How you can help
Volunteering is both rewarding and great fun. There are two avenues for volunteering: for the Friends or for the Australian National Botanic Gardens. Many people do volunteer work for both the Friends and the Gardens.
Volunteering for the Friends
The Friends run many activities specifically for members of the Friends. These include several special interest groups:
| Botanic Art Group | Brings together people interested in botanical art to paint and draw Australian plants in the ANBG. |
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| Growing Friends | Provides a learning forum for propagating, growing and selling native plants. |
| Nature Journaling Group | Arranges Group visits to the Gardens to undertake observation and recording of nature. Nature journaling is the practice of drawing or writing in response to nature. |
| Photographic Group | Brings together people interested in photography to: – contribute to the ANBGs stock of native plant photographs; – provide training to improve skills; and – improve community awareness of native flora. |
| Plant Recognition Group | Provides workshops for Friends ANBG in learning to identify plants, and participate in citizen science opportunities. |
| Plant Science Group | To provide a forum for more technical information about plants and plant identification, and briefings on current cutting-edge research in plant science. |
Other activities are organised for Friends and/or members of the public by the:
| Flowers Fruit and Foliage Team | Produce a fortnightly brochure showing photographs and information on some of the Garden’s special finds. |
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| IT Advisers | Supports Friends ANBG Information Technology requirements. |
| Thursday Talks Team | Coordinate weekly public talks with the principle focus on plants and related subjects. |
| Membership Team | Process memberships, keep up-to-date membership statistics, and record volunteer’s contribution on membership database. |
| Newsletter and Publications Subcommittee | Coordinate, edit and publish Fronds three times a year, and other publications when requested by Council. |
| Projects Subcommittee | To consider funding project proposals and make recommendations to Council. |
| Social Events and Activities Subcommittee | Coordinates social events and activities for the benefit of the Friends, the ANBG, and the community. |
| Students Photographic Competition Team | Arranges annual photographic competition for students at Australian primary and secondary schools and colleges. The photograph entries must be taken in the ANBG. |
| Website Subcommittee | Maintain an up-to-date website with continual improvement. |
Volunteering opportunities on the committees for each of these groups are 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. This 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.
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://www.anbg.gov.au/gardens/about/volunteers/index.html