Ed: Grow Gardener Assistant at Grow
Ed, 26, had been working in call centres for a few years after university, whilst trying to find a job that focused on sustainability and the environment. Now her role as the Grow Gardener Assistant at Grow in Sheffield is providing hands-on outdoor experience and fostering dreams of owning a community green space.
A couple of months before the placement, Ed had quit her call centre job and was accepting roles to stay employed until she could break into the environmental sector. An advertisement on social media alerted her to the New to Nature programme. Grow in Sheffield – a local host organisation that didn’t require driving to – provided both the accessible and sustainable job Ed had been searching for.
Ed hoped working at Grow would give her new skills, as well as being able to apply transferrable ones to working with young people coaching and gardening. Her responsible and autonomous role, which involves leading career coaching sessions to trainees, has seen both her planning and leadership skills progress. Ed has been surprised by just how much she is contributing as an assistant.
The variety of being a Gardener Assistant means that Ed can be inside creating trainee schedules or outside doing practical work. This opportunity to gain more gardening experience has been really valuable, as Ed envisions one day owning a community green space where people can get involved with different activities around sustainable building or food growing. Coaching through therapeutic horticulture is a side of her role which Ed hopes to transfer into this future community space. Through New to Nature, Ed is enjoying spending time in nature, a space she can share with others, especially some trainees who are getting outdoors more than ever. After her placement, Ed would love to continue connecting with others and working outside. One part of her role includes selling plants to public and Ed can see herself in a customer facing career or a job that focuses on plants until she realises her dream of opening a community garden.
Ed said:
“I thought my limits were a lot lower than they were. The amount of progress and what I’m actually capable of surprised me.
“I’ve not really been asked about any decisions or been able to make decisions before. I like working as part of a team and being an equal part of that team.
“There’s a lot of open and easy communication. I could talk to anybody about anything if I wanted to. It’s a good place.
A lot of people want to work in something impactful, that has some way of giving you something that you can do when you feel panicked about the climate and the environment. I think it’s good to feel involved, to feel like you can have an impact.
New to Nature is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of the celebrations to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the King’s Coronation, delivered through a partnership of Groundwork, The Prince’s Trust, Disability Rights UK, Mission Diverse and the Youth Environmental Service.
