Become a Deep Roots Volunteer

“What you learn and share as a volunteer can enhance not only your gardening skills but is an enjoyable way to work together to make a positive impact on our community. Everyone can help out as their time permits by choosing activities that they enjoy.”
–Will Schreiber, Co-executive Director, Deep Roots Project

Learn. Share. Grow. Volunteer.

We invite you to be a part of our sustainable movement right here in our own backyards! We want all our volunteers to have fun and learn while they contribute to expanding the Deep Roots community. We can customize a volunteer assignment to your time, interests and skills. So come grow with us, get your hands in the dirt (or not). Meet like-minded individuals who care about the earth and are ready to promote, educate, inspire, celebrate and build a sustainable community that:

• creates a healthy environment for our families

• grows our own food

• takes toxics out of our yards and our homes

• shares our skills and tools

• understands which foods ensure a long and healthy life

• supports healthy lifestyles for all ages

Volunteering at Deep Roots Project is a great way to not only give back but to also learn how to grow healthy organic vegetables, help the environment by utilizing organic gardening techniques, and teach others how to be better gardeners. It is also an opportunity to expand skills like social media marketing and meet lots of wonderful local people.

Explore the possibilities

We encourage you to set up a time to meet with or talk to Estelle Carol about volunteer possibilities. She will work with you to determine the best fit between your time and skills and our needs. Reach Estelle by text or a phone call at 708-616-6473 for a quick response. Reach her also by email at estelle@deep-roots-project.org — although her reply may be delayed.

Learn while you volunteer

Gardening opportunities:

• Grow your own veggies in a section of a DRP raised bed. Plant seedlings or plant seeds. Our drip irrigation system will water your plants and your seeds.

• Plant seedlings and seeds with the unique DRP growing method

• Spray DRP garden weekly with fish emulsion containing nitrogen

• Prevent pests with weekly spraying of 3 safe organic sprays – Neem Oil, Caterpillar Killer (BT), Pyrethrum

• Mulch veggie seedlings with straw

• Help weed our raised beds, native gardens and decorative gardens

• Spread 2 inches of compost on all DRP raised beds in the fall

• Help prune tomatoes and other regular tomato maintenance like carefully remove diseases leaves without spreading disease to other leaves

• Learn how to grow a beautiful and healthy decorative, flower, shrub and native garden alongside an edible garden

• Prune berry bushes and some decorative plants

More volunteer opportunities:

• Share our Facebook and Instagram posts

• Help create short fun Facebook posts

• Become a DRP Ambassador, tell friends and family about us. Host a private viewing of our DRP video at your house or on zoom

• Organize a small private gardening class in the DRP garden. We teach, you Invite a few friends, family members, neighbors, colleagues, etc

• Take weekly photos (or shoot videos) of the Deep Roots garden

• Help Carol call people who have volunteered in the past

• Help talk about DRP at Farmers Market (in Oak Park and other towns). Hand our our flyer and talk to people about what we do

• Lead a food gardening class for kids

• Help coordinate a DRP food garden sharing and partnering program for people with and without gardening space