Working and Learning
The Native Plant Trail volunteer crew works with arboretum's assistant curator to maintain all sections of the native plant trail, including woodland, meadow, and wetland sections. Some common tasks include hand weeding, raking leaves, planting, spreading mulch, watering plants, trimming trees, removing invasive plants, and maintaining walking paths. As a naturalistic garden, one of the goals of the native plant trail is to facilitate ecological processes such as seed dispersal in addition to traditional gardening methods. Therefore some work will require ability to distinguish between common native and invasive plant species. However, no prior knowledge on plant identification is necessary - this education will be provided throughout the volunteer season. Come work and learn about nature with us!
When and Where
The crew meets every Wednesday morning during the growing season from 9AM - 12PM, weather permitting. Regular meetings generally run from early April - November, with occasional meetings in the off-season as needed. All regular communication for this group is by email. The assistant curator will send an email to all registered volunteers the tuesday before each volunteer shift, informing of any changes to the regular schedule and providing a brief description of anticipated volunteer activities that week. The crew meets at the entrance to the Native Plant Trail woodland section unless otherwise specified.
Ready to Join?
If this all sounds good to you, simply click the link below and fill out the form to sign up. You will begin receiving weekly volunteer emails during the growing season and be invited to join the crew for all regular workdays. Note that signing up is not a commitment to taking on a certain number of hours - you can join us as often or as rarely as you please.
