Business Plan: ‘Sustainable Community Garden’

What is a Business Plan? 
Briefly explain that a business plan is a simple guide for a project, and that it helps organising ideas, plan costs and income, find partners, and make the garden sustainable.

Time-Managed Brainstorming. Use a timer (about 5 minutes per step) to keep discussions short and focused.

Purpose & Vision: Define goals (sustainability, community use, learning) on a large sheet.

Guiding questions: Why is this garden valuable? Who benefits? What problems does it solve?

Budget: List start-up and yearly costs (tools, soil, seeds, water, maintenance) and compare to expected income.

Guiding questions: What do we need? What repeats yearly? How can we reduce costs?

Resources & Income: Brainstorm funding, donations, reuse/recycling options.

Guiding questions: What resources do we already have? Who might donate?

Community Partnerships: Identify local partners (farmers, garden centres, clubs) and ways to contact them.

Guiding questions: Who can support us? What can we offer in return?

Volunteers & Engagement: Plan recruitment, roles, and recognition strategies.

Launch & Communication: Plan a kick-off event and decide communication tools (posters, newsletter, social media).

Guiding questions: What message do we want to share? How often should we update?

Harvest & Reinvestment: Plan produce sale and decide how profits will support next year.

Guiding questions: What will we sell? How present it? How reinvest the money?

Final Business Plan: Combine all sections into a clear plan covering: vision, budget, resources, partnerships, volunteers, communication, harvest, and reinvestment.