2019 Volunteer Recruitment

Applications Due:  Friday, February 1, 2019

Would you like to spend more time outdoors? Would you like to learn more about the environment? Are you looking for a way to fulfill a New Year’s resolution to give back to the community? Consider volunteering with the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden! It’s a rewarding place to spend your time while learning new skills and meeting new people.

We are seeking new volunteers to join our gardening, plant sale support and land stewardship volunteer teams. Trainings will be offered this winter and include a combination of expert instruction and hands-on projects. There will be a $20 materials fee due at your team’s first scheduled training date.

Gardening Volunteers work in teams on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday mornings to help maintain and beautify Arboretum and Public Garden landscapes. The majority of our gardens are sustainable ornamental gardens but there will also be volunteer work available in our greenhouse nursery facility.  Each team focuses on a different area; volunteers work in collaboration with horticultural staff. Training dates: Thursdays, February 7-March 14, 9 am–12 pm.

Plant Sale Support Volunteers work as a team to support our big Saturday plant sales 6-8 times a year and our weekday morning Learn & Shop events 1-3 times a month at the Arboretum Teaching Nursery. Duties include overseeing plant counting and cashier teams at our weekend sales and handling all customer service activities for our smaller sales. If you love organizing, have good attention to detail, enjoy interacting with customers and other volunteers and you are comfortable handling sales transactions, this would be a great team for you. Please note that a background check will be required. Training dates: Thursday, January 31, 9 am- 12 pm; Wednesday, February 13 and Tuesday, February 26, 9 am-12:30 pm.

Land Stewardship Volunteers work on campus naturalized lands with staff on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday mornings. Projects include light construction, trail repair, native plant care, weed control, and a variety of equipment and power tool operation. Training dates: January 26, 27 or 28, 9 am–12 pm.

Putah Creek Riparian Reserve Volunteers work with the Reserve Manager and Reserve Steward on Thursday mornings (Tuesdays might be a possibility too). Projects include construction, farming, ranching, trail building and maintenance, weed control, and a variety of equipment and power tools operation including but not limited to tractors, ATV and small excavator, chainsaws and string trimmers. You will learn the nuts and bolts of wildland management. Note that this is a more labor intensive and physically demanding work. Training is on-going for this position and you can sign up to volunteer anytime.

Click through this slideshow to see what it's like to be a volunteer!