Please abide by these rules when visiting Rugged Weeds.
Most of these rules are common sense, but because of the types of groups with which we are working, many of these rules are to ensure people obtain the maximum benefit from their experience on the property, without distractions. Some are required to provide as safe a space as possible. For tobacco users, please read the section related to Tobacco Mosaic Virus and let us know before starting a workshop.
Please read all of the rules before arriving for a visit or a workshop. You can use the index on the right, or select the All Pages at bottom of the index to load the entire page. Thank you.
Parking
When turning into the driveway, park diagonally on the grass on the right-hand side near the edge of the property. Begin parking from the top of the property. This allows other vehicles to get past you and park alongside you. The only exception to this is when there has been a period of rain and the grass is waterlogged and vehicles may get stuck. In this instance, drive down to the bottom of the driveway where the miscanthus is growing and park on the driveway. Vehicles arriving after you should park behind you.
Cellphone use
When arriving for a workshop at Rugged Weeds, please either turn off your mobile phone or switch it to Airplane Mode. Much of the benefit obtained from therapeutic horticulture is to experience what you are doing in nature in the moment without screen time. We also routinely provide materials after workshops about the subject matter. For individuals participating in workshops, we are trying to reduce the likelihood of participants being distracted by - or distracting others - with their phones. Please also see the paragraph below regarding taking pictures of participants. If a picture would be a valuable asset to your learning experience, please discuss this with us. It may be possible to build into the workshops picture time or for the pictures to be taken afterwards.
Guns, drugs, tobacco, alcohol
Please do not bring onto the Rugged Weeds property any illegal substances, firearms, weapons, or alcohol. Vaping, whether of tobacco or something else is not allowed on the property. You will be asked to leave immediately and will forfeit any payment made for the class on that day.
Regarding firearms, this includes individuals who are concealed carry license holders.
No tobacco products are allowed on the Rugged Weeds property. If you are a smoker, vape, or chew tobacco, please let us know on arrival, so that we can provide you with the opportunity to wash your hands thoroughly before the start of a workshop. This measure is to prevent the spread into the garden of Tobacco Mosaic Virus - which is highly prevalent in tobacco - to tomatoes and other nightshade plants. The tobacco mosaic virus can also be spread to other plants unaffected by the virus that then become carriers of the disease when composted and into the soil.
We take these measures because we work with individuals who are alcoholics or are battling other addictions or who have PTSD. We disallow these items from the property to provide a safe space where all of us can grow together. Thank you.
Pictures of participants
While we encourage people to enjoy the learning and interactions in workshops on the property, please do not take pictures of other participants without their explicit permission to do so. They have a right to privacy, and posting pictures of people online without their permission may result in instances in which individuals who are experiencing violence at home may be found and re-targeted. Taking selfies or pictures of the garden or workshops can be arranged and we prefer it if it is done after the workshop, but ensure that you exclude others. Even in instances in which everyone in a group agrees to allowing pictures being taken, please use your discretion about how those pictures might be misused by a bad actor and err on the side of caution.
In groups in which children are participating, no pictures may be taken of the children. Pictures of minors require consent forms in writing and since completing these are a waste of valuable workshop time and require extensive record-keeping in the event of litigation, for simplicity, we require people to please observe this rule. If a parent or legal guardian wants a picture of their child only, please arrange with us to do so after the workshop, or at a designated time during a class.
At this time, Rugged Weeds does not have a public toilet facility available to workshop participants. We ask for your patience on this and are fundraising to build an outside toilet on the property for workshop attendees. If you would like to donate towards this, please use the donate button. Even a few dollars can help.
We will provide participants a way to wash their hands after gardening.
