Volunteering at Kelmarna is a great way to gain practical experience with organic gardening and farm management, meet new people, and make a positive impact for your community. 

Kelmarna Gardens is made possible by volunteers, and everyone has something to contribute! We have a number of different volunteering opportunities you can get involved in, so please have a look below, and we look forward to hearing from you!

Please note that the volunteer opportunities on this page are for individuals. So if you are interested in joining us for a session as a group, then please visit our Team Experiences page for more information and bookings. Kia ora!
Farmhands Programme
(Fridays, 9am - 3pm)
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​Farmhands is our 16-week volunteering and training programme, for people wanting to learn regenerative organic food growing skills, and become regular contributors in our urban farm environment.

In the Farmhands programme, you will learn and work alongside your peers in a small group environment, gaining knowledge and hands-on experience in many of the skills needed to manage a super productive home garden, or move towards a future in food growing.

If you are interested to find out more, or be part of our next edition of the programme, head over to the Farmhands page for much more info.
Garden Volunteer
(Thursdays & Saturdays, 9am - 1.30pm)
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Our Open Garden Volunteer days are every Thursday and Saturday, from 9am - 1.30pm. Whether you have lots of gardening experience, or none, this is a great opportunity to learn new skills and get to know the Kelmarna site and how we manage it, with lots of support from our team and your peers.

Once registered and inducted, you can attend any Thursday or Saturday that suits you on a flexible basis.

  • Gain practical experience of all processes of organic gardening - seed-raising, sowing, planting, weed management, harvesting, composting, and more
  • Assist with caring for our animals
  • Work alongside like-minded people
  • Spend time in nature, in the heart of the city
  • Share a hot lunch made from our produce fresh from the garden
  • Get your hands dirty, have fun and contribute to your community
Harvest Volunteer
(Tuesday, anytime from early morning til midday)
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Join in on harvest to help get our fruits and vegetables ready for our community.
We start early with harvesting for our veggie boxes, then carry on with a range for the farm shop. You can start bright and early  at 7am if that's your thing, or join in later at a time that suits you. We finish harvest at midday, and you're welcome to stay for lunch.
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Shop Volunteer
(Wednesdays 10am - 4pm and Saturdays 8.30am - 12.30pm)
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We have a small team of awesome volunteers who sell our produce here in the Shop on Saturday mornings. Shop volunteering is organised on a rota basis, so you can sign up for the dates that suit you. Ideally we are looking for people who'd like to help out with a shift at least once every 4-6 weeks or so. 

We are aiming to have two volunteers helping each Saturday, meaning it's a great role to do with a friend, or your kids, or sign up individually as a nice way to get involved in Kelmarna and meet new people.

Full training in everything you need to know will be provided, and there will be a Kelmarna staff member on-site to support you.

Running the shop is an easy, fun, and sociable weekend volunteering opportunity, and the money from produce sales makes a huge difference for Kelmarna.
Education Volunteer
(various opportunities during school hours)​
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We host a lot of regular and one-off visits from school and pre-school groups, where we engage children with the natural world, food and where it comes from, and sustainability. It's really rewarding seeing their knowledge and understanding grow over time.

If you enjoy working with kids, have an interest in nature (some gardening experience is great but not essential), and would like to give us a hand with teaching for a couple of hours a week, please get in touch and come and try it out.
Soil Factory Volunteer
(Wednesdays, 9am - 11am  &  Fridays, 10.30am - 1pm)
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Soil Factory is Kelmarna's community composting service, composting food scraps from local households and businesses, which are collected by e-bike and trailer every Friday morning.

We're currently looking for volunteers to help us with two roles:

  • E-bike collections - If you are a competent and confident cyclist and keen to cruise the neighbourhood with us in the name of waste-busting, then please get in touch using the form below!
 
  • Compost making - If you're keen to learn how to make beautiful rich and fertile compost, then you've come to the right place! Come and learn all about the science behind compost and the microbial players in the pile, but note that this one's only for those okay with getting a bit mucky - all in a day's work!

If you are keen to get involved in learning about and making community-scale compost but aren't available regularly on Fridays, please get in touch as there are also opportunities to get stuck in throughout the week.
Handyperson
(anytime Mondays - Fridays, 8.30am - 4.30pm)
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​If you are good with your hands, we always have things that need fixing up, taking down, putting together or taking apart. We have plenty of odd jobs for a variety of skill sets.
However else you can help!
(please get in touch below)
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If you'd like to volunteer to support Kelmarna with other talents or skills outside of gardening - like graphic design, fundraising, IT systems, event management,  or anything else you think might be useful - then please get in touch!​
Sign Up to Volunteer