Membership Task List

Organizing tasks will be done through an online Sign-up Sheet.

Once you sign up for a task, a member of the board will email you to set up an initial introduction and sharing of labour. We’’ll hold an initial on-site meeting of 5 or 6 people to figure out the best plan of attack.

You can sign up for as many tasks as you like! There’s plenty of fun things to keep us entertained and busy during the lockdown.

1. Hand washing station

• Check the soap levels
• Check the foot lever will start and stop the flow of water
• Check for any leaks. Turn off water supply if there are major leaks. Notify LCG Board if minor leaks.
• Check the gravel drainage pit for anything unusual

2. Tending other members’ plots due to being unable to tend their own

• If a member falls ill and cannot tend to their garden, or if a member chooses not to garden this season, their plot will need to be tended to so their crops can either be brought to them or donated
• This involves regular tending of the member’s plot

3. Children’s Garden management for Donation

• Since children are only allowed at the garden on an as-needed basis, the Children’s Garden is being repurposed as a Donation Garden
• Volunteers are needed to manage the plots and grow vegetables for donation

4. Compost management

• Check out the LCG blog to get excited about compost microbiology! https://lakesidecommunitygarden.org/2019/10/30/new-insights-into-compost-by-colette-mckinnon/
• LCG members are encouraged to compost in their plot to minimize the effort needed to manage the compost heap. Please follow one of the three methods laid out in this video https://vimeo.com/409417076:
  1. Permaculture composting
     • Apply brown and green matter on the surface of your plot to create a mulch that decomposes and feeds the soil
     • Chop and drop crops when they’re finished growing to add to the mulch
     • Simple and low effort method
  2. Rotating composter
     • Add green materials directing into bin
     • Chop brown materials into small bits and add to bin
     • Add small portions of soil to the bin to bring in the microorganisms needed for decomposing
  3. Compost Corner
     • Create a container in your plot for composting using stakes and/or hardware mesh
     • Add brown and green materials to the container
     • Turn the area once every 2 weeks to ensure good oxygen content and to speed up decomposition
  4. Communal Compost Pile
     • If you just have too much material, you can still use the communal compost pile
     • Chop up large pieces of plants into smaller chunks with a shovel or garden shears
     • Pile it high not wide! Add you material to the top of the pile rather than the side to ensure a good ratio of high thermal mass to low surface area needed for hot composting
• The compost heap needs to be arranged into rows marked by posts and wire mesh
• The compost rows will need to be turned regularly in the season to oxygenate the pile
• Please email Tom if you’d like to help out with compost management martinekt@yahoo.com

5. Pathway maintenance

• Walk the site and check for sections of the path that need some tender love and care
• We have lots of wood chips so please don’t be picky about what needs tender love and care!
• Wheelbarrow over some wood chips and liberally apply to improve the path
• If you notice any weeds growing in the path, chop and drop the growth you see and then dump a wheelbarrow’s worth of wood chips to smother the weeds
• In the past, pathways were made with cardboard to help block weeds. This year all the cardboard sources are closed so there won’t be cardboard provided.

6. Weeding

• At Lakeside, we foster a positive safe space where all beings are encouraged to participate in the community in a positive way and contribute to the growth of humans, wildlife and plants. There are some members that bring negativity to the garden space and don’t contribute to the growth of all beings. They need to be relocated. These unwelcome guests include:
  • Canada Thistle
  • Dog Strangling Vine
  • Couch Grass
  • Burdock
  • Garlic Mustard
• Practicing chop and drop is a good method of eliminating weeds. Chop the visible foliage before it goes to seed and leave it in a place where it can solarize and die in the sun (like on a log, on the North gravel road, or on a rock). Then smother the weed with a thick layer of wood chips (be very liberal in applying wood chips).
• Cardboard is effective at smothering weeds. Since all the cardboard sources are closed there won’t be any cardboard on-site this year. But if you find any, lay some down over the weed making sure to overlap any flaps so there’s no holes for weeds to grow through then smother with wood chips.
• Priority weeding locations include:
  • The plot of a member who cannot tend their plot
  • Donation garden plots
  • Around fruit tree guilds

7. Litter Pick

• Walk the site and collect any unsightly litter and garbage. 
• If you find any lost tomato cages, seedling trays, tools, or buckets bring them over to the shed for safe keeping and re-use

8. Donation Delivery

• This year there is an increased demand for vegetable donations
• This task involves collecting and delivering vegetables to Loving Spoonful

The next few volunteer items involve lots of wonderful exercise! Since all the gyms in town are still closed AND charge more for a membership than Lakeside, here is the perfect opportunity to work off that COVID 15 (lbs) we’ve all added to our waistline! It was leg day for a couple of the board members who had to clear two whole piles of woodchips to make room for the compost delivery!

Or if you’d like to contribute in a way that doesn’t get you so sweaty, there are some awesome tasks in this list that will help build our community for all beings!

• Meadow solarize. We are preparing this location for a wet meadow, persimmon trees, hazelnut bushes and butternut trees. The plants growing there now need to be removed by solarizing. We lay a tarp over the area to allow the sun to bake the grass and prepare the area for seeding with native grasses and wildflowers.
• Pathway. Build a new path that meanders through this area. Have fun with the design, think curves and whimsy. Lay down wood chips like the other paths at the garden. Cardboard can be used but isn’t needed. Mark the path with rocks and logs to distinguish it from the mulched areas.
• Mulching. Wood chips need to be wheel barrowed to the Welcome garden to improve the clay soil in the area. Liberally apply wood chips, the more we add now the less we need to add in years to come. 
• Planting. Persimmon trees, hazelnut bushes, native butternut trees, and native wildflower/grass seed mix will be planted here. Please email Joyce and Dan at lakesidefoodforest@gmail.com if you’d like to participate in planting!
• Watering schedule. These new plants will need lots of water to establish themselves in the soil for the first few years after planting. 

