Thank you to all of our Maple Syrup Project Volunteers!
We held our first public maple boil down since 2020 at the Growing Center on Saturday, March 11 - and saw just short of 500 visitors pass through! We had about 60 volunteers help us with everything from tapping the maple trees, collecting sap and recording data to outreach & promotion, transporting materials and supplies, setting up, site prep, boiler monitoring, providing hands-on assistance and educational outreach and finishing the final maple product offsite! Many thanks go to Paula Jordan, Emily Reckard-Mota and her team from Groundwork Somerville, Travis McGrath, Mica Weld, Lili Bettolo, Spence Albin, Cherie Lepak, Neelakshi Hudda and her Environmental Studies students from Tufts University, Connexion United Methodist Church in East Somerville, and David Ginovisian and his students from the Somerville High School CTE Culinary Arts Program. More information about the Somerville Maple Syrup Project and Maple Boil Down can be found here.
2023 Season:
Volunteer Orientations Begin March 27!
Volunteer Orientations are held second Saturday and fourth Tuesday of the month at the Growing Center, 22 Vinal Ave, Somerville.
Sign up here, email Morgan at volunteer@thegrowingcenter.org, or just show up!
Orientations give new volunteers a general history of the space and detailed instructions on stewardship and volunteer "jobs." Newly oriented volunteers come away with loads of information, with follow-up packets emailed after the fact, at which points you can choose which teams to join. (And that can always change around!) They last about 80 minutes.
2023 Volunteer Orientation Schedule:
Tuesday, March 28 ~ 5:30-7:00 pm
Saturday, April 8 ~ 9:30-11:00 am
Tuesday, April 25 ~ 5:30-7:00 pm
Saturday, May 13 ~ 9:30-11:00 am
Tuesday, May 23 ~ 5:30-7:00 pm
Saturday, June 10 ~ 9:30-11:00 am
Tuesday, June 27 ~ 5:30-7:00 pm
Saturday, July 8 ~ 9:30-11:00 am
Tuesday, July 25 ~ 5:30-7:00 pm
Saturday, August 12 ~ 9:30-11:00 am
Tuesday, August 22 ~ 5:30-7:00 pm
Saturday, September 9 ~ 9:30-11:00 am
Tuesday, September 26 ~ 5:30-7:00 pm
Saturday, October 14 ~ 9:30-11:00 am
Tuesday, October 24 ~ 5:30-7:00 pm
Upcoming Committee Meetings:
Strategic Planning/Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - Joint Meeting
Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 22, 6:30 pm (over Zoom)
Email: Stacey, stacey@thegrowingcenter.org for link info! Join us!
Info: Have any background in organizational or non-profit planning? Just interested in participating as a stakeholder in how we (re)envision the next 3-5 years? Participation commitments can vary; outreach, weekly to monthly meetings. We’d love your help, knowledge and experience! This important team’s background work towards development of a strategic plan will produce. significant outcomes, leading the Center into the next decade, with shared commitment to the organization’s renewed mission, vision, values, capacities and potential. If you cannot make this meeting but would like to be involved, email Lisa at lisa@thegrowingcenter.org.
Snow Team
Snow is coming! Someday! Want to help keep the center open and accessible through the snowy months? We need folks to be on our snow team! Contact volunteer@thegrowingcenter.org for more information.
Ongoing Opportunities:
The Growing Center offers many flexible and relaxing opportunities to volunteer time and skills, both outdoors and indoors, even if your schedule is unpredictable! Some are ongoing and open to everyone, and others are best suited for volunteers who have attended one of our volunteer orientations.
We use our newsletter to announce general, all-inclusive volunteer opportunities, as well as upcoming free programming events, and volunteer orientations. To sign up, go here.
Join the Growing Center's Compost Team
Want to learn more about turning food waste into healthy soil? Join the Growing Center's Compost Team. You'll get training on how to support and manage a community compost system while making use of your own household food scraps.
Contact: volunteer@thegrowingcenter.org for more details.
Volunteer Open Garden hosts Needed!
Tasks: Hosts open up the garden, set up FCGC table, welcome visitors, track and report attendance. Open Hours for 2023 are Thursdays 4:00-6:00; Saturdays 10:00 am - 12:00 pm; and Sundays 12:00-2:00 pm. They begin April 1.
Contact: Morgan, volunteer@thegrowingcenter.org.
Strategic Planning Team
Have any background in organizational or non-profit planning? Just interested in participating as a stakeholder in how we (re)envision the next 3-5 years? Participation commitments can vary; outreach, weekly to monthly meetings. We’d love your help, knowledge and experience! This important team’s background work towards development of a strategic plan will produce significant outcomes, leading the Center into the next decade, with shared commitment to the organization’s renewed mission, vision, values, capacities and potential. Contact Lisa at lisa@thegrowingcenter.org.
Help with planning for a Traveling Exhibit
For our 30th anniversary, we are exploring the idea of an exhibit exploring the residents and citizens of Somerville and the impact the Growing Center has had (and is having) on them. If you have curating or exhibit experience, graphic design, framing, event planning, etc, let us know if you would be interested in joining our team!
Contact: Betsy betsy@thegrowingcenter.org or Lisa lisa@thegrowingcenter.org
