Roles and Tasks

The following is an incomplete list of roles and tasks, organized by working group. Please contact volunteer@tryonfarm.org (or the working group or task coordinator) to jump in!

PHYSICAL ECOLOGY

Roles:

Materials Coordinator

(3 hrs/wk; 3 month commitment; >50% onsite)

  • Keep track of existing materials: location, stock, etc.
  • Identify new sources of reused materials.
  • Ensure that Craigslist, Freecycle, and other online redistribution mechanisms are regularly reviewed and used
  • Receive requests for materials
  • Coordinate “schlepping” volunteers to acquire and transport materials efficiently

On Land Research Coordinator

(>5 hr/wk; 6 mo commitment; >25% onsite)

  • Solicit and coordinate development of proposals for research programs on the land
  • Establish and maintain partnerships with academic institutions and independent researchers
  • Ensure that research protocols are followed
  • Liaise with other working groups (education, social ecology) as needed.

Annuals Coodinator

Food Forest/Edible Landscape Coordinator

Building Coordinator

Animal Coordinator

  • Goats
  • Chickens
  • Bees

OSALT/easements liaison.

(>5 hrs/mo; >1 yr commitment; >10% on site)

  • Attend OSALT meetings
  • Establish relationships with appropriate administrators in State Parks, Metro Parks, and City BES
  • Ensure that commitments and responsibilities under terms of ground lease and easements are met

Planning Coordinator

Native Habitat Coordinator

(>3 hrs/wk; 6 mo commitment; >75% on site)

  • Coordinate with Park, Metro, and other habitat professionals
  • Improve and expand native habitat restoration plan
  • Train and oversee volunteers in implementing restoration plan.

Work Party Host

(3-8 hours per event; 4 events in 12 month period; 100% on site)

  • Welcome and orient participants during Thursday or Saturday work party
  • Address questions and concerns, ensure that everyone feels as comfortable and engaged as possible
  • If possible, conduct land tours (training available)

Restoration Research

(>5 hrs/mo; 1 year commitment; >25% on site)

  • Research and/or develop innovative ways to assess native habitat functionality, including partial functionality in hybrid plantings with nonnative human-functional plants
  • Establish protocols to assess changes in habitat function
  • Coordinate with other groups and research coordinator to ensure data is gathered, analyzed, and results integrated into planning

Freecycle/Craigslist monitor

(>1 hr/wk; 1 mo commitment; >0% onsite)

  • Review online exchange forums for potentially or actually useful materials, services, etc.
  • Coordinate with materials coordinator and/or volunteer coordinator
  • Can be entirely online and offsite.

Write research reports

Energy Coordinator

Water System Coordinator

(>5 hrs/wk; >6 mo commitment; >25% onsite)

  • Develop plan for water management on land, including:
    • stormwater bioremediation and use;
    • rainwater collection;
    • greywater;
    • dams and swales for infiltration and irrigation;
    • cisterns;
    • nanohydropower and/or pump-batteries;
    • wetland/headwaters restoration;
  • Link plan to Park, Watershed Council, neighborhood, City, etc. efforts to monitor and improve watershed health;
  • Coordinate with other groups in our social ecology to implement plan.

Tasks:

Stuff Schlepper

(0.5 to 3 hrs per occasion; added to list w/ availability)

  • Be willing to move stuff from somewhere to TLC Farm
  • Access to vehicle preferable, including bike trailer! (Not required.)

Observations

(0.25 to 1 hr; 10 occasion commitment; 100% on site)

  • Read data gathering protocol
  • Receive short training
  • Gather various kinds of data, both general and specific, qualitative and quantitative

Garden Tasks

  • planting
  • mulching
  • harvesting
  • weeding
  • sorting
  • watering

Animal Tasks

  • feeding
  • egging
  • milking
  • vet stuff
  • moving fence

Building Stuff

finish suana, toilet, barn, rocket bench, maintaining cob

Paths

(>0.5 hrs; no commitment)

  • Lay down woodchips on existing paths where muddy using wheelbarrows and pitchforks;
  • Lay down cardboard for new paths (under guidance of coordinator).

Literature research

(> 1 hr; variable commitment; >0% on site)

  • In coordination with research coordinator, research both on-line and library sources for data, protocols, analyses, practices, etc.
  • Report results of research, in a form depending on situation.

EDUCATION -

  • Contacts: Youth Education Coordinator - Matt Gordon - mattg (at) tryonfarm.org
  • Education Working Group meets biwekly.

Roles:

Scheduling Visits (currentlyfilled by Education Coordinator)

(3 hrs/wk; 3 mo commitment; >75% on site)

  • Maintain calendar of class visits
  • Coordinate with edu teachers and schools/agencies to schedule visits
  • Return any appropriate phone/email messages promptly
  • Be responsible to edu working group
  • (If wished, coordinate with infotech coordinator to make scheduling more automated and online)

Leading Field Trip Activities

(<2 hrs per session; 5 session commitment; 100% on site)

Tasks:

Curriculum Development

(10 – 50 hrs; >15% on site) Experience preferred.

