Gardening Volunteer – Choice in Hackney

Volunteering as a gardener with us will involve us pairing you with a disabled person who is unable to maintain their garden due to their impairment. You can assist them with simple tasks (such as mowing a lawn or weeding) but with a huge impact on the mental health and general wellbeing of the disabled person.

Gardener Responsibilities

A Volunteer Gardener will be visiting the gardens of disabled people to perform basic gardening tasks.

Basic gardening at the home of, under the direction of the service user. Gardening tasks might include mowing a lawn, weeding, pruning, bagging up garden waste, tidying the garden to improve accessibility
Maintaining a professional approach and boundaries in line with Choice in Hackney’s guidance.
Gardening and interacting safely in line with social distancing and other guidelines for volunteers.
Relating to the service user in a respectful way and adhering to the Choice in Hackney’s equal opportunities policy.
Keeping in touch with the Volunteer Coordinator and informing them of any issues/changes.

Gardening Volunteer Requirements

This is a list of the qualities, skills and knowledge we are looking for in a Volunteer Gardener. Please don’t be put off by this list of requirements – some of the skills and knowledge needed for the role can be learned during the induction period.

Ability to carry out tasks alone and without close supervision.
Good communication skills: listening, talking, etc.
Available to commit to completing 1 garden, usually at the same home as agreed.
Reliability: able to keep commitments and appointments and where necessary, to communicate changes to plans with as much notice as possible.
Empathy and an interest in understanding the barriers with which disabled people are faced.
Ability to recognise own limitations and ask for help when needed.
Ability to understand and follow relevant policies and procedures e.g. confidentiality, health and safety, boundaries.

Before you apply

We always match volunteers with service users on the basis of mutual preferences, availability and location. Volunteers have the right not to perform any tasks they are not comfortable with.

Please feel free to call the Volunteer Coordinator on 020 7613 8134 if you have any questions or need help with completing the form.

Disclosure and Barring check: For all one-to-one roles, we will carry out an enhanced DBS check. This is a legal requirement and helps us to protect the vulnerable adults to whom we have a duty of care. A criminal conviction will not necessarily prevent you from volunteering with Choice in Hackney so if you have any concerns about the disclosure, please feel free to discuss them in confidence with the Volunteer Coordinator