Volunteering at the beautiful Gardens is very rewarding and great fun. The Friends often receive email and telephone enquiries about volunteering.
There are two avenues for this at the Gardens, through the Friends and through the Gardens' own programs.
Volunteering for the Friends
The Friends of the ANBG run many activities specifically for members, such as special-interest groups (Growing Friends, the Botanic Art Group, Nature Journaling Group, Photographic Group and Plant Science Group). Volunteering opportunities on their committees are mostly filled from within the relevant group.
From time to time we advertise other opportunities, mostly through our regular broadcast emails and also on the Friends’ website. The vacancies might include positions on the Friends Council; public activities such as the Thursday Talks, Schools Photographic Competition, Wake Up with the Birds walks, and other social events; and ad-hoc vacancies such as with the teams who produce our magazine Fronds and our website, manage our membership services, and provide IT support.
So, if a closer involvement in the Friends interests you, keep an eye on the broadcast emails in particular. There are also contact details for each Special Interest Group in the Get Involved section of the website.
Volunteering for the ANBG
The ANBG runs its own volunteering programs for both front-of-house and back-of-house activities. If you enjoy engaging with visitors to the Gardens, volunteering opportunities exist in the Visitor Centre and as a Guide. If you are keen to support back-of-house activities, volunteer programs exist in the National Seed Bank, Library, Australian National Herbarium and Education Unit – to name just a few. If this kind of volunteering interests you, there is information on the ANBG website at https://parksaustralia.gov.au/botanic-gardens/about/get-involved/volunteer/.
There are many people who volunteer both for the ANBG and the Friends, for example, a guide or research volunteer may well be involved in one or more special interest groups.
