Volunteer
Volunteers help in many of our departments and play an important role in our visitors' enjoyment and understanding of our Gardens.
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Opportunities to Volunteer
We encourage individuals to support our activities by becoming a volunteer. Volunteers support the work of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in many ways and play a central role in the welcome and experience of our visitors.
The main role of the volunteer is to increase the educational value, interest and enjoyment of a visit to the Garden. This includes explaining the vital role of plants in everyday life and the need to ensure better management of the world's resources.
Volunteers are involved within various areas of the Garden including Horticulture, Science Communication, Phenology, Events, Exhibitions, Herbarium and Library.
We encourage applications from candidates from diverse backgrounds, and value the positive impact that this has on our team. RBGE is committed to ensuring that all volunteers are treated equally irrespective of their age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership, and pregnancy or maternity.
All opportunities to volunteer are advertised on this page when they arise.
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Looking for Job Vacancies?
These are advertised on our Staff vacancies page
Current opportunities
- Garden Volunteers with the Arboretum and Herbaceous Teams
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Main duties
- Assist the teams with the maintenance and development of their areas in the Garden. This will include planting, weeding, watering and mulching, as well as other tasks such as pruning and division.
- Welcoming visitors to the garden and talking to them about the work you are undertaking.
- Arboretum Team volunteers may be asked to assist with arboricultural tasks where required. This may include assisting with the clear-up of storm damaged trees.
Arboretum Team overview
The Arboretum Team at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is responsible for the management of the tree and shrub collections, which includes many of RBGE’s extensive Rhododendron species. Also under the team’s care is a substantial range of herbaceous plants, which act as a backdrop to our trees and shrubs, providing year-round interest.
Herbaceous Team overview
The Herbaceous Team look after large areas across the RBGE site, including the Chinese Hillside, Biodiversity Garden, Queen Mother’s Garden and the Herbaceous Border, among others. Their areas comprise a mix of shrubby and herbaceous plantings, as well as pond areas and extensive bulb plantings.
Skills and qualities needed
Essential qualities for this role are:
- An interest in gardening.
- A welcoming and friendly manner.
- Being open to learning and developing new skills.
- Some horticultural knowledge is preferred.
What we can offer
- Experience in a range of horticultural practices.
- The opportunity to work with plants of high conservation and scientific value.
- A warm welcome – we’re a friendly and supportive bunch!
- 10% discount in our shops and restaurants.
Commitment
We would like volunteers to commit to at least six months if possible. We are looking for help on the following days:
- Arboretum Team: Thursday 9.30am – 3.30pm
- Herbaceous Team: Wednesday 9.30am – 3pm
How do I apply?
If you wish to make an application, please complete the volunteer application form and return by email to volunteering@rbge.org.uk indicating Arboretum Team or Herbaceous Team in the subject line. Please submit applications by Friday 3 May 2024. We will host a Garden walk round on Wednesday 15 May 2024 10:00 – 11:30, when you will have the opportunity to meet the team, hear more about what we do and walk round some of our areas. If you cannot make this but are still interested, we will contact you by phone to discuss the commitment.
We encourage applications from candidates from diverse backgrounds, and value the positive impact that this has on our team. RBGE is committed to ensuring that all volunteers are treated equally irrespective of their age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership, and pregnancy or maternity.
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Contact Volunteering
All volunteer opportunities will be promoted on this page when available; if there are no opportunities above, please try again at another time.
If you have any queries relating to volunteering at RBGE, please get in contact by using the enquiry form
Get in Touch