Adelphi Acre’s Stewardship teams are the backbone of the garden and have been created to strengthen the community and to better manage all of the activities required to keep our garden running smoothly and looking beautiful. Participation in stewardship teams is mandatory and helps members to meet their required monthly two (2) hours of service while allowing them to choose tasks and activities in which they have particular interest or skills. This organized team structure keeps our “Acre” tidy, healthy, and thriving.
AS A REMINDER: AACG is on City of Austin property. Part of the community match that paid for the garden infrastructure was calculated in projected member service hours. Failure to complete these annual hours puts our garden in jeopardy.
Maintaining your plot and the surrounding 2′ perimeter is considered part of your basic plot maintenance and does not count towards required service hours. Service hours are only fulfilled by working in community areas or on stewardship team activities and special projects.
Each plot holder is required to select at least two stewardship teams to participate in. We recognize and appreciate that many members have family or friends assisting in their plot maintenance, and we also encourage these people to join a stewardship team. Placement on a team is on a first-come, first-serve basis, and some teams have limited slots available.
All teams require a captain or co-captains to organize projects, communicate with team members, and set team goals. If you are interested in leading a stewardship team, please select “I want to be a captain” under the Stewardship Team Caption option. If the position is available, you will be provided your team members’ information and more details. Each team also reports to a designated steering committee member. If no leadership positions are taken, members will be selected to manage their team on a quarterly rotational basis.
To find a stewardship team that suits your interests, skills and abilities, please review the team options below.
Note: Teams may be consolidated or changed as the needs of the garden change over time.
Sign up using our online form today!
Outreach Team– OPEN
Team Outreach’s primary task is promoting AACG’s inclusivity and accessibility to all our neighbors. Each year the team sponsors a number of Endowment Plots to mitigate financial hardship as a barrier to participation and membership. The team also develops volunteer relationships with nearby schools and local organizations through planned community activities and events.
Infrastructure Team – OPEN
This team provides support for ongoing and special building projects throughout the garden. Tasks include procuring materials, replacing damaged and rotted wood in garden raised beds, repairing and maintaining water spigots and hoses, and construction of special projects. Future projects include rebuilding the picnic tables in the Oak Grove, repairing or replacing several benches throughout the garden, and building an apiary at the center of the butterfly garden and a second gabion basket on the Adelphi side.
Education Team– OPEN
The Education team oversees our children’s program, Adelphi Seedlings, and develops and conducts educational workshops focused on gardening techniques, organic pest control, beneficial bugs, companion planting, water conservation, and cooking. Thanks to a generous donation from Tito’s Vodka (through their nationwide volunteer and funding initiative to help community gardens), the Children’s Garden was rebuilt in 2020. The new configuration makes it easier for our “Seedlings” to plant, water, weed, and harvest their crops.
Compost Team – OPEN
The Compost team maintains the garden’s composting area, turning, watering, and adding materials to the compost under the direction of the compost coordinator. Members of the Compost Team are responsible for collecting materials from various Compost Coalition donation sites (when needed and available), leading compost-focused work days, and developing a Zero Waste initiative.
Donation Team – OPEN
The Donation Team is responsible for planting, watering, weeding, and maintaining the two large donation plots. Every Wednesday morning, members of the Donation Team harvest from our donation plots and deliver all produce donations to the Covenant United Methodist Church Food Pantry. When garden members have excess produce that they wish to donate from their individual plots, Donation Team members will harvest or collect those offerings to include in our weekly delivery to the food pantry.
Orchard Team– OPEN
In the Fall of 2015, TreeFolks selected Adelphi Acre as the first community garden location in Austin to create an urban fruit orchard. Members of the general public are welcome to help themselves to fruit from these trees. The Orchard Team oversees the maintenance of area, ensuring that the trees are watered, fertilized, and pruned, and that the surrounding area is mowed, weeded, and mulched.
Flora Team – OPEN
The Flora team has responsibility for maintaining the plantings in all of Adelphi Acre’s common areas, which include the Fragrant Garden, the Dry Garden, the gabion basket beds, the Herb Spiral, and the Butterfly (Pollinator) Garden. Members of the Flora Team plant, mulch, weed, and water these areas, all of which help to attract pollinators and contribute to the overall beauty and diversity of the garden.
Oak Grove Team – OPEN
The Oak Grove Team is responsible for maintaining the community area outside of the fence at the corner of our site. This includes weeding, mulching, pruning, poison ivy removal, and trimming of invasive plants in the Oak Grove (no digging is allowed in this area to prevent damage to our Heritage Oak trees). Members of this team lead larger group projects in this area during monthly work days.
Marketing and Events Team – OPEN
The Marketing and Events Team is responsible for promoting the garden to the wider community and for organizing and managing community events, plant fundraisers, festivals, potlucks, and other social events. This team handles sales of garden branded t-shirts and water bottles, and keeps members and the general public up-to-date on the latest news and resources through this website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Greenhouse Team – OPEN [Not Active until Spring 2023]
The Greenhouse Team is responsible for growing and tending plants to supplement the garden’s biannual plant fundraisers and to provide plants for the Donation beds, the Children’s Garden, the Herb Spiral, and the Teaching Garden. A mandatory team-specific orientation ensures that members are following current GH usage guidelines. NOTE: The team is in the process of testing various plant-tending procedures. Therefore, greenhouse space is not currently available for individual members’ plant starts.
Administration Team – OPEN
The Administrative Team handles various “behind the scenes” administrative duties required to keep the garden running smoothly. These duties include tracking members’ work hours; tracking, reporting and resolving compliance issues; creating, printing, scanning and organizing documents; and maintaining and updating the AACG website. This team also has responsibility for maintaining the real-time digital record of stewardship hours worked by members, viewable on our website.
Plot Restoration Team – OPEN
This team prepares and maintains relinquished or abandoned plots, keeping each plot weed-free and properly mulched until it is assigned to its next holder. Team members may assist the Plot Coordinator in informing new plot holders of the current condition of their plots and what measures they can take for a successful bounty. Due to the nature of the work, this team is only activated during times of high plot turnover, generally at the beginning of the calendar year.
Paths and Perimeter Team – NO SIGN UP REQUIRED
The Paths and Perimeter Team is made up of all garden members who can elect to work some of their hours on tasks necessary to keep the common areas of Adelphi Acre neat, weed-free, and mulched. Specific tasks include weeding the mulch and gravel paths, spreading additional mulch, mowing the grass along the outside fence perimeter, and weeding along the inside fence perimeter and in the common areas.
Team Leader Positions
Leadership positions run for one calendar year. All Stewardship Team leaders have Adelphi Acre Google Calendar editing permissions and are responsible for updating the calendar with work days or project activities. Team leaders schedule meetings to plan workdays and communicate with team members via the team’s Rallyhood portal.