Volunteer work at the Garden can be very rewarding as a time for contemplation of the surroundings and for a feeling of satisfaction from useful work accomplished. Each link below gives you more detail.
Shelter Docent Volunteer Information - Greeting visitors who enter the Shelter
Invasive Plant Volunteer Information - Spring and Fall work crews
Legacy Volunteer Information - Maintain your section of the Garden
Sumner Library Seasonal Display
Volunteer time on Friends' activities.
Meet Some Volunteers - Bio's of past and current volunteers.
Photo Gallery - Invasive Plant Removal
Welcome Station
The Welcome Station Kiosk is located just outside the front gate of the Garden. Kiosk volunteers are the first people most visitors will encounter coming into the Garden. While on duty, volunteers greet and make visitors feel welcome. The Kiosk has introductory information about the Garden’s history, maps, plants, birds & animals in the Garden, seasonal program offerings, handouts, etc.
Volunteers interact with visitors in a casual friendly manner while seated or standing in a covered enclosure. Shifts are 2.5 hours long Tuesday-Sunday 2 shifts weekdays, 3 shifts on weekends. Training sessions are held in late spring. Must be 18+ years old and pass a background check. Other requirements are enthusiasm for the natural world and the ability to volunteer a minimum of 8 shifts per season April-October
E-mail the Shelter Volunteer Coordinator
Shelter Docent Volunteer Information
Shelter Docents assist Garden staff in the Martha E. Crone Visitors’ Shelter daily during the Garden season - April through October.
Shifts: Tuesday -Sunday 10:00am-12:30pm Thursdays an additional 12:30-3:00pm
The Shelter Docent’s job is to work alongside Garden staff to make visitors feel welcome, and provide information and access to the resources (reference books, touch and see table, program info, interpretive displays, guidebooks, etc.) available to visitors in the Shelter.
Must have previous experience at the Garden as a Welcome Station Kiosk volunteer, one or more full seasons.
Training sessions & background check after Kiosk experience requirement is met.
E-mail the Shelter Volunteer Coordinator
Below: Inside the Martha Crone Shelter
Invasive Plant Volunteer Information
Help protect Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden from invasive plants! Events are 2-1/2 hours long – come for as much or as little time as you have. No experience needed. We provide tools and how-to. Co-ordination is by The Friends' Invasive Plant Action Group (FIPAG).
FIPAG was organized in 2007 by Friends supporter and director Jim Proctor. This long-standing volunteer project is achieving real results in protecting the Garden from invasive plants. Working first in the Garden and now in the “preservation zone” immediately surrounding the Garden, volunteers participate in weekend group events, removing garlic mustard in the spring and buckthorn in the fall.
Volunteers are notified by email of the schedule of events each season. There are usually 3 events in May/June and 3 events in September / October Contact the Invasive Plant Volunteer Coordinator with questions or to add your name to the email list - use the e-mail link below.
When a schedule has been set for an invasive removal event, this schedule link will be active:
Spring 2023 Schedule will be posted in April
E-mail the Invasive plant volunteer coordinator
OR
Add your name to our email list
and receive notification of each upcoming event. You can also add emails for our newsletter and monthly mini-newsletters.
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Alliaria officinalis
Rhamnus cathartica
Fallopia japonica
Lonicera species
Legacy Steward Volunteer Information
Legacy Stewards assist the Wildflower Garden staff in the eradication of invasive plants. After receiving training from the Garden Curator each volunteer takes responsibility for a small, but significant, designated section of the Wildflower Garden or the Preservation Zone around the Garden and commits to removing all of the invasive species in their assigned section for the season. Assistance throughout the season is provided by Wildflower Garden staff. Direct inquiries about this program to the Wildflower Garden Curator at ebwg@minneapolisparks.org
If you visit the Martha Crone Shelter, there is a volunteer sign up sheet available there also.
Sumner Library Seasonal Display
The Friends began a display case presentation about the Wildflower Garden at the Minneapolis Sumner Library Branch in 2022. The exhibit changes seasonally and is maintained by Friends president Jennifer Olson and other volunteers. Each season has a theme. The Library is located at 611 Van White Memorial Blvd, (at Olson Highway), Minneapolis. Pictured in the photo is a spring display.
Volunteer for Friends' Committees.
Writing for our newsletter, working on social media, helping with volunteers, willing to serve on the Board of Directors, all of these areas are open to anyone who wishes to help us with our mission. Let us know about your interest with an email to this address.
Meet some current and former volunteers:
From time to time The Friends publish interviews with our volunteers, giving a bit of their history and their reasons for volunteering. You can read these past interviews here. The date next to the name is the year of the interview. We have added a note at the bottom of each interview, where appropriate, updating some of the information.
Here is a short article written by a volunteer: A Rookie's Top Five Wildflower Garden Volunteer Experiences.
Garden theme sale items sponsored by The Friends
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