Volunteer

Volunteers play a key role in the daily life of Naples Botanical Garden. They bring an eagerness to learn and an unselfish ability to share their time and talents with us. Volunteers are often the best advocates in the community, and we celebrate their commitment to serve in all aspects of the organization.

Individual volunteers must be at least 16 years old. Anyone from ages 12 – 15 may also volunteer, but must be in the constant supervision of a parent or legal guardian, who is also a Garden volunteer.

One half day per week volunteer opportunities include:

Docent - interact with visitors in the Garden by sharing information and/or giving tours
Natural Areas - exotic plant removal, planting, hauling materials,
Cultivated Gardens - weeding, raking, potting, trimming.
After School Elementary Program - Tuesdays - January through April. Work with our Global Garden students in the schools.

Other on-call and as needed opportunities include:

Tour Guide - Adults
Tour Guide - School Children
Event Assistant
Mailings
Reception/Phone
Visitor Center Patio Plant Sales
Membership Sales/Weekends

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteers play a crucial role in the successful operation of the Garden. Volunteers can be “on call” for events, activities and special programs or come in on a regular weekly basis to assist with other needs, such as horticulture, for example. We encourage interested individuals to inquire about our volunteer program, as we have opportunities that align with varying interests and skills.

Volunteer Roles

Docent:
Interact and share knowledge with the public in one of 5 designed gardens or natural areas.

Tour Guide:
Lead groups through their choice of two gardens on a 1 ½ hour tour and/or create your own customized ½ hour tour as part of the Garden’s 11:00 Daily Tours.

Horticulture Assistant:
Weeding, raking, potting, sweeping, watering, moving plant material early weekday mornings.

Wildflower Meadow Enthusiast:
Maintain (weed, propagate) wildflowers in the Scott Florida Garden’s wildflower meadow and native nursery.

Bird Tower Birder:
Knowledgeable “birder” to interact with public who come to birding tower.

Herbarium Assistant:
Assist botanist with meticulous data input, making labels, meticulous gluing and/or collecting in the field.

Special Events Assistant:
On Call position for Special Events assisting as a greeter, or registration desk volunteer, or way finder, or raffle ticket salesperson, or silent auction volunteer, or set up and take down volunteer and more.

Plant Sale Specialist:
Plant enthusiast with knowledge on care and feeding of SW Florida plants to assist with plant sales or to work on the patio of the Gift Shop.

Youth Tours Assistant:
Volunteers needed to help lead school tours, heavily scheduled from March through end of school year.

Administration Receptionist:
Answer all general information calls coming into the Garden’s main line, transfer successfully to the correct staff when necessary.

Education’s Arts and Crafts Assistant:
On call position invites all “crafty” people to help prepare materials for children’s programs and activities.

Global Garden After School Program Mentor:
Work with 3rd, 4th and 5th graders at Avalon Elementary School one afternoon a week in a garden setting from 3pm – 5pm (January thru May) and accompany students on four Saturday field trips.

Office Assistant:
Must have knowledge of Raiser’s Edge and/or Volgistics and/or Excel to assist staff with data entry.

Membership Sales Assistant:
Work in a high profile area of the Garden selling memberships during high visitation days.

Operations/Facilities Assistant:
Assist with opening procedures in the morning. Help set up for Dog Walks Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.

Summer Camp Mentor

Service Learning Opportunity

Position Summary: Are you an enthusiastic high school or college student looking for service learning hours during the summer while engaging children through experiential and inquiry-based learning? Naples Botanical Garden is seeking mentors for students age 5-12 for our week-long science, art, and environment-based summer camps. Mentors primarily act as positive role models for younger students. Additionally, mentors will support Camp Counselors and the Camp Coordinator in the delivery of standards-based educational programming. Commitment is from 8am to 3pm each day for one to three weeks beginning June 10 through July 26.

For more information on this service learning opportunity, please contact Naples Botanical Garden at education@naplesgarden.org. Be sure to include "Summer Camp Mentor" in the subject line.