You can volunteer and make a real positive difference to food and farming in Edinburgh. You don’t need previous knowledge or experience with plants or growing or conservation – this is a great place to learn. We also welcome any knowledge and experience you have.

Volunteering at the Farm

You might like to get involved with the Market Garden – we have regular volunteering sessions throughout the growing season. We also have tree planting/care sessions throughout most of the year. In spring and summer, we have wildlife surveying opportunities, and in autumn there are harvesting and seed saving days. Plus we often need help at our community events, and much more besides!

You can also get involved with the farm by joining the weekly open gardening sessions in the Community Allotments. These are drop-ins and a great place to start if you’re not sure about what you’d like to do.

All details on the events calendar:

See upcoming volunteering sessions & drop-ins on the events calendar

Scroll down for answers to the FAQs about volunteering…

How To Sign Up

Most volunteering sessions have sign up sheets – the details and link will be in the event details in the calender, and in our monthly newsletters. When you put your name on a Volunteer Signup sheet, this books your place and lets us know you’re coming. Please also let us know if you need to cancel, so we can give the space to someone else.

The drop-in gardening in the Community Allotments & Garden is different – you don’t need to sign up to join that. Just come along 10 minutes before the start time on your first day so we can welcome you and help you settle in.

We will also ask all volunteers and drop-in gardeners to fill in a registration form that includes emergency contact info.

Children and Young People Volunteering

Children and young people are very welcome – we are keen to get them involved. Under 14’s must be accompanied by an adult. Please only enter the name of the adult(s) on the signup sheets. 14-16 year olds can come independently, as long as we have a parental/guardian permission form. Please contact us to arrange this.

What To Wear & Bring

For all volunteering sessions, we recommend you wear sturdy footwear, and clothes that you don’t mind getting muddy. We go ahead in most weathers – except storms!

We provide all tools and can also give you work gloves.

We have drinking water taps, and will always finish a volunteering session with cups of tea and biscuits. Please feel free to bring other snacks or more food if you will need a boost.

Types of Tasks

At the moment, volunteering tasks are physical. We are looking into developing other ways people can help and get involved. Some tasks are more physically demanding than others. We try to offer a mix of options in sessions. You are welcome to contact us if you want to check exactly what’s involved in a specific session. Many of our volunteers have some health issues – and all will understand this. We encourage everyone to go at their own pace, take breaks, say what you need, and say ‘no’ when you need to! It is meant to be enjoyable – not an endurance test.

In the Market Garden, depending on the season, the tasks may include planting out seedlings, weeding, harvesting, clearing and preparing polytunnels or field beds, maintaining and caring for windbreaks and hedges. The Market Garden work and the farm tree care takes place over quite large areas of ground. The Community Garden and the Orchard are a bit more compact, and are nearest to the Toby Carvery gate. The Community Garden also has some raised beds, which are easier to access.

How To Get Here

Please use active travel or public transport rather than a car, if possible. There is no car parking on the farm, except by prior arrangement. There are bike racks. The main entrance is through the gate at the back of the Toby Carvery car park. Most volunteering sessions start at the portacabins by that gate. The Market Garden is next to Cramond Road South. For Market Garden sessions, you can enter through the gates on Cramond Road South (on foot/by bike) or walk across the farm from Toby Carvery. Click here for directions to the farm.

Any Other Questions?

Please click here to contact us.