Volunteer Opportunities
Over 100 volunteers help keep Leach Garden humming. They welcome visitors to the Manor House, provide tours of the Garden and share stories and information. They propagate plants, groom trails and prune branches. They stage events and fundraisers such as the English Tea and Plant Sale. And they work on special projects ranging from marketing and technology upgrades to carpentry and graphics. The Garden is blessed to have volunteers who have been here since it first opened along with volunteers who weren’t even born then.
Leach Garden offers a wide range of opportunities for volunteers. Many, but certainly not all of them are described below. If you are interested in learning more about volunteering at Leach Botanical Garden please contact us. All volunteers at the Garden go through the Portland Parks & Recreation screening process.
Ongoing
Educator/Naturalist
Work with children and adults in a variety of educational event and program settings. Help lead one hour weekly Honeybee Hikes around the Garden designed for children aged 2-6 years with accompanying parents. Walk the garden trails and meadows on a nature hike, explore for nature objects and animals, read stories, or create craft projects.
Also help organize, lead and accompany student groups, special events such as Nature Fair, staff partner festival events, and garden nature programs for families and children. Additional help needed to create and organize art and craft projects and supplies.
Garden Tour Guide
Tour guides conduct visitors through the Garden sharing garden history, collection information and varied garden habitats. Volunteers are provided training to speak about garden themes and be comfortable interacting with the public. Guides are needed for Saturday Weekend Walks and other garden tours.
Garden Volunteer
Garden volunteers work in the Garden maintaining planted areas, beds, signage, trails, and other outdoor elements of our site under direction of the Head Gardener.
Gift Shop
Gift shop volunteers serve customers in the Gift Shop, and provide information about the Garden as well. The Gift Shop generates significant revenue to support the Garden's operations and features a wide range of items. If interested, volunteers can assist with purchasing and management-related aspects of the Gift Shop as well, under the direction of the volunteer Gift Shop Manager.
Nursery & Propagation
Nursery volunteers work with the Gardener/Curator in the Upper Garden Greenhouse and Nursery area. They propagate plants for the Garden itself as well as for plant sale. In addition, they maintain and improve the Garden’s propagation related facilities and display beds.
Office Assistants
Volunteers provide essential support services by assisting with the phones, filing, researching, tracking and logging volunteer hours, coordinating mailings, organizing photos, and a million other tasks that help keep things running smoothly.
Receptionist-Manor House
Receptionists welcome visitors to the Manor House during hours the Garden is open. They provide directions and information, answer the phone at the front desk, direct calls, and take messages. Receptionists provide brief tours of the Manor House and orient visitors to the Garden and its history.
Special Events
English Tea
The Annual English Tea has raised money for the Garden for decades. The popular event in early summer sells out within days of being announced each year. Volunteers create the gracious environment, food, and decorations that make the Tea so popular.
Holiday Bazaar
The Holiday Bazaar is an annual Garden tradition held on the first Friday and Saturday of December. This festive event raises significant funds to support the Garden. In preparation, volunteers create wreaths, swags, and centerpieces and prepare incredible baked goods. A myriad of volunteers help staff the bazaar, doing everything from cashiering to logistics coordination.
Leach Garden After Hours
These special evening events take place monthly from May through October. Each has a unique theme and different audience focus. Volunteers develop the menu, entertainment, and elements of the garden tour to correspond with the theme.
Nature Fair
Nature Fair is a community-focused Saturday event aimed at youngsters and their families. Booths, crafts, educational tours, games, music and other elements make this free (donation-based) event very popular. Volunteers are essential in staffing the activities as well as in the set-up and take down, publicity, and evaluation of Nature Fair.
Plant Sale
The annual spring plant sale features plants from a variety of specialty nurseries as well as those propagated from Leach's botanical collection. Volunteers manage the complex logistics of this one day event, including coordinating with participating nurseries, propagating plants, setting up and managing the sale, and interacting with the hundreds of customers who look forward to this traditional fundraiser every year.
