Participatory Planting
Bringing residents, employees, students and volunteers into the physical work of planting and caring for a green space — not just delivering it to them.
What is participatory planting?
Participatory planting is a method where people who aren't professional landscapers or ecologists — residents, employees, students, volunteers — take part directly in the planting itself, guided by ecological professionals, rather than the work being carried out solely by a contracted crew. In practice that can mean preparing the ground and planting trees, shrubs or other species alongside the project team, and sometimes ongoing watering, weeding or monitoring afterwards.
Why TSF uses it
Beyond adding hands to the work, bringing people into planting is meant to build a personal connection with the resulting green space and spread the practical knowledge needed to care for it over time. It reflects one of the three pillars behind TSF's work — see TSF's approach.
This page introduces participatory planting as a method across TSF's work; more TSF-specific detail on this approach is coming soon.
Where we've done this
Every square metre counts.