Volunteer with Us

Our volunteers are not helpers in the background. They are the backbone of Common Ground Suffolk. Everything we do in gardens, in community spaces, and in the landscape beyond begins with someone agreeing to show up.

Why this matters

The challenges we are responding to are not abstract, and they are not going away. Food insecurity is rising. Insect populations are in freefall. The connection between people and the land, between communities and their food, has never been weaker or more in need of repair.

We cannot address any of this from a desk. The work that changes things happens in gardens, in community spaces, in conversations over seedlings with someone who has never grown a thing before. It happens because someone showed up. That someone is a volunteer.

Without our volunteers, there is no growing support for the households who need it. There are no community sessions. There is no ecological restoration, no raised beds installed, no wildlife habitats created. The mission only exists because people choose to give their time to it.

The work that changes things does not happen in offices or committee rooms. It happens in gardens, in communities, in the hands of people who showed up.

What you will do

Growing support visits are at the heart of our work. As a trained volunteer, you will visit households across Suffolk: people who want to grow food but need a helping hand to get started, to keep going, or to do more with the space they have. You might help someone plan and plant a raised bed. You might install a water butt or a simple composting system. You might spend an afternoon with someone who needs company and encouragement as much as practical guidance. You come away having made something more resilient than it was before.

Beyond individual visits, volunteers contribute to:

• Community growing sessions open to the public, where anyone can come to learn and take part
• Installing growing infrastructure at community sites across our area
• Ecological work: planting wildlife habitat, establishing pollinator corridors, and building the connected green network we are creating across Suffolk
• Helping to run events and outreach activities that extend our reach to people who might not otherwise find us

No two visits are the same. The people you meet, the spaces you help transform, the things you learn along the way: this is work that gives back as much as it asks.

You go to help someone grow food. You come back with a new understanding of your community, and usually a friend.

You do not need to be an expert

We do not expect our volunteers to arrive as horticultural experts. We expect them to arrive with enthusiasm, patience, and a willingness to learn alongside the people they are helping.

Before undertaking any visits, all volunteers complete our training programme. It covers the practical skills you need to be genuinely useful: soil preparation, sowing and planting, water management, companion planting, and wildlife-friendly growing. You will also be briefed on how we work, who we work with, and how to approach visits sensitively and effectively. We will not send you out before you are ready. And we will continue to support you throughout your time with us.

We particularly welcome people with experience in horticulture, ecology, health and social care, education, or community work. But these are advantages, not requirements. Our most effective volunteers are often those who simply care deeply and show up consistently.

Who we are looking for

Volunteering with Common Ground Suffolk is open to anyone aged 16 or over who lives in, works in, or has a meaningful connection to Suffolk, and who supports what we are trying to do.

You do not need a large garden. You do not need formal qualifications. You need enthusiasm for the mission, the reliability to honour your commitments to the people we support, and the patience to work at each person’s own pace.

Volunteering is separate from membership. You can volunteer without becoming a member, and many people do. If you later want a vote in how the Society is run, membership is always open to you.

The commitment

There is no minimum. Some volunteers give a few hours a month. Others are more deeply involved. Whatever you can offer is welcome, and we will never make you feel that it is not enough. We will always match you with visits in your area and give you plenty of notice so you can plan around your life.

Volunteering with us is unpaid, but it is not without reward. You will be trained and supported, part of a growing community of people doing work that matters, and connected to the land and to your neighbours in a way that very few things can replicate.

How to apply

Before applying, please read the Volunteer Handbook. It sets out in full what we ask of our volunteers, what you can expect from us in return, and how visits are organised and supported.