Active — compost crew enrolled
Sweetwater Community Garden Compost and Kids Garden
Voluntary compost and unused-lot care at Sweetwater Community Garden, exchanged for the lots that let us grow a parent-participation Kids Garden.
Where this stands
Active — compost crew enrolled, and the first Kids Garden pilot session has been held with five children. The work is running on the garden's agreed schedule. Expansion to a second plot happens only after a review of the first six sessions, and no fixed public schedule is published here yet.
About this project
Sweetwater Community Garden Compost and Kids Garden
This is the trade that started it. CCE volunteers take on the compost and the care of the unused lots at Sweetwater Community Garden, and in return the garden gives CCE more lots to grow a Kids Garden in.
The compost work is unglamorous and specific: teaching volunteers and families the approved compost routine, keeping the area orderly, and logging every session — date, volunteers, materials, turning and watering, problems, and the next action. The unused lots get weeded, cleared of litter and their paths kept.
The Kids Garden is where families come in. Two 20 ft × 20 ft plots, up to ten children per session at five per plot, with parents and guardians helping rather than waiting. The first pilot session ran with five children, which is the point at which this stopped being a plan.
Expansion is deliberately slow. Each added plot needs two more trained CCE adults, and the plan is to review after the first six sessions — or six weeks — before taking on more. Lot access, adult coverage, water, tools and real family participation all have to be there first.
The work
What it actually takes
The compost and lot care
- Confirm lot count, boundaries, access times, water, storage, approved compost material and disposal location
- Keep a simple site map
- Post the approved compost materials and care steps where everyone can see them
- Log each compost session: date, volunteers, materials, turning and watering, problems, next action
- Inspect the unused lots and record what needs doing
The Kids Garden
- Assign the five-person Kids Garden team and a first-aid lead
- Prepare sign-in, emergency contact, tool and compost instructions
- Orient parents and volunteers before the first session
- Track enrolment, attendance, parent hours, volunteer hours and any safety incident
- Review after six sessions before adding another plot
What is needed
What this project needs right now
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Garden support volunteer (Kids Garden) — 2 needed
Prepare supplies, support transitions, help children, reset the plot. Requires youth-safety orientation.
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Compost care and instruction — 2 needed
Maintain the compost to the approved process and show others how the routine works.
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Unused-lot care — 2 needed
Weeding, litter removal and path care.
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Tools and records — 1 needed
Tool inventory and the compost work log.
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Float and cleanup — 1 needed
Cover absences and do the final check of the area.
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Parent or guardian helper
About two hours per family: setup, activity help, cleanup or checkout.
The money
What is known about the cost
- Cash budget: not stated in the plan
- Resources already in place: CCE tool inventory and storage cabinet, site water, approved compost materials
- Each added plot requires two more trained CCE adults
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