Join our Docent Program

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Are you looking for the chance to give back in a meaningful way and learn while you volunteer? Would you like to deepen your knowledge of Hawaiian Culture, botany, Horticulture, Environmental Education, and the Cultural Connections between people and the land? If all, or part of that sounds interesting to you, then Waimea Valley invites you to become an interpretive docent and be part of a team of botanical experts, cultural educators and interpreters serving the Oahu community and visitors from all over the world!

Docents at Waimea Valley are a committed, vibrant group of interpreters that support guest learning and exploration of Waimea Valley.After completing a volunteer application, volunteers will meet with the coordinator to gauge interests and find the best opportunities available. Docents lead tours, present educational demonstrations, share the highlights of the botanical Gardens, assist with special events, and help all visitors make lasting memories at Waimea Valley.

We have 3 different options for being a part of the Docent program and it all depends on your interest and what you want to focus on. The three options are, cultural docents, botanical docents and general docents.

• Cultural Docents
  • This is perfect for some one who wants to focus on sharing your knowledge of Hawaiian Culture, ethnobotany, Environmental Education, and the Cultural Connections between people and the land. You would work with our team of cultural educators and share the importance and history of this sacred valley with the community and visitors from all over the world! When you have been around for a while you may even be set up to lead tours and crafting projects.
• Botanical Docents
  • This opportunity is for someone who has a big interest in learning about our world class botanical gardens and sharing that information with locals and visitors. The docents will often go through the gardens and spend time at specific locations to highlight a particular plant of interest. This is good for a person who is motivated and outgoing and especially a person that loves to learn and share knowledge.
• General Docents
  • This is a great opportunity for someone with an interest in both the botany and the Hawaiian cultural aspects of the valley. They would be sharing about both the culture sites and significance, and the amazing garden collections.

Docents at Waimea Valley are a committed, vibrant group of interpreters that support guest learning and exploration of Waimea Valley. After completing an interview, you will start training by going on three of our educational tours; a botanical tour, a cultural tour and an audio tour. Regardless of what kind of docent you want to be, you will be going on all three training tours because we want our volunteers to be well rounded.

Initially, you will spend most of your time on training and when you start to work independently, there is ongoing mentoring for Docents. We want to help you be the best so that you can in turn help visitors see more of this amazing place and make lasting memories at Waimea Valley.

Depending on their areas of interest, volunteers may choose between focusing on botanical docent work, cultural docent work, or both. Whatever your interests are, To sign up, Call or email the volunteer program coordinator: 808-638-5855, Volunteers@waimeavalley.nett today.

You can be helping for as little as 2 hours or as long as 8, it all depends on your availability and the schedules of our various departments that will be training and working with you.