Volunteer Opportunities

Please read carefully as there are different ways to let us know you are interested in volunteering depending on your group size.

  • Are you a big organization, school,  or corporation looking for large group opportunities for your employees? NeighborSpace protects multiple gardens across the city that may have larger-scale garden projects needing a big group. Please email info@neighbor-space.org with GROUP VOLUNTEER REQUEST in the subject line, and provide as many details as possible. We will follow up.
  • Are you an individual looking to be connected to a specific NeighborSpace garden you have seen in your neighborhood or are interested in a garden near you? We recommend that you look at this Address List By Ward and simple city location map and visit the NeighborSpace garden near you to see if it is the kind of garden you want to be involved in. There should be contact information on the public signage to reach out. If for some reason there is not, please email info@neighbor-space.org with INDIVIDUAL WANTING TO BE CONNECTED TO A SPECIFIC GARDEN in the subject line. While we can’t promise match-making success, we will put you in touch with current garden leaders and they should reach back out if there are opportunities. Please note, however, that NeighborSpace works in partnership with the local community groups that are the primary leaders and decision-makers at each site. While we will do our best to make connections, it is ultimately up to each garden group whether they want to take on new gardeners.
  • Are you an individual looking to volunteer with NeighborSpace generally? While we don’t have regular volunteer opportunities, we do on occasion need helpful hands! The best way to connect with us that way is to sign up for our newsletter, as we sometimes have volunteer opportunities that come up, and sometimes we can help place one-time volunteers at sites for single big workdays (usually at the start or end of the season).
  • Another way to see the different community gardens are you beyond NeighborSpace gardens is by looking at the Chicago Urban Agriculture Mapping Project, and searching near you.