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Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing at Scouts. Read more

Discover what this means

Create your own allotment

Find a place to create your own vegetable garden or allotment, then get growing.
Plan a session with this activity

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You’ll need

  • Pens or pencils
  • A4 paper
  • Gardening gloves
  • Gardening tools
  • Coloured pens or pencils
  • Device with internet access, one per group
  • Plants, as desired
  • Gardening books (optional)

Before you begin

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.
  • Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers.

Planning and setting up this activity

  • If you don’t have access to an allotment or an outdoor area to start a veg plot, you could research community garden spaces to see if you could use them. You could also ask the relevant owner for permission to set up a growing space at your meeting place.
  • You could opt to create a mini allotment indoors in a suitable planter or use larger planters outside to grow food in.
  • This activity is best split across multiple sessions. The first sessions should feature an introduction to allotments or community space. Everyone should also get some time in the first session to think about what they’ll plant and how they’ll set out their plants.
  • Those leading the session will need to make themselves familiar with the requirements of maintaining an allotment. They may want to do some plant and vegetable research online, from books, or speak to an expert at a garden centre.
  • Let parents and carers know that you’re planning on carrying out a series of visits to manage an allotment. They might like to get involved and could know others who can help.

Run the activity

  1. Gather everyone together and ask if anyone knows what an allotment is.
  2. Explain an allotment is like a big garden where people come to grow fruit, vegetables and other plants. Allotments are not only great places to grow food, they support lots of different wildlife, too. And people can come to them to get closer to nature.
  3. Ask if anyone has grown fruit, vegetables or flowers before. What do people think the benefits are of growing these things and of looking after an allotment? It may be good for people’s mental health and wellbeing, it’s good exercise, it offers people a focus, you can make new friends, learn new things and be responsible.
  4. As a group, see if anyone knows of any places in their local area you could grow fruit and vegetables. It could be outside your meeting place, a local allotment or a community garden. Instead, you may wish to have some options to choose from and let people vote to decide which on they should use.
  5. Ask everyone to get into groups. Tell everyone that some vegetables can take months to grow, but some are quick growing, such as radishes, beetroots or salad and herb shelves.
  6. Either using gardening books or devices connected to the internet, ask the groups to research:
    • three kinds of vegetable that could be planted in an allotment at the current time of year.
    • three kinds of hardy annual flower that could be planted in the allotment at the current time of year.
    • two kinds of bulb, herbaceous plant, flowering shrub or rose. 
  7. When this research is complete, gather back together to share ideas.
  8. Using everyone’s research and considering all ideas, choose three vegetables, three hardy annual flowers, two bulbs, two herbaceous plants and two flowering shrubs that everyone can grow together.
  9. You should ask everyone the length of time they think the group should be responsible for looking after the patch for, and how often you’ll need to visit.
  10. Now it’s time to plan the veg patch or allotment. Give each group some pens, paper and rulers. 
  11. Ask each group to draw out the space you’ll be using, whether it’s planters or a veg patch. You may wish to have a pre-drawn template.
  12. Explain to the groups the size, shape and layout of the allotment, and remind everyone what plants they’ll be growing. Making sure to include fixtures, such as sheds, compost bins, water containers and any landmarks.
  13. Now, ask the group to draw where they think each plant should grow and why.
  14. When everyone’s finished planning their allotment, gather together again and share ideas. Together, decide together how the allotment will be set out and agree a final plot plan. Someone should note down what was decided and collect the notes that the groups have made.
  15. Now, everyone should think about how they’ll record their progress on the plant growth. This could be a journal, photographs, a noticeboard or something else.
  16. It’s time to get started. Use the information on this page to help guide you through what needs to be done while gardening and maintaining the plants.
  • Allotments and community gardens can be very popular as they’re a place to grow plants like flowers, fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
  • They’re ideal for households who don’t have access to a garden, or who need more outside space for growing. As a result, they’re popular in urban areas, where there’s often less green space.
  • Gardening and caring for the land can be very relaxing and rewarding. You can also eat or sell your produce, or just sit back and enjoy looking at the plants you’ve grown.
  • If you’re using a space away from the meeting place, it’s always good to visit the site in advance to get a clear idea of the space available and condition of the site, and to assess the suitability of access for your group.
  • Always try to measure the size of the allotment and planting beds, or the green space or planters, you’ll be using. If this isn’t possible, try asking the land manager to give you a virtual tour and ask if any adaptations you may need are possible, such as raised beds.
  • You may wish to ask the group to help budget this activity and run a session to plan for the costs of seeds, plants or equipment.
  • Ask about equipment. If there aren’t any tools you can use on the site, you’ll need to think about finding and bringing along your own. Remember to have suitable, safe storage for any tools and equipment, as well as any personal protection equipment and a first aid kit.
  • Always make sure you have a first aid kit, personal protective equipment, sufficient helpers, an InTouch process and a thorough risk assessment. 
  • Identify potential hazards, complete a risk assessment and make clear what everyone should do to limit and control them. This should be done by those leading the activity with the support of the wider group.
  • Ask parents and carers if they’re interested in helping out. It’d be particularly useful to have help from anyone with landscaping, gardening, forestry or construction experience.
  • Take time to familiarise yourselves with the site. Always have a safety briefing, setting clear boundaries and expectations with the group.
  • An experienced leader should demonstrate how to use the tools properly and how to work safely each time.
  • Check the weather and sunset times before running this activity, being prepared for it to change and having sufficient light throughout.
  • Make sure you have somewhere to wash your hands before and after running this activity, as well as access to suitable toilet facilities.
  • You may wish to split into smaller groups, where necessary, and split up the tasks. Encourage groups to swap roles and take breaks, so that they don’t get too tired or bored.

