Garden Project Volunteer

Portsmouth, Waterlooville, Havant, Fareham or Gosport

You have a keen interest in horticulture and its potential to improve mental health, plus the ability to work and communicate well with a team of people with varying abilities. All you need is the perfect environment to put your skills to great use. Welcome to Richmond Fellowship as a Garden Project Volunteer. 

Our East Hampshire Supported Housing Service is tailored for each individual using the service with the ultimate goal to help them manage their accommodation and assist them with reintegration back into independent living and the wider community. We provide units of both intense supported housing and lower-level supported housing, designed to help people move on to independent living. We also provide community-based support with drop-in services and group sessions at different locations throughout East Hampshire.

As a Garden Project Volunteer, your role will involve supporting the service to effectively maintain and develop garden spaces in various locations and ensuring high standards of tidiness and cleanliness. As well as horticultural duties such as planting, watering, weeding, pruning, propagation and maintenance of vegetable beds, optional grounds maintenance duties include sweeping, clearing paths, mowing, edging and compositing. You’ll also be responsible for working alongside and supporting people using our wellbeing service, for example talking them through an activity or task and making them feel at ease. Relevant training will be provided.

In return for your skills and enthusiasm, you’ll have the opportunity to make a valuable contribution to a worthwhile project within the community and the chance to play your part in the development of a garden in an exciting space. You’ll also be working with a positive and friendly team of people who enjoy regular team social events. A full induction in our work and access to relevant online learning to further develop skills, is also provided as is reimbursement of agreed out of pocket expenses like public transport/mileage costs.

We are committed to increasing our diversity and welcome applications from those with Lived Experience.

This is a rolling recruitment process. Candidates will be interviewed as and when they are shortlisted.

On 1st June 2024, Richmond Fellowship, part of Recovery Focus, a national group of charities highly experienced in providing specialist support services to individuals and families living with the effects of mental ill health, drug and alcohol use, gambling and domestic violence merged with Humankind to form a single organisation that provides the joined-up mental health, housing and drug and alcohol support we’ve all known has been needed for decades. In October 2024, Humankind will be renamed to reflect the new organisation.