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23 people are interested
2017 Horticulture Volunteer Days at QBG
ORGANIZATION: Queens Botanical Garden
Please visit the new page to apply.
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23 people are interested
Individual sign-up 2017qbgvolunteerdays.eventbrite.com.
For groups, please email volunteer@queensbotanical.org.
Help keep Queens Botanical Garden clean, green, and growing! Join our horticulture staff for an engaging, educational event where you will learn gardening basics while working hands-on with our plants. Make new friends and put your green thumb to good use in a variety of seasonal projects, including weeding, watering, pruning, planting, mulching, and more! Explore the beauty of QBG's ever-changing scenery as our flowers bloom, trees grow, and community comes together.
Registration is free and opens one month in advance.
Volunteers will meet at the terrace of the Visitor & Administration building at 8.45 am for a 9am start day, or at 12:45pm for a 1pm start day.
GETTING TO QBG
By public transportation, take the number 7 subway line to Main Street, the Long Island Rail Road (Port Washington line) to Main Street/Flushing, or the Q44-SBS or Q20 bus.
By driving, please click here for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there an age requirement?
Participants must be 16 year of age or older.
Can I only come for one hour or part of the day?
Due to limited space and a small group, we really encourage volunteers to stay for the entire three hours, but if you need to leave early, please speak with the staff member you are working with so they can plan accordingly.
Where do I go once I get to the garden? What time should I arrive?
Volunteers will meet at the Wedding Garden to begin work promptly at start time. Please plan to arrive 15 minutes early to check in and meet your team. At 9 am or 1 pm, the group will divide up to go to various locations throughout the 39 acres. Please check the website or ask the front desk if it's your first time here and need a map.
Do I need to know any skills ahead of time? How physical is the work?
We welcome all skill levels to participate--you do not need to know anything prior to coming. You will be trained in safety and skills for each session. We try to accommodate all ability levels, however participants must be able to do physical work including bending over, lifting 10+ pounds, and standing, walking, or squatting for long periods of time.
What are my transportation and parking options getting to the Garden?
Please park in our parking garden lot. You do not have to pay for parking or admission. Tell the attendant your name and that you are here to volunteer for a Horticulture Volunteer Day. If you are taking public transportation or walking, please enter through the front gate. More information about transportation and parking can be found here.
What should I bring?
Please bring gloves and wear weather appropriate clothing that you don't mind getting dirty--sun hats and sunscreen if it's hot or layers if it's cold, and don't forget sturdy close-toed shoes. Bring a water bottle and snack if you'd like.We have gardening gloves and water available for anyone who does not bring their own.
What happens if the weather is bad?
Our gardeners work outside rain or shine. In very inclement weather, you will be notified of a cancelled or rescheduled volunteer date. If it is raining or snowing lightly, please dress accordingly.
Schedule of Activities
Please note that all activities are weather dependent and subject to change!
Thursday, September 7 from 9 am - 12 pm
Turf renovation, grooming flower beds, weeding, mulching
Thursday, October 5th from 1 pm - 4 pm
Turf renovation, grooming flower beds, weeding, mulching
Thursday, November 2nd from 1 pm - 4 pm
Removing annuals, spring bulb planting, preparing garden beds for winter
More opportunities with Queens Botanical Garden
No additional volunteer opportunities at this time.
About Queens Botanical Garden
Location:
43-50 Main Street, Flushing, NY 11355, US
Mission Statement
The Queens Botanical Garden, a living museum serving the most ethnically diverse county in the United States, is committed to presenting collections, education and research initiatives and programs that demonstrate environmental stewardship, promote sustainability and celebrate the rich cultural connections between people and plants.
Description
The Queens Botanical Garden (QBG), located at the northeast corner of Flushing Meadows Corona, is a private, nonprofit cultural institution that evolved from the 5-acre "Gardens on Parade" exhibit showcased at the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. Officially opening as the Queens Botanical Garden in 1948, QBG is now one of the City's 34 Cultural Institutions Group (CIG) members, featuring 39 acres of City land under its care.
QBG serves one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the United States. Nearly 300,000 people, speaking any of the more than 140 languages or dialects heard throughout the borough of Queens, visit the Garden annually. QBG is the primary source of botanical education for children and adults in the borough, fostering healthy connections between people and nature.
The Visitor & Administration Building, opened in September 2007, was designed to achieve the highest (platinum) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating. It includes three working roofs: one with solar panels to capture and use the sun's energy, another to collect rain for water uses, and a green, planted roof that is accessible to the public. It also makes exemplary use of natural ventilation and daylight, and includes a geothermal heating exchange system, composting toilets and other environmentally green technologies. The landscape portion of this ambitious project includes a cleansing biotope and constructed wetlands, as well as woodland, prairie and aquatic plant communities native to the New York region. The building is one of three green museums written of in Metropolitan Home magazine (Jan/Feb08),and The New York Times has highlighted the new structure as "something special" (January 20, 2008).
QBG continues to be a community facility while working to become a national leader among botanic gardens in cross-cultural programs and sustainable practices. As New York City has the lowest ratio of green space per capita of any major city in the United States, this project gives New Yorkers the opportunity to participate in a green demonstration project that reveals the connections between global conservation and local sustainability, deepening the visitor experience as we seek to teach, inform, and inspire
QBG is continually developing programs and exhibits that utilize the enormous educational potential of the green technologies that are utilized in the Garden's facilities and landscapes. Public education programs are accessible to all Queens residents as well as families in the other boroughs of New York and beyond. Crafts, hands-on activities, tours, story telling, music and dance movements contribute greatly to making the lessons of environmental sustainability and cultural connections relevant and dynamic. In addition to our well-reputed workshops and tours, QBG offers children and adults a rich array of programs in horticulture, environmental education and cultural arts that promote the Garden's dual vision of environmental sustainability and cultural expression, including Arbor Day, HSBC's Children's Garden and the popular Gardening Day.
CAUSE AREAS
WHEN
WHERE
43-50 Main StreetFlushing, NY 11355
DATE POSTED
August 23, 2017
SKILLS
- Habitat Restoration
- Botany
- Environmental Education
- Gardening
- Horticulture
- Farming
GOOD FOR
- People 55+
REQUIREMENTS
- Must be at least 16
- 3 hours