  • Coordinate with edu working group to develop curriculum goals and audience
  • Research existing curricula, and make as much use of existing material as copyrights allow
  • Create curriculum resources, including teaching guides and aids.
  • Present curriculum to working group/teachers.

Making signs to Spec

(10 – 25 hrs; commit to complete project; probably 100% on site)

  • Acquire materials
  • Construct signs with support from building coordinator
  • Create online tour (10 – 50 hrs; >15% on site)
  • Develop specific parameters for online tour in coordination with edu working group and infotech coordinator

Create clickable map of land

  • Combine photos of land with information and links regarding physical and program features of organization
  • First phase: implement on line version of physical land tour
  • Later phases: add much more in-depth information, links, etc.
  • Document all work so that anyone else can pick up where you leave off
  • Web skills preferred but not required!

COMMUNICATIONS

Roles:

  • Publicity Pipeline Coordinator (>3 hrs/wk; 6 months commitment; >25% on site)
  • Receive publicity requests from working groups
  • Ensure that copy is produced and edited to standards
  • Coordinate with graphic designers, if necessary
  • Determine appropriate outlets for publicity (ie. community calendars, advertisements, radio, journalists, flyers, etc.)
  • Coordinate flyerers
  • Consoldate publicity into packages
  • Coordinate with working group

Monthly Updater

(5 hrs/mo; 6 mo commitment; >0% on site)

  • Solicit information for monthly updates from working groups, etc.
  • Compile both text and HTML versions of update based on models
  • Send updates using web interface

Media Point

Web Designer

(> 10 hrs/mo; 3 mo commitment; >10% on site)

  • Develop improved communication/collaboration infrastructure
  • Build systems for parallel online / offline information accessibility
  • Improve navigation and ease of use.
  • Develop and implement new look and feel

Web Updater

(1-3 hrs/wk; 3 mo commitment; >0% on site)

  • Adapt to changing web infrastructure to update content of web site
  • Currently, basic experience with HTML and Linux is strongly preferred.
  • Receive text and pictures from working groups, then create/update HTML pages based on templates

Database Administration

(10+ hrs/mo; 6 mo commitment; >25% on site)

  • Coordinate with working groups to develop data management goals
  • Communicate with CiviCRM development community and/or infotech coordinator (depending on background) to develop adequate tools
  • Develop and communicate data entry, management, and export protocols
  • Explore and improve data integrity
  • Provide appropriate, secure public access to and website integration with data
  • Maximize decentralization of data entry and management

Tech maintenance

(5 hrs/mo; 6 mo commitment; 100% on site)

  • Maintain wired and wireless data networks
  • Maintain and improve older Linux computer systems (Debian and SuSE)
  • Maintain phone systems (VOIP?)

System administration

(5-10 hrs/mo; 1 year minimum; >0% on site)

  • Remote Debian vserver
  • Medium traffic mission-critical Apache webserver
  • Medium-traffic Postfix mailserver (spam issues!)
  • Security improvements

Newsletter Editor

(10 hrs/mo; 1 issue/quarter commitment; >25% on site)

  • Solicit articles from community members
  • Compile and edit text
  • Coordinate with graphic designer
  • Coordinate with printer
  • Distribute newsletter

Tabling Coordinator

(5 hrs/mo; 6 mo commitment; >25% on site)

  • Identify and register for appropriate tabling opportunities
  • Train tablers
  • Schedule tablers

Publicity Materials Coordinator

(5-20 hrs/mo; 3 mo commitment; >50% on site)

  • Ensure that we have adequate, organized stocks/full sets of pamphlets, canvassing supplies, flipbooks, DVD’s, CD’s, etc.
  • Coordinate (re)design of new materials

Planning Coordinator

Working group point person

(3 hrs/wk; 6 mo commitment; >75% on site)

  • Convene meetings
  • Ensure that a spoke reports to spokescouncil
  • Keep track of various publicity-related activities and address any breakdowns in process

Tasks:

Flyers

(.5 – 3 hrs; put on list OR responsibility for area; >0% on site)

  • Download and print (or pickup) flyers, post in identified locations in selected area
  • Posting to Lists (0.5 – 1 hrs; suggest commit for 2 months; 0% on site)
  • Post already created email messages to a set of lists you’ve chosen

Graphic Designer

(1-10 hrs; on list; >15% on site)

  • Meet with publicity pipeline and/or other relevant folk to set design goals
  • Design posters, flyers, handbills, web pages, HTML messages, etc.
  • Both computer-based and hand-drawn
  • Knowledge of GIMP and/or Photoshop preferred.

