Fertile GroundWorks: Volunteer, Grow Food and Give in Livermore

We teach, grow, and give.

Fertile GroundWorks is a nonprofit with the mission to encourage, empower, and teach individuals and communities to grow healthy, nutritious food, organically and sustainably. The Garden of Grace, our principle teaching garden, is located in Livermore on land owned and provided for our use by Asbury United Methodist Church. Produce from our educational garden is given to local community kitchens and food pantries to help feed those in need.

Thank you to Tri-Valley Nonprofit Alliance for supporting our mission to improve food security in our community!

Kathy Young, TVNPA CEO & Board President; Brenda Kusler, Fertile Groundworks Executive Director; and Marti Sutton, Board Chair

Donate through CHEF to grow your gift!

CHEF will help us to continue to provide for our neighbors in need by donating an additional 50% on any donation made to our “Garden Next Door” campaign. WOW! How lucky are we?! Your support will help resource Fertile GroundWorks create 10,000 square feet more growing space in our main garden.

Thank you for another wonderful Taste for Giving gala

Thanks to all our guests who made this event a success at the beautiful McGrail Vineyards in Livermore! You didn’t just sell out the seats, but you also gave generously by bidding on auctions and donating to garden beds.

The 2026 Plant Sale

You are invited to come enjoy this year’s open plant sale experience. Rain or shine, we’ll be opening our big hoop house for you to come pick your own seedlings :

3PM to 6PM on Fridays April 3rd and April 10th
9AM to Noon on Saturdays April 4th and April 11th

Our big hoop house is located at the south end of our garden, at 4743 East Avenue. Just bring a box to take your seedlings home in, and follow the signs.

All plants are still only $4.00 per container and FGW famous fertilizer at $6.00/ quart. We will be offering a large variety of yummy plants to help you fill your garden.

What we do:

Grow Food for Those in Need

We grow over 28,000 pounds of organic produce each year to feed the poor and homeless in Alameda County’s Tri-Valley region.

Educate Garden Volunteers

Volunteers learn from experienced gardeners on-site. We use sustainable, manual techniques that you can apply to your own garden. Groups are always welcome.

Support School Gardens

We provide education and support to local schools, corporations, and other community groups to help them create and sustainably operate their own gardens.

Plant Sale & You-Pick Market Garden

Our annual Plant Sale Fundraiser and seasonal You-Pick Market Garden make our organic produce available to the local community.

Our volunteers have fun!

“Thank you and your group of volunteers so much for hosting us at Fertile Groundworks. Our team had a ton of fun and would love to come back to the garden and help out again soon. We were amazed about the amount of food that is grown and the talk around the office now is all about gardening and growing plants. The work you do for the community is amazing, appreciated, and inspiring. The world needs more people like you.”

“Great place to volunteer - you can do good for your community and at the same time learn a lot about gardening. You don’t have to have experience, and everyone is friendly and genuinely happy to have you there doing whatever you feel able to do.”

"I enjoy every visit to Fertile GroundWorks. The impact they are having on the community is phenomenal ranging from providing good organic food to the needy all the way to teaching young kids things they will never learn going to school. If you are in the region, I highly recommend going there during volunteer hours and spending some time. Just amazing!"

"I started volunteering with this group because I love organizations that tackle more than one problem at a time, elegantly. Beyond their mission, they've always made it easy to volunteer, made me feel welcome and like I spent my time making a difference. I'd certainly recommend working with them to anyone."

"This is my favorite place in Livermore! And volunteering is my favorite way to spend a Friday afternoon. Being with Brenda and other like-minded folk connects me with my beautiful community, putting my hands in the dirt connects me to nature, and providing food for others connects me with who I want to be."

From the garden...

[instagram-feed]