Free Seeds and Transplants: Volunteers Needed

It's only January, but we are already gearing up for the 2012 growing season! This time every year, Denver Urban Gardens distributes applications for our Free Seeds and Transplants Program to community centers, schools, churches, and senior centers throughout Metro Denver. In early February, we will collect nearly 2,000 applications from those same centers, and enter the information into a database so that we can order vegetable seeds and transplants to be delivered for spring planting. 

We are seeking volunteers to assist with data entry for this program! For each data-entry shift listed below, we can take up to five volunteers. 

• Wednesday, February 8th, 9:00am - 12:30pm (Shift is full.)
• Wednesday, February 8th, 1:00pm - 5:00pm
• Thursday, February 9th, 9:00am - 12:30pm
• Thursday, February 9th, 1:00pm - 5:00pm
• Monday, February 13th, 9:00am - 12:30pm (Shift is full.)
• Monday, February 13th, 1:00pm - 5:00pm
• Tuesday, February 14th, 9:00am - 12:30pm (Shift is full.)

Volunteers interested in this opportunity should be comfortable using Microsoft Excel, and not mind repetitive data entry tasks (though you are welcome to bring your headphones for Pandora, internet radio and/or your own mp3 player). Because we will be signing up exactly as many volunteers as we have spare computers, we ask that you only sign up for this opportunity if you are absolutely sure you can make it. To sign up, please email us at dirt@dug.org and let us know which shift you would prefer. We will confirm within two business days.

To learn more about the Free Seeds and Transplants Program, click here. 

What happens in the winter time?

A DeLaney volunteer puts freshly planted garlic to bed for the winter. Here at DUG, our staff are constantly being asked about what we do in the winter time. It's a fair question, especially on days like today, when the sky is grey and the ground is covered in snow! The truth is, things never really slow down. During the growing season we are busy partnering with residents to build new community gardens; helping community members find gardens to join; supporting school garden clubs, youth farmers' markets, and other youth programs; growing tons of veggies at our community farm; supporting garden leadership; distributing free seeds and transplants to communities in need; teaching weekly compost classes; and scores of other activities geared at empowering communities and creating local access to fresh, healthy food. 

This time of year, our biggest task is evaluating, improving, and preparing programs for next year. We are also busy planning new community gardens, creating and updating resources, making field plans for our community farm, and facilitating our ongoing education and outreach programs. 

So even though it's chilly outside and the gardens are all buttoned up for the year, we have a ton of options for you to keep growing and learning: 

• Our Master Composter and Master Community Gardener training programs are both accepting applicants right now! Both programs take place over several weeks in the spring, and provide valuable information and outlets for giving back to the community. 

• Our ongoing Helping Kids Get Healthy Workshop Series trains youth educators in faciliting DUG's School Garden and Nutrition Curriculum. The next workshop is in January. Stay tuned for details!

• Speaking of youth curriculum, it's all here, online, for free! DUG's School Garden and Nutrition Curriculum has been recently updated to reflect new health standards. 

• Can't get enough of school gardens? We just released the first edition of our brand new school garden newsletter, The Educational Carrot. Click here to view the first issue. Click here to subscribe. 

• Looking to volunteer or intern with Denver Urban Gardens? Click here to join our general volunteer list, which keeps you posted on volunteer opportunities with all DUG programs. Click here to be notified of upcoming internship opportunities. 

• The deadline to apply for our Free Seeds and Transplants program is on February 1st, 2012. Click here to receive a reminder to pick up your application in January. 

• Thinking about starting a community garden? Check out the first installment of our new webinar series, created in partnership with LiveWell Colorado.  

• We recently reformatted our website, and added a new section to highlight our exciting research with the Colorado School of Public Health. This is also where you'll find our documentary, A Garden in Every Neighborhood. 

Gardeners: how are you spending your free time, now that your garden is put to bed? Tell us in the comments!

We need volunteers!

Distribution week for our Free Seeds and Transplants Program is coming up, and we are looking for some great volunteers to help us get seed orders to nearly 40 community centers, senior centers and schools in Denver. There are two ways you can help:

Sort Seeds for our Free Seeds and Transplant Program:

Every year, Denver Urban Gardens distributes free vegetable seeds and transplants to over 5,000 residents-in-need. Over two days in March, we partner with a senior volunteer group to fill those seed orders at the East Montclair Community Center. This year, we're also looking for volunteers to assist with quality control. Quality control volunteers will check each seed order to make sure it's correct. We are looking for three volunteers per shift. 

Available shifts:

• Monday, 3/14, 9am - Noon
• Monday, 3/14, 1pm - 4pm
• Tuesday, 3/15, 9am - Noon
• Tuesday, 3/15, 1pm - 4pm (Can take 4 volunteers this shift.)

Morning volunteers would be welcome to stay through lunch, and afternoon volunteers would be welcome to arrive early for lunch (Noon - 1pm). If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact us with your name, contact information, and list the shift(s) you're interested in. We can take up to three volunteers per shift (and 4 volunteers on the 3/15 afternoon shift), so small groups are welcome. 

Deliver Seeds for our Free Seeds and Transplants Program:

Our free seeds and plants are distributed through nearly 40 recreation centers, senior centers, and schools across Denver. We are seeking volunteers to deliver seeds to those distribution centers on Wednesday, March 16th. Each delivery route consists of 4-6 distribution centers. At 10am on Wednesday, March 16th, volunteers will pick up 4-6 medium-sized boxes at the East Montclair Community Center, and deliver those boxes to 4-6 distribution centers in Denver. You would need access to a vehicle for this opportunity, though it's not necessary that you have a truck or SUV. 

Available routes (each route consists of 4-6 delivery points): 

• Central/North Denver
• Central/West Denver
• East Denver
• Northeast Denver
• Northwest Denver
• South Denver

If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact us with your name and contact information, and let us know what route you're interested in.

We need volunteers!

Every year, Denver Urban Gardens distributes free vegetable seeds and transplants to over 5,000 residents-in-need. Operating this program means processing over 2,000 applications, and this year we are asking for volunteer support. Volunteer shifts are three hours each (we can be flexible if needed), and consist of entering seed and transplant orders from applications into an Excel spreadsheet in the Denver Urban Gardens office (34th and Blake Street, Denver). Volunteers should be comfortable with basic Microsoft Excel tasks. All computers are Macs. We can take four volunteers per shift. 

Available shifts:

• Wednesday, 2/9, 9am - Noon
• Wednesday, 2/9, 1pm - 4pm
• Thursday, 2/10, 9am - Noon
• Thursday, 2/10, 1pm - 4pm
• Monday 2/14, 9am - Noon
• Monday, 2/14, 1pm - 4pm
• Tuesday, 2/15, 9am - Noon
• Tuesday, 2/15, 1pm - 4pm
• Wednesday, 2/16, 9am - Noon
• Wednesday, 2/16, 1pm - 4pm
• Thursday, 2/17, 9am - Noon
• Friday, 2/18, 9am - Noon

If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact us with your name, and list the shift(s) you're interested in. We can take up to four people per shift, so small groups are welcome. We will reply to confirm your shift within two business days. You can also call the DUG office at 303.292.9900 and ask for Abbie Harris or Jen Babbington. 

Click here to learn more about this program. 

Semillas y Transplantes Gratuitos

Thanks to volunteer Stefanie Bakken, DUG's first translated web page is up now! This is the first step in making our online resources more accessible. Are you fluent in Spanish and looking for a volunteer opportunity you can do from the comfort of your home? Email us at dirt@dug.org. Click here to view Semillas y Transplantes Gratuitos.