Writing Stories for Newsletter

(1-20 hrs; per story basis; >0% on site)

  • Discuss story ideas with editor for particular issue
  • Write and submit story on agreed timeline to allow for revisions
  • Story lengths range from 250 word vignettes to 1500 word features

Writing Articles for media

Tabling

Photography/Video

Writing/participate in website usefulness

EVENTS

Roles:

Calender Coordination

Booking Agent (music)

Workshop Coordinator

(5 hrs/wk up to fulltime; >1 year commitment; >25% onsite)

  • arrange a quarterly community workshop schedule that loosely fall into a yearly cycle of themes
  • coordinate with workshop presenters to schedule workshops.
  • communicate with presenters about location, price, materials, and other workshop logistics.
  • work up a publicity statement for each workshop and compile quarterly workshop posters/trifolds.
  • ensure publicity for workshops.
  • facilitate registration for workshops.
  • schedule & train Farm Hosts for each workshop.
  • evaluate workshop program and provide feedback to the events working group & TLC Farm.
  • There will be a two month training period

Planning Coordinator

Auction Coordinator

Sound

Food Prep

Tasks:

Cleanup - barn/land/rooms

setup

door/shuttle/bar/rovers

Workshop hosts

SOCIAL ECOLOGY

Roles:

===Network Organizer=== (40 hrs/wk; 1 year commitment; >25% on site)

  • The liaison will seek out, learn about, and link to a wide variety of organizing spaces (movements, organizations, communities, etc.) broadly aligned with “ecological and social justice” by:
    • attending scheduled meetings and events;
    • doing interviews;
    • volunteering; and
    • sharing information.
  • Suggest and/or plan events, programs, and projects at TLC Farm that will encourage practical experiences of effective collaboration, mutual understanding, and interdependance.
  • Plan and coordinate an ongoing series of wisdom councils deepening the relationship between social justice and ecology movements
  • Coordinate the development of curricula for training liaisons (TLC Farm and other organizations)
  • Identify and develop relations with 5 intimate partner organizations and 15 intermittent ones
  • Interview 30 organizations/communities regarding ongoing strategic planning process
  • Quantify initial accessibility of programs to marginalized and oppressed communities, and double it.
  • Openly document hir work, primarily online:
    • maintain journals on spaces: impressions, thoughts, connections
    • discuss tactics, methodologies, skills, or wisdoms considered or used
    • expand and revise “training manuals” for liaisons
  • Identify and support people who will act as ongoing liaisons between other spaces and TLC Farm (as well as each other).

Inspiration Occasion Coordinator

(15+ hrs/mo; >3 mo commitment; >50% on site)

  • Organize monthly engagement event
  • Coordinate tour, work party, evening events, etc.
  • Ensure adequate participation by working groups
  • Be inspiring

Initial Interviews (Volunteer Coord.)

(>2 hr/wk; 6 mo commitment; >50% on site)

  • Training in social ecology infrastructure
  • Have sitdown meeting (0.5 – 1hr) discussing and recording background, skills, interests, etc. of interested volunteer
  • Suggest appropriate working groups, next steps, etc.
  • Enter information into database

Legal Details Coordinator

(5-10 hr/mo; >2 yr commtiment; >15% on site)

  • Become familiarized with all elements of legal situation of TLC Farm: lease, easements, taxes, contracts, employment, non-profit, liability, etc.
  • Coordinate with working groups to address ongoing issues and identify new ones
  • Coordinate pro bono and, as necessary, paid legal representation
  • Extensive training provided, but legal background required

Intern Coordinator

(5-20+ hr/wk; >6 mo commitment; >75% on site)

  • Revise and improve internship guidelines in coordination with working groups
  • Solicit interns in coordination with publicity pipeline
  • Develop specific internship agreements with interns outlining goals and expectations
  • Coordinate intern orientation and connection with point person
  • Meet with interns regularly to assess progress and address problems
  • Document internships and assess effectiveness

Planning Coordinator

Tasks:

Outreach, building relationships

(>1 hr/mo; added to list; >0% on site)

  • Make connections with other organizations and communities by attending meetings and funneling information, relationships to and fro

Body work

(1+ hr per session; added to list; not necessarily on site)

  • Massage
  • Acupuncture
  • Reiki
  • etc.

Counseling

(1+ hr per session; added to list, 5 session commitment; not necessarily on site)

  • Various modalities
  • Training preferred, at least some relevant experience required

Facilitation

(<3 hrs per meeting; added to list, 5 meeting commitment; usually on site)

  • Experience required
  • Training available

Mediation

(2+ hrs per session; added to list; not nec. on site)

Volunteer Follow-up

(1+ hrs per session; 10 session commitment; >25% on site)

  • Call or meet with volunteers to evaluate experiences, identify growth areas
  • Coordinate with social ecology working group
  • Record data

Legal Advisor

(on list, no necessary commitment)

  • Willing to provide at least some verbal advice on area of expertise

Data entry

(1+ hrs per session; no minimum commitment; >15% on site)

  • Wide variety of data entry protocols
  • Experience not always necessary

FINANCE

                                

Roles:

Grant Coordination

Canvass coordinator

Accounting/irs

Budget Planning Coordinator

FOF Coordinator

Major Donor relations

Mailings Coordinator

Bookkeeping/data entry (donations)

Presentations/pitches

Tech Maintenence

Tasks:

Financial Advisor

Writing grants

Canvassers

mailing party

Tax letters

house party organizing

Asking FOF for Money

Phone Banking

Fundraising Advisor

SPIRITUAL ECOLOGY

Roles:

Community Yum (sauna & sound)

Planning Coord

Sweat Coord

Sacred Place stewardship

social shamans

Tasks:

Moon/Sun Ceremonies

Altars & shrines

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