Crown Point Ecology Center

Farm Volunteer Needs 

Harvest Help
Time range: From mid-May through October
Days & Times: Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 8 until Noon
Responsibilities Include:  Under the direction of the Harvest Manager, assist with harvesting, washing, prepping and packing vegetables for the CSA, Farmer’s Market and/or Foodbank. Other duties may be assigned as necessary and as time permits.

Field Work Assistance
Time range: From May through October
Days & Times: Thursday and Saturday mornings from 8 until Noon; Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons from 1 until 4
Responsibilities Include: Transplanting, Irrigation set-up, hoeing, hand-weeding, crop thinning, covering crops with row-covers, greenhouse work, washing containers and other various tasks as needed and the day requires

Farmer’s Market Assistance
Time Range: From June through October
Days & Times: Saturday mornings from 7am until 2pm
Responsibilities Include: Assisting with the packing, transport, set-up, sales and tear down for farmer’s market

Flower Garden Assistance
Time Range: From May to Oct.
Days & Times: Monday through Friday; 8am until noon and 1pm until 3pm
Responsibilities Include: Hoeing, hand weeding, transplanting, seeding, picking flowers and packaging bouquets

Tomato Trellising
Time Range: Late June to Sept.
Days and Times: Thursday and Saturday mornings from 8 until Noon; Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons from 1 until 4
Responsibilities Include: cutting ties for trellising, stringing twine between stakes, tying tomatoes to trellis, and minimal pruning

Garlic Harvest
Time Range: 1^st week of July until completed (usually a couple of days)
Days and Times: Will vary
Responsibilities Include: Assisting with pulling up garlic plants and hanging in barn to dry

Potato Harvest
Time Range: Late August to mid-September or until completed
Days and Times: Will vary
Responsibilities Include: Picking up potatoes and bagging, gathering cut and rotten potatoes for composting

Onion Harvest
Time Range: Late July until completed (usually a few days to a week)
Days and Times: Will vary
Responsibilities Include: Pulling up onion plants, laying plants out to dry in greenhouse

Garlic Trimming
Time Range: Late July or Early August until completed (usually several weeks)
Days and Times: Monday through Saturday, any time
Responsibilities Include: Trimming stems and roots from dried garlic, cleaning outer skin, sorting by size, bagging and making ready for sale

Onion Trimming
Time Range: Mid-August until completed (usually a couple of weeks)
Days and Times: Monday through Saturday, any time
Responsibilities Include: trimming stems from dried onions, bagging, sorting and labeling

Taste of the Earth Prep
Time Range: August 8-August 13
Days and Times: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday of said week
Responsibilities Include: Assistance with harvesting, washing and packaging food for use by the caterers for Taste of the Earth, cleaning of lower portion of barn and outside of barn to make presentable for public viewing, scrubbing containers, and other duties as necessary

Winter Squash Harvest
Time Range: Mid or Late September until completed
Days and Times: Will vary
Responsibilities Include: Cutting squash from vines, gathering squash up from field, spraying dirt off with hose, and laying out in greenhouse to dry

Fall Cabbage Harvest
Time Range: Early to mid October
Days and Times: Mondays from 8am until 4pm, Tuesday mornings
Responsibilities Include: Assisting with harvesting, washing and packing cabbage for the Foodbank

Youth Volunteer Needs

Homeschool Assistant
Time range: Year round
Days and times: Homeschool dates as posted on website from 9:30am – 3:30pm
Type of Service: Provide help with activities.  Assist children in learning new crafts or ecological ideas.  Assist with set up and tear down

Earth Camp Assistant
Time range: June - August
Days and times: Monday through Friday, 9am to 3pm
Responsibilities:  Assist Educational Interns with small groups of children,  average group size is 10.  Groups are split by age groups.  Camp ages are 6 – 11 years old.  Activities range from crafts, hiking, games, small farm animal care, garden work, etc.

Youth Garden Assistant
Time range: April through October
Days and times: Monday through Friday, 10am until 5pm
Type of Service: Assistant would work with educational interns and/or the Educational Coordinator in youth gardens. Spring activities include rototilling, composting beds and planting seeds or transplants.  Summer work involves weeding small beds, assisting in harvesting veggies, and watering.  Fall work includes  harvesting, pulling weeds, rototilling and seeding with cover crops.

Herb Garden Assistant
Time range: May through October
Days and times: Monday through Friday, 10 am until 5pm
Type of Service: Help with harvesting and drying the herbs from the herb garden.  Also weeding and dead-heading plants.

Earth Camp Snacks
Time range: June - August
Days and times: Monday through Friday 9:30am – 11am
Type of Service: Assist the Outreach Coordinator in preparing & distributing snacks for 30 Earth Campers.