HARVESTING THE URBAN ORCHARD
Communication
All volunteers should have access to email and phone. This is the easiest way to alert to them to harvests. Not all tree owners will have email or even mobile phones( in Darebin, a large portion of our tree owners are elderly and / or non-English speaking), so regular postal services and a designated phone and voicemail to receive calls may be required.
A GUIDE TO SUPPORTING FOOD SECURITY IN YOUR COMMUNITY
It takes time to coordinate volunteers and harvests and to communicate with volunteers, tree owners, and the public. Coordinating pre- and post-harvest can take up as much time, if not more, than harvesting itself. Consider the ongoing administrative part of the project, including the funding required for a paid role. You will need to create registration and audit forms. Each of our tree owners has a folder with contact details, tree register, harvest log and garden schematic( see Appendices for example).
Other records you will need to keep include vvemail lists for group emails to volunteers vv a secure database for householder details, volunteer details, harvest log and tally vv any other supporting documentation that can be kept for future funding applications. For example, value of fruit picked, volunteer hours, number of trees on database, maps, number of people who received the fruit, charities who have received the fruit, and examples of media releases.
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