10. West fenceline Fedge

• Mulch with woodchips. Liberally apply woodchips along the fence all the way out to 5 meter from the fence.
• Research plant list. A non-sweaty task! Research plants that will provide the benefits of a wind break, provide food, fix nutrients in the soil, provide habitat for wildlife, may be endangered species, and any other benefits you can think of!
• Plant plants. Plants will be ordered and planted as we go. Please email Joyce and Dan at lakesidefoodforest@gmail.com if you’d like to participate in planting!

11. North Fenceline Fedge

• Weeding. There are raspberries, black berries, and baby trees that are receiving negative energy from canada thistle and couch grass. Help them thrive by removing the bullies!
• Watering Schedule. These new plants will need lots of water to establish themselves in the soil for the first few years after planting. 
• Mulch with woodchips. This ones an easy one because the site is right next to a bunch of wood chip piles! Grab a shovel or a rake and spread the woodchips out in a thick layer that’s 5m wide and runs the length of the fence. Just don’t spread woodchips on the gravel road!

12. Permaculture Orchard

• Map the locations of trees and bushes. A non-sweaty task! Create a map using the free software of your choice (MS PowerPoint, Paint, Garden planning software) that shows the type and locations of the plants we’ve planted. The City of Kingston requires an annual list of what has been planted. This map will contribute to that reporting!
• Make plant marker signs. A non-sweaty task! Enjoy some artistic relief and make up some nice signs that show what plant is planted where! This is a great way to involve children in the garden this year. Get messy and paint some rocks! Email lakesidefoodforest@gmail.com for a plant list!
• Watering Schedule. These new plants will need lots of water to establish themselves in the soil for the first few years after planting. 
• Weeding. There are fruit tree guilds that are receiving negative energy from canada thistle and couch grass. Help them thrive by removing the bullies!
• Mulching. In the image above, the area marked as Permaculture Orchard needs a thick layer of wood chips to improve the soil. Whenever you’re feeling like you can’t wait for the gym to open, wait no more! Grab that wheelbarrow and start haulin’! Send Dan an email if you’d like a workout buddy: robinsondjl@gmail.com. He’s always happy to wheelbarrow some woodchips! Go ahead and cover up the wildflowers growing there. They will decompose and add nutrients to the soil.
• Pathway. More woodchips! Grab that wheelbarrow and start haulin’! Make sure not to bury any shrubs or annuals. Create a path that casually meanders through the area stopping at each tree guild. Expand the path for future tree guilds beyond the boundaries drawn in the map above. This will help us access the area through the thick wildflowers.
• Stump circle. Roll the stumps around to form a nice meeting circle. Make the area a wonderful place to sit and soak up nature. Listen to the beautiful orchestra of nature around you: Redwing Blackbirds, Woodland Jumping Mice, Bumblebees, maybe you’ll see an eagle soaring overhead, watch for Turkey Vultures riding the updrafts, Chickadees flitting through the bushes. Create a wonderful space to enjoy it all!
• Tree guild mulch basins. Many of the trees in the permaculture orchard were planted in a rush. Add mulch basins buy burying woody material 1 or 2 ft deep in a large circle around the trees. Email Dan at robinsondjl@gmail.com if you’re interested in learning more about how to do the mulch basins. The Lakeside blog has lots of info too! https://lakesidecommunitygarden.org/designing-a-fruit-tree-guild/

13. Nut forest

• Many of the tasks for the Nut Forest are the same for the Permaculture Orchard. That’s why you’ll see a couple repeated tasks.
• Mulch baby nut trees. Mulch a circle around the baby nut trees to help the trees grow by promoting a healthy soil ecosystem and conserving water. To minimize effort, only mulch a 2m radius around the seedling making sure not to bury the little tree. Don’t be afraid to pile the wood chips deep!
• Map the locations of trees and bushes. A non-sweaty task! Create a map using the free software of your choice (MS PowerPoint, Paint, Garden planning software) that shows the type and locations of the plants we’ve planted. The City of Kingston requires an annual list of what has been planted. This map will contribute to that reporting!
• Make plant marker signs. A non-sweaty task! Enjoy some artistic relief and make up some nice signs that show what plant is planted where! This is a great way to involve children in the garden this year. Get messy and paint some rocks! Email lakesidefoodforest@gmail.com for a plant list!
• Watering Schedule. These new plants will need lots of water to establish themselves in the soil for the first few years after planting. 
• Pathway. More woodchips! Grab that wheelbarrow and start haulin’! Make sure not to bury any shrubs or annuals. Create a path that casually meanders through the area stopping at each tree guild. Expand the path for future tree guilds beyond the boundaries drawn in the map above. This will help us access the area through the thick wildflowers.

14. Grant applications

• A non-sweaty task!
• The board applies for many grants throughout the year to help raise funds and keep membership fees low. This enables us to order plants for the Food Forest or help us improve the facilities.
• Research grants that Lakeside Community Garden and Food Forest qualify for.
• Apply for grants. Help fill out the applications! Contact lakesidegarden70@gmail.com if you’d like to help out!