities like cooking demos or garden maintenance. The after-school times are Mon-Fri, and run from 3-5 pm or 4-6pm (approx. 2.5 hrs each class).
For other classes or events, you can help with setup, checking in registrants, selling books, and breakdown, and attend the class (or another class) for free.
HELP AT ANNUAL FRUIT TREE SALE
This January sale relies on hundreds of volunteers to help sell more than 3,000 fruit trees for planting throughout the Houston area.
Volunteers help with unloading trees, sales, giving planting advice, cleaning up, and more. Please contact Urban Harvest in November if you want to help.
EARTH DAY WORKDAY
In April, help community gardens throughout the Greater Houston area realize large-scale projects that they could not otherwise accomplish. Projects may include building or repairing garden beds, mulching pathways, planting fruit trees, building picnic tables and more. Volunteer organization begins in February; please email then if interested.
