Activity Facilitator

Growing Together Levenshulme provides an allotment space and gardening activities for asylum seekers and refugees in the Manchester area. The Garden is a place for refugees and asylum seekers to meet new people, learn and share gardening skills and relax in the beautiful space we’ve created together. 

We are now open Tuesday and Friday daytimes, and are looking for Activity Facilitator volunteers to aid the running of one or both of these days each week at Levenshulme Allotments. 

Volunteers will help decide on gardening tasks, provide support for participants in their activities, and contribute to the overall organization and running of the project through monthly volunteer meetings. Being a gardening expert is not required! While gardening is the focus of the project, skills in construction and creative projects are also welcomed.. We focus on participant wellbeing and can support volunteers to ease into the role.

Roles and responsibilities:

• Working with small groups on a variety of gardening tasks including weeding, sowing, planting, harvesting, composting, fruit tree pruning 
• Planning and delivering seasonally relevant gardening activities

Gardening expertise is not essential for this role but some experience would be beneficial. Though not essential, some level of French, Farsi, Urdu or Portuguese would be particularly helpful. 
 
This role would suit somebody who:

• Works well with people from a variety of backgrounds
• Has good people skills and an ability to listen to and support people who are under considerable stress. 
• Enjoys gardening and working with plants
• Is able to work under their own initiative whilst also being able to work as part of a team. 
• Enjoys working outdoors (in all weathers!)
• We particularly welcome applications from people with lived experience of the asylum system.

Covid-19:

Since reopening in-person sessions, we have introduced a number of precautions to reduce risk of transmission, including mask-wearing inside. These guidelines have come from the participants and help the safe running of the project