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4 people are interested
Gardens & Grounds Volunteer
ORGANIZATION: Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters NHS
Please visit the new page to apply.
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4 people are interested
Summary of Position
Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters NHS preserves the home of Henry W. Longfellow, one of the world’s foremost 19 th century poets. Additionally, the house served as General George Washington’s first headquarters of the American Revolution, from 1775-1776.
This position is a great way to get experience in the management and upkeep of a historic landscape. Volunteers work alongside NPS gardener and grounds crew to maintain the Colonial Revival garden. All training, safety and gardening tools will be provided by the park.
Duties- Monitoring plant health.
- Watering and weeding garden beds.
- Raking garden paths and clearing small debris from flower beds.
- Planting annuals and bulbs.
- Staking and pruning various plants based on their variety.
- Removing invasive plant species and learning about pest control and management at the site.
- Keeping track of what’s in bloom in the garden to share with visitors.
- Observes all standard operating procedures and safety guidelines.
- Optional: informally interpreting the landscape and garden history with visitors.
- Tracks volunteer hours reliably and accurately.
- Wears the NPS volunteer uniform in clean and professional manner. Uses safety equipment when necessary, i.e.: protective eyewear, gloves, hats, sunscreen, etc.
- Interest in learning about the maintenance of a historical garden landscape.
- Volunteer should be able to work outside in variable weather for at least two hours at a time.
- Various duties include kneeling, standing for long periods and lifting heavy items.
This is an unpaid, temporary position.
More opportunities with Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters NHS
No additional volunteer opportunities at this time.
About Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters NHS
Location:
105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, US
Mission Statement
The mission of Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site is to preserve and interpret the historically and culturally significant buildings, grounds, and collections which reflect the values and ideals of its occupants. As home and headquarters to General George Washington during the Siege of Boston (1775-1776), and home to poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and family (1837-1950), and one of the country’s finest examples of mid-Georgian architecture, the site offers insight into the many themes related to the country’s birth and evolving national identity. "The Past and Present here unite Beneath Time’s flowing tide, Like footprints hidden by a brook, But seen on either side. " From: A Gleam of Sunshine Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1846
Description
Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site was home to one of America’s foremost writers and scholars. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow lived at 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, for most of his literary career, from 1837 until his death in 1882. The site is also closely associated with George Washington, who made the house his headquarters between 1775-1776, while serving as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. In addition, John Vassall and Andrew Craigie, among the largest landowners in eighteenth and early nineteenth-century Cambridge, invested much of their wealth in this property during their respective periods of residence. The house, built in 1759 by Caribbean plantation owner and Loyalist Major John Vassall, is an outstanding example of mid-Georgian (mid-eighteenth century) architecture in the United States.
The structures, collections and grounds of Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site retain a high degree of historical integrity, making documentation and interpretation possible to a level of detail rarely realized in historic house museums. The house has also come to symbolize the embodiment of our colonial heritage and the foundation and flowering of our nation.
CAUSE AREAS
WHEN
WHERE
105 Brattle StreetCambridge, MA 02138
DATE POSTED
March 7, 2018
SKILLS
- Botany
- Gardening
- Horticulture
GOOD FOR
N/A
REQUIREMENTS
- Orientation or Training
- 2+ hours a week, weekdays or weekends