Volunteering and Service Learning at Urban Roots
Sign up for an Urban Roots volunteer or service learning experience to get outside, build your team. and give back to the community, all while feeling the benefits of being active and in nature right here in the city! Contribute to our efforts of addressing food insecurity or habitat restoration.
We are a small staff of dedicated individuals and youth interns managing and maintaining six urban gardens and several local park sites. Your participation is vital to helping us continue our successful programming.
This is the volunteer site for Urban Roots Minnesota – for Urban Roots Austin, visit https://urbanrootsatx.org/volunteer/. Thank you!
Market Garden
Our Market Garden program grows vegetables in five urban plots on the East Side of St. Paul. The gardens allow us to teach youth important job skills, address food insecurity on the East Side, and sell produce to support our vital programming. In the spring, help us prep our garden plots for the growing season, summer, help us weed and maintain our gardens, and in the fall we’ll put our gardens to bed for the winter.
There are many opportunities for groups to help grow food for residents of the East Side! For any questions or information about group volunteer opportunities, please reach out to the Market Garden Outreach Coordinator, Gene, at gwhipple@urbanrootsmn.org
Conservation
In the spring, summer, and fall help restore our local parks by removing invasive species (like garlic mustard and buckthorn), planting trees and native flowers/grasses, collecting native seed, engaging in citizen science, and cleaning our parks of trash and debris. The parks that we focus on include Rivoli Bluffs Farm and Restoration Site, Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary, and Pig’s Eye Regional Park.
Shift times and locations are liable to change based on the availability of our staff. For any additional information or information about individual volunteering opportunities, please email our Conservation Outreach Coordinator, Nina, at ndelgadillo@urbanrootsmn.org.
Individual Volunteer Shifts
If you are an individual looking for a way to get involved, this is a great option. Our community volunteer events are a way to meet new people, give back to the neighborhood, and get your hands dirty. If you’re interested in helping out even more regularly, we suggest coming to this event to get to know us and learn more. Our Market Garden Program runs community volunteer events weekly on Fridays from 9am-12pm during the growing season. If you are interested in this please reach out to Marcos at mgiossi@urbanrootsmn.org
Come help us in the greenhouse this year so we can start the growing season off strong! We are starting over 50 native species of forbs and grasses from seed and we need help transplanting, labeling, and caring for them as they go from seedlings to plants that are big enough to hold their own in our native habitat conservation sites.
FAQs
How long is a shift?
Generally 3 hours, although we recommend 2 hours for middle school students and 1-2 hours for elementary students. Shift lengths can be flexible depending on the needs of your group!
When do Volunteer and Service Learning shifts take place?
Volunteer and Service Learning timing is highly dependent upon the season and available staffing. The best way to know when shifts are available is to check out our volunteer sign-up space above, and to reach out if you have questions.
What should I bring?
Close-toed shoes you don’t mind getting dirty and potentially wet, clothes you don’t mind getting dirty, water bottle, a snack and a willingness to work! Gloves are optional. We provide gloves, but many people like to use their own.
What will Urban Roots provide?
All tools, gloves, work space, projects, and programming! Some rain gear is available upon request as well.
How much does the experience cost?
We don’t charge for our experiences but ask for a donation if you are able. Your donation is a valuable investment in our youth programming and covers staff time for your experience. Click here to donate: https://urbanrootsmn.org/donate/.
What are the minimum and maximum number of people required?
Garden: minimum=5, maximum=25
Conservation: minimum=5, maximum=50 (depending on project and staffing)
Where will my shift be?
Our headquarters address is 845 Edgerton, St. Paul, MN 55130, but your event will take place at one of our many farm and restoration sites here on the East Side of Saint Paul. You will receive an email two business days before your event telling you your exact location, directions to get there, and a cell phone contact for last-minute questions. We plan our projects based on needs and can only tell which location once we see what is going on that week!
I signed up and you didn’t tell me the location! When will I know?
Garden: You will receive an email two business days before your event telling your exact location, directions to get there, and a cell phone contact for last-minute questions. We plan our projects based on the garden’s needs and can only tell which location once we see what is growing that week!
Conservation: You will receive an email at least two business days before your event telling you your exact location, directions to get there, and a cell phone contact for last-minute questions. We plan our projects based on the seasons and park needs and can only tell which location when we see what is needed that week!
What can I expect to be doing?
Garden: Grow food for our community by laying and spreading compost, raking, weeding, cleaning out garden beds, planting, and harvesting.
Conservation: Get to know your local ecology by removing invasive species, planting trees, trimming trees, planting/maintaining rain and pollinator gardens, engaging in citizen science projects, and picking up trash.
What does a 3-hour shift look like?
Arrival and Welcome (10 min) – we will introduce ourselves, give a background about who Urban Roots is, team will sign waivers
Instruction (10 min) – we will explain the projects for the day, demonstrate how to use tools they might need, distribute gloves and tools, and have team choose the project they’d like to work on
Projects! (1-1.5 hrs.) – examples of projects: weed, prep beds, shovel, rake, plant, harvest, build/fix fences, trellis, weed whip, etc.
Break (15 min)
Projects! (1 hr)
Clean-up, Pictures, Goodbyes & Thank yous (20 min)
What if there is bad weather?
We will be in touch with you in the days leading up to the event. We will decide together when to make the call, what weather your team is willing to tolerate, and in what conditions our gardens and green spaces can handle traffic.
What’s the difference between service learning and volunteering?
Service Learning links experience to curriculum. It is designed for students and learners of all ages to be able to participate in a hands-on experience that reinforces something they are learning in your program. Service learning also incorporates reflection. This is something we can facilitate during the experience or you can do back in the classroom. If you are a school or youth organization, likely this is what you should sign up for.
Group Volunteering is an experience built for adult groups such as corporate groups, religious groups, and fellow non-profits! These experiences allow participants to give back to the community and do good in the world, as well as servicing as team building times for groups. Any group of adults can sign-up for Group Volunteering.
What should I do if the times on the calendar don’t work for me?
Sign up for the time that most closely matches the time that works for your group. Then in the comments, share what time you propose. Sometimes we are able to be flexible. We will get back to you as soon as we can.
What are the physical requirements of the volunteer shifts? Can you make accommodations for accessibility?
Typical volunteer shifts include motions such as walking, bending, squatting, twisting, reaching, kneeling, pulling, and carrying 10 to 50 pounds. We encourage everyone to contribute at a level of exertion well within their comfort, and can adapt tasks for those with less-than full mobility (e.g. using long handled tools while standing, rather than squatting, kneeling or reaching.) The urban farm spaces have narrow (1.5ft) aisles between crops and the green spaces are unpaved, so neither is ADA accessible. If you have limited mobility or other accessibility needs, do not hesitate to reach out and make them known! We are accommodating and adaptable, and there are plenty of ways for everyone to contribute.