Volunteering at KentCOG

Whether you are a student, community member, or Kent staff you can find out below how to get involved in KentCOG. There is also additional information to the side if you are booking on behalf of an external group or want to refer a community member into the project.

All students, whether you are from the University of Kent or another institution, are welcome to volunteer at any of our sessions on the schedule. Our general garden sessions run from 10:00am – 2:00pm every Wednesday and Friday, and students are able to attend the full 4 hours or drop in and out when they need to. You can check the calendar on our main page for information about our other events and sessions that take place throughout the year.

To join you just need to turn up, but you can always contact us at kentcog@kent.ac.uk beforehand if you have any questions. You can find out what to expect when you arrive here, and what to bring here.

We have had a huge amount of community support with regular volunteers that are the backbone of keeping KentCOG going. We receive a lot of interest from the local community to join the project which is wonderful and extremely appreciated.

We are currently oversubscribed, so to ensure we can continue to offer the right experience for all volunteers we have created 4 pathways in which community volunteers can join us. Please take a look at our pathways and if you think one suits you, please fill out an expression of interest form and we will be in touch.

To keep everyone safe on site we are limiting total numbers so are now operating a waiting list so we can keep in touch with local community members that would like to join the project as soon as we are able to offer the opportunity. Once you fill out an expression of interest form we will get in touch and let you know if we currently have spaces free of if we have put your on our waiting list.

If you are not sure whether one of the pathways applies please email us at kentcog@kent.ac.uk and one of the team will get back to you to discuss your needs.

Staff can get involved at KentCOG in lots of different ways! 

We are always open to staff volunteers. To join you just need to turn up during one of our general gardening sessions, but you can always contact us at kentcog@kent.ac.uk beforehand if you have any questions. You can find out what to expect when you arrive here, and what to bring here.  

Staff can also get involved in the project by arranging away day activities for you and your team with us. We have previously hosted Kent Union and Human Resources for nature based activities.  

You can also use the site for you or your students' research projects. We are currently hosting plants for Biosciences and regularly have social science research taking place for dissertations. 

Finally, you can book the space to host your own events. You can check our calendar for when the space is free and book through our email.

For more information or to discuss your ideas, just get in touch with the KentCOG team via email.

All new volunteers are required to fill out a volunteering form which we keep securely to ensure your safety on site and to make sure you get the most out of your experience at KentCOG. (Please note – if you take a break or stop volunteering with us, your information will be destroyed after 12 months). 

Upon arrival you will meet Debi or Emily, alongside our KentCOG Ambassadors, who will give you a welcome tour and a safety briefing. Once you have received this briefing you will not need to take part in it each time you volunteer. 

We will then direct you to the activity of the day, supporting you as much as you need, or letting you get on with it if you feel confident to do so. 

There is always plenty of time for socialising and we always stop for tea and a lunch break! 

Just yourself! As always, please dress appropriately for the weather and be ready for rain. If you have sturdy footwear, then please do wear these. We do have a limited number of wellies, and jackets that you can borrow if you do not have anything suitable. 

Bring any snacks/lunch you may want with you and a bottle of water. We have clean water, tea/coffee and biscuits on site. We only provide plant based milk or snacks on site, but you are very welcome to bring your own alternatives if you prefer.

The Kent Community Oasis Garden is run in partnership by East Kent Mind and the University of Kent. At our sessions you will meet Debi and Emily.   

Meet Debi 

Debi Adams (KentCOG Coordinator, East Kent Mind) 

Debi has spent the last 15 years working as an environmental educator in many different settings, working with schools, colleges and the community to promote the importance of healthy food and the role of nature in supporting growing. 

She is a committed gardener who enjoys working with groups to make space for nature in our everyday green spaces and to support everyone to ‘have a go and grow’. She is working in the KentCOG garden to not only support growing the best organic vegetables that we can produce but is also planning to increase the biodiversity pockets on site to bring nature closer and improve the benefits for the local wildlife, our growing plants and all our volunteers who work in the garden. 

Meet Emily

Emily Mason (Sustainability Coordinator, University of Kent) 

Emily Mason has spent 10 years working in sustainability and conservation supporting communities and institutions to transition to more sustainable activities; take action on climate change; enhance the environment for biodiversity; and support sustainable food chains.  She enjoys supporting people who want to take action in their areas, whether big or small and disrupting the status quo. 

Her current sources of inspiration include adventures walking with her dog, learning to macrame and watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy on repeat. Her plan is to create a wetland area at the garden and get produce grown onto our menus at the University.