Reflection

Growing plants of any variety is a nurturing experience that requires perseverance and commitment. It’s likely that most of the group will be pretty proud of their little plants once they’ve grown up a bit!

How does everyone feel about growing their own vegetables? Is anyone surprised with the amount of time it took to care for the plants? What was the most challenging part of caring for the plants? Has it changed how people think about where our food comes from?

Growing and farming vegetables has its ups and downs. Sometimes plants don’t grow the way people expect them too. This could be due to lack of water, overwatering, lack of sun, or wild animals eating them.

Did anyone experience this? What happened and how did it make people feel?

Hopefully the rewarding feeling from when the plants were growing made all the hard work worthwhile. Did you manage to eat or cook the vegetables? Can anyone share any particular highlights from this experience?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Outdoor activities

You must have permission to use the location. Always check the weather forecast, and inform parents and carers of any change in venue.

Animals and insects

Be aware of the risks before interacting with animals. Be aware of anyone with allergies, and make alternative arrangements for them.

Poles and long objects

Be careful when moving poles or long items. Take care if the ends are sharp. Have appropriate supervision for this activity.

Gardening and nature

Everyone must wash their hands after the activity has finished. Wear gloves if needed. Explain how to safely use equipment and set clear boundaries so everyone knows what’s allowed.

Sharp objects

Teach young people how to use sharp objects safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.

Rubbish and recycling

All items should be clean and suitable for this activity.

Food

Remember to check for allergies, eating problems, fasting or dietary requirements and adjust the recipe as needed. Make sure you’ve suitable areas for storing and preparing food and avoid cross contamination of different foods. Take a look at our guidance on food safety and hygiene.

Online safety

Supervise young people when they’re online and give them advice about staying safe. Take a look at our online safety or bullying guidance. The NSPCC offers more advice and guidance, too. If you want to know more about specific social networks and games, Childnet has information and safety tips for apps. You can also report anything that’s worried you online to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command. As always, if you’ve got concerns about a young person’s welfare, including their online experiences, follow the Yellow Card to make a report.

Near water

Manage groups carefully when near water. The guidance on activities near water will help you to keep your group safe.

Heavy and awkward objects

Never lift or move heavy or awkward items alone. Ask for help or, if possible, break them down into smaller parts.

Visits away from your meeting place

Complete a thorough risk assessment and include hazards, such as roads, woodland, plants, animals, and bodies of water (for example, rivers, ponds, lakes, and seas). You’ll probably need more adult helpers than usual. Your risk assessment should include how many adults you need. The young people to adult ratios are a minimum requirement. When you do your risk assessment, you might decide that you need more adults than the ratio specifies. Think about extra equipment that you may need to take with you, such as high visibility clothing, a first aid kit, water, and waterproofs. Throughout the activity, watch out for changes in the weather and do regular headcounts. 

PPE

Before completing this activity make sure you have suitable personal protective equipment (PPE). This could include eye or ear protection, gloves, and anything else you need to protect yourself. You’ll know what you need as a result of completing the risk assessment for the activity.

Tending an allotment can be a big commitment, and some people may feel more comfortable completing the activity using space in an appropriate person’s garden.

Depending on the plants chosen, amount of space and the tools available, this activity will be more or less difficult. While plants that take longer to grow will require a longer project and more records, they may also be lower maintenance and require less attention, meaning fewer visits.

  • Try to choose a site that works for everyone – depending on your group, it may need to be wheelchair accessible or close to toilet facilities. Do you need to make a quiet space for anyone who needs a break from the busy outdoors?
  • The best way to know if the site is suitable for the needs of your group is to visit beforehand. If you’re unable to visit, ask the land manager any questions well in advance.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Scouts Farming Activity Badge

Use what you’ve produced to create a menu and cook up a storm by completing the Scouts Chef Activity Badge.

Young people steer this activity by making their planting suggestions in the meeting place and then by playing an active role in the project.