GreenThumb

GreenThumb supports community gardeners in organizing their garden groups through educational workshops and materials. Below you will find many of our workshop handouts and webinar recordings, as well as many resources from partnering organizations, on topics related to group development. We will continue to add to this page and update our educational resources as time and capacity allows.

For links to additional webinar recordings, click here. References below are informational only and do not represent GreenThumb policy. For GreenThumb policy, please refer to the GreenThumb Gardeners’ Handbook.

• Attribute the Source: Written and verbal attribution to the appropriate source is required when using our materials. The source is listed next to each link. If you are not sure who to cite, please ask us at greenthumbinfo@parks.nyc.gov.
• No Private Gain: No part of these materials may be copyrighted, sold, or used for private gain.
• Communication: Please let us know if you have success with these materials or have any feedback by sending an email at greenthumbinfo@parks.nyc.gov. 
• Truth Telling: We do not “certify” trainers. Facilitators must honestly state their learning experience. For example, “I attended a workshop with GreenThumb where we did this activity” or “I found this online and repurposed it.”

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TOOLKIT TOPICS

• Organizing for Garden Success: Group Structure - Video recording of the workshop GreenThumb offers quarterly
• Group Structure Slides - Slides from the webinar linked to above
• Finding your Group Structure - For individual members to reflect on their own opinions about how the garden group is structured. Can be something members do as homework before a meeting or workshop about changes to bylaws, governance, or leadership. 
• Garden Governance - An overview of some common types of group structures
• Mission & Vision - An overview of the concepts for mission and vision statements, and suggested activities that the garden group could do at a meeting if they want to collectively write such statements
• Community Agreements and Attributes of a Successful Group - A short and sweet bullet points that groups can add to and build on
• Basics of Building a Garden Group - Short one-page double sided handout that covers lots of the basics. By Claudia Urdanivia, formerly of Dig In! Passaic, NJ's community garden program.
• WEBINAR: Communication for Group Germination
  Facilitated by Le'alani Boykin (NYC Parks GreenThumb)
• Building Organizations for the Long Haul - by Dean Spade

• Organizing for Garden Success: Bylaws - Video recording of the workshop GreenThumb offers quarterly
• Bylaws webinar slides - Slides from the webinar linked above
• 2021 GreenThumb Garden Bylaws Requirements
• GreenThumb Garden Bylaws Template - English
• GreenThumb Garden Bylaws Template - Spanish

• Compass Points Activity - What’s your work style? How does your work style work well and/or struggle with other styles? Developed for GreenThumb by the Cooperative Economics Alliance for NYC
• Personal Leadership Plans - Guides individuals through setting their own goals and action plans for themselves and their gardens. Included as part of the GreenThumb Leadership Academy. Adapted with permission from the Environmental Leadership Program
• Leadership Qualities that Support Mutuality and Collaboration - by Dean Spade

• 10 Strategies for Conflict Resolution - GreenThumb handout
• Dealing with Disagreements - GreenThumb handout
• Turning Toward Each Other - What do we do when we inevitably run into conflict? Workbook by Jovida Ross and Weyam Ghadbian 
• 5 Styles of Handling Conflict - by Cooperative Economics Alliance for NYC

• Facilitator and Agenda - An overview of these concepts with sample garden meeting agenda. Includes tips for effective meetings.
• No Magic Method - Intro to meeting facilitation by Training for Change. Defines “agenda” and “facilitator” and offers basic tips.
• Focused Conversation - guides an experienced facilitator through planning a meeting around one topic, brainstorm, or decision that needs to be made. We adapted this from the Fundamentals of Facilitation by Aley Kent, International Rescue Committee, 2017. Download another guide for this style of facilitation here by ICA Inc.
• Consensus Decision Making - Short booklet by Seeds for Change defining “consensus,” and walking through the basics of facilitating a consensus decision-making process. Learn more about consensus from the Seeds for Change website.
• Techniques for Consensus Decision Making in Large Groups - War Resisters' International
• Meeting and Workshop Facilitation Tools - Lots of tips and resources from Seeds for Change

• Allegories of Racism - Video by Dr. Camara Jones (20m)
• Continuum on Becoming an Anti-Racist Multicultural Organization - by Crossroads Ministry - a rubric for assessing where a garden group or organization is on its antiracism journey
• To Equalize Power Among Us - by Tools for Change. Aimed at people with privilege (white privilege, male privilege, etc.), this is a list of things to keep in mind to build successful alliance across social divides
• White Supremacy Culture - by Tema Okun for dismantlingracism.org. A list of characteristics of white supremacy culture that show up in our organizations.
• Basic Vocabulary for Racial Justice - glossary of terms. Developed by Soul Fire Farm for Uprooting Racism in the Food System trainings - please read usage guidelines here.

• Bank Accounts and Fiscal Sponsorship - 101 info around how to set these up
• Garden Accounting Template - Sample spreadsheet for income and expenses
• Income tracking template - Sample spreadsheet for income 
• Expenses tracking template - Sample spreadsheet for expenses
• Garden Grants - Spreadsheet of funders who sometimes fund community gardens

• Virtual Community Engagement - Webinar facilitated by Simone Herbin, Anthony Reuter, and K.C. Alvey (GreenThumb)
• How to Join a GreenThumb Community Garden - Webinar Moderated by Gregory Anderson (NYC Parks GreenThumb)
  Panelists: Giselle Munoz - Woodycrest Garden - Bronx; Ashley Washington - Harlem Rose Garden - Harlem, Manhattan; Jestine Roper - Jes Good Rewards Children's Garden - Brownsville, Brooklyn
• Ladder of Engagement - Helps leaders who take on a lot of work to imagine delegating some of that work
• Orienting New Members - ideas and examples for how to bring new people in, intake interview sample questions
• Recruitment Guide by Affinity Group - This recruitment guide by GreenThumb staff is tailored toward any garden group or interested partner that seeks to increase or diversify membership in a group by first identifying and defining the considerations of affinity groups, such as families and new immigrant communities.

• WEBINAR: Event Planning on a Shoestring - Want to host a youth event, class, film screening, or any other type of event in your community garden? This webinar will give you tips on how to plan for successful events for your garden. 
• WEBINAR: Planning a Zero Waste Garden Event - Join Earth Matter NY to learn how to plan a zero waste garden event. As stewards of our earth, we should be mindful of the types and amount of resources we consume and strive to reduce the amount of waste we produce. 
• Event Planning Resource Checklist Template - a template for keeping track of supplies needed for your upcoming event
• Event Planning Run of Show Template - a worksheet for setting event goals, assigning tasks, creating a budget, and drafting a run of show
• Event Planning Flowchart - a flowchart explaining permitting and approvals needed to host events
• GreenThumb Events FAQ - a one-stop-shop to answer all of your questions about hosting events in GreenThumb community gardens

• Grow Pittsburgh - How to start and build a community garden by Grow Pittsburgh
• Growing Connections: Guide to an Inclusive and Welcoming Community Garden - by Sustain’s Capital Growth network of Community Food Gardens in London.
• Food and Water Watch Organizing Manual - not directly related to community gardens, but covers building a group and leadership development
• Meeting Facilitation Tools - 350.org has tools that cover everything from online meeting facilitation to team building & more. Example: How to Help a Group Make Decisions
• Elliot’s Greatest Hits - Google doc with many links/resources for managing conflict, organizing groups, and a bunch of other topics.
• Citizens Committee for NYC Resources Page - PDFs on group structure, grassroots fundraising, and more by Citizens Committee for NYC