Bloom Board Volunteer
ORGANIZATION: Native Plant Trust
Please visit the new page to apply.
New England Wild Flower Society conserves native plants in the wild and encourages gardeners and landscape professionals to choose natives when they plant outdoor spaces, particularly plants grown from local seeds, harvested sustainably in the wild.
Our mission is to conserve and promote the region’s native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.
With more than a century of successful habitat restoration, scientific research, and public education dedicated to native plants, we are the established leader in the region and an expert resource for professionals in other parts of the country and the world.
The Society is based at Garden in the Woods, a renowned native plant botanic garden in Framingham, Massachusetts, that attracts visitors from all over the world. From this base, 25 staff members and more than 700 volunteers work throughout New England to monitor and protect rare and endangered plants, collect and bank seeds for biological diversity, control invasive species, conduct research, and educate the public.
DescriptionThe bloom board kiosk lets visitors know what’s in bloom that week. Photographs of the plants in bloom are identified by their common and Latin names. Bloom board volunteers update the board every week. First, they walk through the Garden and check off which plants are blooming on a bloom board checklist. Next, they obtain photos of those plants from our files and place them on the bloom board. They also remove photos of plants no longer in bloom and file them in the photo boxes.
Responsibilities- Volunteers update the bloom board for 3-4 weeks per season.
- Volunteers usually work in pairs and may request a specific partner. They may also choose to work by themselves. Volunteers arrange the time to walk the Garden according to their schedules and the weather. This must also be a day that the Education Building is open (i.e. Monday to Friday).
- The bloom board should be updated before Saturday of each week. In the event that volunteers are unable to make it to their scheduled work day(s) they are responsible for finding their own bloom board volunteer replacements (e.g. they can swap weeks with another volunteer).
Some familiarity with native plant identification is helpful and will speed up the time needed to ID plants. Depending on the week, the entire bloom-board process can take from 1 ½ -3 hours.
CommitmentBloom Board volunteers must commit to working at 3-4 weeks a season.
TrainingExperienced bloom board volunteers provide on-the-job training for new volunteers.
BenefitsThe process of keeping the bloom board up-to-date provides a way of seeing the Garden at different times of the growing season. Special programs are offered to volunteers, ranging from garden tours to slide presentations and lectures at brown-bag lunches.
Staff ContactDirector of Public Programs, education@newenglandwild.org, 508-877-7630 ext. 3302
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Opportunities
About Native Plant Trust
Location:
180 HEMENWAY RD, FRAMINGHAM, MA 01701, US
Mission Statement
The mission of Native Plant Trust is to conserve and promote New England's native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.
Description
Founded in 1900 as the Society for the Protection of Native Plants, Native Plant Trust is the nation’s oldest plant conservation organization and a recognized leader in native plant conservation, horticulture, and education. Native Plant Trust’s headquarters, Garden in the Woods, is a renowned native plant botanic garden in Framingham, Massachusetts, that attracts visitors from all over the world. From this base, 25 staff and more than 700 volunteers work throughout New England to monitor and protect rare and endangered plants, collect and preserve seeds to ensure biological diversity, detect and control invasive species, conduct research, and offer a range of educational programs. Native Plant Trust also operates a native plant nursery at Nasami Farm in western Massachusetts and has seven sanctuaries in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont that are open to the public.
CAUSE AREAS
WHEN
WHERE
Garden in the Woods180 Hemenway RoadFramingham, MA 01701
DATE POSTED
July 17, 2017
SKILLS
- Environmental Education
- Botany
- Horticulture
- Gardening
GOOD FOR
- People 55+
REQUIREMENTS
- Must be at least 18
- Orientation or Training
- Must commit to working at 3-4 weeks a season.
- Experienced bloom board volunteers provide on-the-job training for new volunteers.