Bellingham Parks and Recreation is inviting residents to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty this May, with a series of free Wednesday evening work parties at community gardens across the city. The events kick off Tuesday, May 6 at Lakeway Community Garden and continue each Wednesday through the end of the month, visiting a different neighborhood garden each week. Registration is required, and all tools, instruction, snacks, and tea will be provided.
Community garden work parties have been a signature program of Bellingham Parks and Recreation for years, connecting residents with the shared green spaces that anchor neighborhoods across the city. The Wednesday evening format is deliberately accessible, running from 4 to 6 PM to catch people after the workday. Unlike some volunteer programs that require training or long commitments, these work parties welcome complete newcomers alongside returning volunteers.
The May schedule rotates through four community gardens, each with its own character and neighborhood context. Lakeway Community Garden, in the Lakeway neighborhood near the eastern edge of the city, serves gardeners who grow food for personal use and community sharing. King Mountain Community Garden, on the city's north side, sits at the edge of Whatcom Falls Park and draws volunteers from the surrounding residential areas. Sven Hoyt Community Garden in the Columbia neighborhood is one of Bellingham's older community plots, named for a longtime city parks advocate. Fairhaven Community Garden, rounding out the series on May 27, is tucked into the Fairhaven neighborhood and benefits from that area's strong tradition of civic participation.
Work at each site will focus on the shared spaces that keep the gardens functional for all plot holders, not individual beds. Volunteers can expect tasks like removing invasive plant species, spreading mulch on shared pathways, clearing drainage areas, and general spring cleanup after the wet winter months. Parks staff will direct the work and provide all necessary tools. No experience or equipment is required beyond a willingness to get a little muddy.
Bellingham's community garden network is part of a broader parks volunteer program that also includes trail maintenance and invasive species removal in Whatcom County's forested parks. The garden-specific program stands apart because it produces something visible and lasting: cleaner shared spaces that benefit dozens of plot holders throughout the growing season. The mulched paths and cleared beds that volunteers create in May will still be there in August, when the gardens are at peak production.
To register for any of the May work parties, visit volunteerbellingham.org/need. Online registration is required for all participants; walk-ins are not guaranteed a spot. The City of Bellingham's parks volunteer page at cob.org also lists upcoming work party opportunities beyond the community garden series.
The full May schedule is as follows: Lakeway Community Garden on May 6, King Mountain Community Garden on May 13, Sven Hoyt Community Garden on May 20, and Fairhaven Community Garden on May 27. All sessions run from 4 to 6 PM. The gardens are open to all Bellingham-area residents regardless of whether they hold a plot at that particular garden.
For those who have been meaning to get more involved in the neighborhood but haven't found the right entry point, a Wednesday evening at a community garden is about as low-barrier as civic engagement gets. You show up, you dig, you meet your neighbors, and you leave knowing you made the place a little better. That's a good deal in any season, but especially in May when the soil is finally workable and the days are long enough to actually enjoy being outside after work.
Questions about the program can be directed to Bellingham Parks and Recreation through the City of Bellingham's main contact page. Registration details are available through the Volunteer Bellingham registration portal.
