Community Stewardship & Workforce Program

(Nonprofit work of Grow With Gordon)

Why We Steward These Gardens

Some gardens are built to look good for a season.

Others are meant to hold meaning, serve people, and quietly improve the ground beneath them year after year.

Our Community Stewardship Program exists for the second kind.

Community gardens, peace gardens, and faith-centered landscapes don’t thrive because they were installed once. They thrive because someone keeps showing up—season after season—to care for living systems that continue changing whether we pay attention or not.

Our focus is the long-term stewardship of shared green spaces that serve people, culture, and community well-being. These are not decorative projects. They are living systems.

How the Program Works

The Community Stewardship Program provides ongoing, year-round ecological care through annual stewardship cycles.

Rather than one-time installations or reactive clean-ups, we focus on:

Consistent maintenance
Preventive care
Soil and plant health
Quiet, reliable stewardship

Each site is reviewed annually and cared for as funding allows, with priority given to maintaining continuity at existing sites before expanding to new locations.

This approach keeps spaces healthy, usable, and resilient over time.

Current Stewardship Sites

Current sites include:

Refuge Community Garden
Jackson House Peace Garden
Kokomo Masjid Grounds

Each site is stewarded with respect for its cultural, spiritual, and community purpose. Care priorities are tailored to the site and reviewed annually.

What Stewardship Includes

Depending on site needs, stewardship may include:

Seasonal pruning and plant health management
Mulching and soil protection
Perennial and shrub care
Pathway and bed upkeep
Light ecological restoration and corrective maintenance
Ongoing observation to prevent gradual decline

Work is scheduled and proactive, not emergency-based.

Who This Work Benefits

This work supports:

Community members who use and gather in these spaces
Faith and cultural organizations stewarding shared land
Volunteers and youth who learn by example
Neighborhoods that benefit from maintained, stable green spaces
The land itself, which improves instead of deteriorates

A well-maintained garden becomes an asset, not a burden.

Our Approach

The program is delivered by experienced ecological stewards, apprentices, interns, and workforce development participants engaged in structured, supervised stewardship work.

We believe in:

Paying people fairly for skilled work
Using funds transparently
Keeping overhead low and impact visible
Treating land care as stewardship, not charity theater

Stewardship services provided through the nonprofit are distinct from for-profit services and are delivered under nonprofit program guidelines, budgets, and accountability structures.

Training, Internships, and Workforce Development

A core part of Gordon Gives’ mission is providing hands-on training and structured workforce development through real stewardship work.

Participants may include interns, apprentices, volunteers, and individuals seeking practical skills, experience, and a pathway into meaningful outdoor work.

Through participation in active stewardship sites, trainees gain experience in:

Plant care, pruning, and ecological maintenance
Soil health and mulching practices
Safe tool use and job site procedures
Professional work habits, teamwork, and accountability
Long-term land stewardship principles

All participants work under experienced supervision and are integrated into real stewardship activities—not simulated training environments.

This approach ensures that community spaces receive consistent care while participants gain valuable skills, confidence, and work experience.

Safety, Supervision, and Protective Equipment

Safety and professionalism are foundational to the program.

Participants are trained in safe work practices and are provided with appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) based on the tasks being performed.

This may include:

Gloves
Eye protection
Hearing protection when needed
Proper footwear requirements
Tool safety training and supervision

All work is performed under structured supervision to ensure safety, accountability, and skill development.

This structure allows participants to learn in a real-world environment while maintaining professional safety standards.

How This Work Is Supported

The Community Stewardship Program is supported through:

Small local grants
Community and faith-based donations
Site partnerships
In-kind support where appropriate

Support funds materials, equipment use, and skilled stewardship labor.
The goal is steady stewardship, not rapid expansion.

Learn More or Partner With Us

If you are interested in:

Supporting long-term stewardship
Partnering on a community site
Learning more about how the program works

Please contact us.

Grow With Gordon – Community Stewardship

GordonGivesIndiana@gmail.com
765-416-2447