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Come get your hands dirty with us…

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Volunteer with us!

From weeding and watering, staffing events and helping out at the Boutique, there are many rewarding ways to be part of the Garden family.  Our volunteers are integral to our success, ensuring the Garden fulfills its mission of providing a beautiful space full of botanical wonders and exciting programs for all who visit.

 

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Learn More and Get Started!
Registered Volunteer Login

Why volunteer with us?

– Connect with nature

– Get your hands dirty

– Chance to connect with other like-minded community members

– Discount in our Botanical Boutique

– Access to continued education opportunities

– Free or discounted entry to select Garden events

– Sense of giving back and contributing

– Stress relief and exercise

Volunteer testimonials:

“I thoroughly enjoy my time when volunteering and the staff is wonderful. “

“Love all of you! I initially went to the garden to be outdoors in nature and garden more since I no longer had access to the same size garden as I used to have… but I end up returning for the people :)”

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Get Started !

Explore our volunteer opportunities below and learn how to get started!

General Gardening
Office Admin
Artisan Guild
Phenology​
Outreach & Education
Compost​
Corporate & Groups ​
Events​

General Gardening

The Garden relies on the many hands that work out in our garden beds to keep it beautiful. Our garden volunteers work with Garden staff either in groups or individually on various outdoor hands-on tasks throughout the Garden. Often volunteers will also work independently without Garden staff depending on the task and skill level of the volunteer. General gardening tasks may include but are not limited to:

  • Weeding
  • Mulching
  • Watering
  • Pruning
  • Collecting debris
  • Nursery clean-up
  • Propagation
  • Soil-making
  • Planting

To get started as a Garden Volunteer, please  fill and submit a Garden Volunteer Application Form. You will be required to sign up and attend an in-person orientation. 

Volunteer Form: Click here

Office / Admin

Volunteering at the garden doesn’t always mean you have to get dirty!  We have a number of office/administrative tasks with which we regularly need assistance, as well as special projects. These tasks may include but are not limited to:

  • Organizing, inputting, and updating data for various projects
  • Creating content for social media, signage, programs, etc.
  • Organizing and supporting efforts to collect historical information.

Depending on the time commitment and level of skill these tasks may require, volunteers must go through an interview process to ensure we find the right fit for each position. Skills we may be looking for (depending on task or project) may include but are not limited to:

  • Computer skills such as Excel, Word, Powerpoint
  • Attention to detail
  • Social media platforms
  • Communication skills

 

If you are interested in learning more or how to get involved, please email Riki Bonnema at riki@mbgarden.org

Artisan Guild

The Botanical Artisan Guild is envisioned as a group of volunteers who gather from time to time to make arts and crafts to donate for sale in our Botanical Boutique.

If you enjoy crafts or consider yourself ‘artsy’, come be a founding member of MBBG’s own Botanical Artisan Guild!

If you are interested in learning more or how to get involved, please email Megan Steen, at megansteen@mbgarden.org

Phenology

Phenology is the study of the timing of seasonal natural phenomena. You probably already make phenological observations: birds migrating, flowers blooming, leaves falling, and sea turtles nesting are all examples of phenological phenomena occurring in response to changes—like temperature or rainfall—in the physical world.

Why is it important?

Timing is important in food webs—for instance, a caterpillar eats a leaf, a bird eats the caterpillar, a snake eats the bird, and so on. The entire system can be thrown off, though, if the leaf is not available when that hungry caterpillar emerges.  We study phenology to track natural phenomena and to create a record of that activity so that scientists and researchers use that data, especially when looking at the effects of climate change. It is becoming increasingly important to understand how climate change is impacting these natural patterns.

Phenology is a great way to immerse yourself in nature, learn more about plants, and hone your observational skills.  It’s also a less physically demanding means of volunteering—you simply sit/stand/walk and make notations.

Our garden staff is looking to train a cohort of volunteers that will lead and maintain our phenology program and/or participate in data collection.

Tasks will include, among other things:

  • helping the group to determine a focus area and/or specific research question
  • learning phenology protocols
  • becoming familiar with Nature’s Notebook, the National Phenology Network’s data collection app
  • educating other volunteers about phenology and teaching specific observation protocols
  • organizing volunteer hours to ensure regular and continuous data collection

If you are interested in learning more or how to get involved, please email Megan Steen, at megansteen@mbgarden.org

Outreach & Education

  • We want to give our guests the best experience possible when visiting our Garden. We rely on our volunteers to make this possible. Tasks and projects that may be included are:
  • Creation of passive programming materials and educational content (field ID cards, scavenger hunts, brochures, etc.)
  • Leading public or private tours throughout various parts of the Garden
  • Guiding guests to specific areas of the Garden 
  • Answering common questions from visitors
  • Support facilitation of school or other scheduled group visits 
  • Provide additional customer service in popular areas of the Garden, including areas with plant sales
  • Tabling support at local events (both Garden and off site)

Skills we are seeking may include but are not limited to:

  • Good communication skills
  • Ability to stand and walk for long periods of time
  • Multilingual is great but not required

If you are interested in learning more or how to get involved, please email Nick Bergstrom at nickbergstrom@mbgarden.org

Compost

We are proud to provide our community with a free composting program where people can divert their food wastes from the landfill, learn more about the benefits of composting and how it works, and connect with their community. It takes a lot of work to make this program successful and volunteers are invaluable to part of the process. 

Compost volunteer activities and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

    • Sorting community waste 
    • Turning, sifting and bagging compost
    • Mulching, weeding, and general maintenance of the North Beach garden space
    • Workshop support such as documentation and photography.

If you are interested in learning more or how to get involved, please email us at compost@mbgarden.org 

Corporate & Groups 

  • We do offer a corporate and group volunteer programs. It can include volunteering in the Garden, propagation, and even forest bathing and wellness activations if that is of interest.

Email Amy Rosenberg at amy@mbgarden.org for corporate and  group opportunities.​

Events​

Event volunteer opportunities

Email Amy Rosenberg at amy@mbgarden.org  

Volunteer with us!

Fill out the form below, and we will be in touch shortly.