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, for the Friends and/or for the Australian National Botanic Gardens.
Volunteering for the Friends
The Friends of the ANBG run many activities specifically for members of the Friends. These activities are highlighted on the Friends website and include several special interest groups (Growing Friends, the Botanic Art Group, Photographic Group and Plant Science Group), and the Thursday Talks committee. Volunteering opportunities on the committees for each of these groups are mostly filled from within the relevant group. From time to time the Friends advertise other vacancies, mostly through the regular broadcast emails and sometimes on the Friends’ website (www.friendsanbg.org.au). These advertisements can include vacancies on the Friends Council, volunteering opportunities at the summer concerts, and other ad hoc vacancies such as for IT support or our magazine Fronds. 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 programs. 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.
