SUPPORT THE GARDEN

Volunteer Opportunities –
Horticulture, Collections, and Research

Volunteers in horticultural services help grow and maintain plants in the display gardens, natural areas,
and greenhouses. They inform visitors about the collection and assist with casual inquiries. Most volunteers work outside one weekday morning from April through November. With staff supervision, they prepare soil, plant, weed, prune, and deadhead. It's physically demanding work that continues through the fall unless the weather is extreme. Volunteer opportunities are added as new gardens are constructed and specific skills are requested to evaluate collections and monitor species.

Places volunteers may be needed:
The gardens; conservation/rare plant monitoring areas; research/laboratory; collections and plant records; greenhouses; plant production area; and herbarium.

Opportunity	Time of Year	Preparation	Commitment	Activity
Educational Greenhouse	Year-round	On-the-job training; ability to follow directions, stoop, kneel, bend, and stand	1/2 day per week Monday – Friday morning	Maintain Regenstein Center plant collections
Plant Production	Year-round	Learn by doing, follow directions, work as part of a team	1/2 day per week Monday – Friday morning	Sow seeds, transplant, monitor, stake, trim nursery plants, and wash pots
Collections and Plant Records	Year-round	Knowledge of plants and the Garden helpful	1/2 day per week	Do research and data entry; map display gardens; maintain "What's in Bloom" cart
Research	Year-round	Background in plant science or lab experience	1/2 day per week	Help with data entry and slide preparation
Herbarium	Year-round	Background in plant science, botanical art, or computer literacy	1/2 day per week	Organize, label, and pasteplant specimens and/or enter data in computer
Conservation Research	Year-round	Background in plant science and/or computer literacy	1/2 day per week	Data entry, working with digital images, plant processing, and occasional outdoor work
Laboratory - Conservation Genetics	Year-round	Lab experience	Two mornings or afternoons per week for a minimum of six months	DNA fingerprinting of plants
Laboratory - Tissue Culture	Year-round	Lab experience	1/2 day per week	Propagating plants using tissue culture
Rare Plant Monitoring	April – October	Background in plant identification; ability to engage in moderate outdoor activity	40 - 60 hours during the growing season	Monitor rare plant populations in Chicago region and record data
Native Habitats: McDonald Woods, Prairie, Skokie River	Seasonal	Physical endurance or specific plant knowledge	Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday morning	Monitor native species; help with seasonal activities involving physical labor
North Gardens:Bulb, Aquatic, Native Plant; Rose, Heritage and Perennial Gardens	April – October	Gardening experience helpful; ability to bend, stoop, kneel and work outside. Spring visitor interpretation training and seasonal updates	1/2 day per week in the morning	Assist staff with garden maintenance and visitor interpretation
South Gardens:Evaluation, Japanese, English Walled, Circle, and Sensory Gardens	April – October	Gardening experience helpful; ability to bend, stoop, kneel and work outside.	1/2 day per week in the morning	Assist staff with garden maintenance

SUPPORT THE GARDEN

Volunteer Opportunities – Horticulture, Collections, and Research

Volunteer Opportunities –
Horticulture, Collections, and Research