Dear Volunteers,
We're delighted to share our Flower Piano volunteer opportunities with you this month. While we may add more volunteer opportunities closer to the event, this is the initial launch of many volunteer opportunities that will be available this fall. Whether you have been volunteering regularly for decades or are just becoming familiar with the Gardens, we hope you'll find an opportunity that aligns with your schedule and interests.
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Flower Piano is our annual community music festival featuring pianos throughout San Francisco Botanical Garden. This year we will feature a special Opening Night on September 12 and ten days of festivities from September 13-22. In addition to open play and a schedule full of performances and programs, Flower Piano Lounge will also return this year.
We have volunteer opportunities each day of the event ranging from greeting to ushering, and everything in between.
In addition, if you gather up a group of 5 to 20 colleagues, classmates, or friends you'd like to volunteer with, please consider registering as a volunteer service group during Flower Piano. We feature special group volunteer opportunities during this time that allow teams to help during the event.
Learn more about volunteering at Flower Piano and register for a spot today >>
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Illustoria Day
Saturday, June 29, 10am-2pm
Great Meadow, San Francisco Botanical Garden
Illustoria is a beloved San Francisco-based creativity magazine for kids. To celebrate their eighth birthday, Illustoria is partnering with us along with Green Apple Books and the San Francisco Public Library to host a day-long celebration of art and children's literature. Volunteer with us during the event and help with event assistance such as greeting, helping with a craft activity, and answering visitor questions.
Register here >>
Bean Sprout Family Days
Tuesdays-Fridays, and Saturdays
Children's Garden, San Francisco Botanical Garden
Help our visitors enjoy extended Bean Sprouts days in the Children's Garden this summer. With extra time to water our growing sunflowers, search for caterpillars, build in the Fort Forest, and so much more, it's sure to be a fun summer!
Register here >>
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Photo and writing contributed by Viviana Velasco, Volunteer Program Intern
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When meandering through the extensive collection at San Francisco Botanical Garden, visitors, volunteers, and staff alike have the pleasure of coming across Ron. Ron joined the Gardens in 2016 and has consistently dedicated his time to the Gardens as a Children's Walk Guide and Rover since 2020. Since joining the Gardens, he has brought smiles to various classes of children and has been an enthusiastic ambassador for our visitors.
Ron finds it fascinating just how curious and oftentimes knowledgeable the children who visit the Gardens are. He mentions that he is always learning from our visitors. He has even gained a variety of distinctive stories and experiences from visitors from around the world. His enthusiasm for all things botanical is contagious, inspiring visitors of all ages to connect with nature and appreciate the marvels of our green spaces.
As we prepare for the summer months, we're excited to offer a training session next week, Roving in the Garden, so that you can join volunteers like Ron in the Gardens! To learn more about this session that will take place on June 25 from 5-6:30pm, read on below.
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Enrichments, Trainings, and Events |
Training: Roving in the Garden
Tuesday, June 25, 5-6:30pm
Meet at the Bookstore, San Francisco Botanical Garden
Join Director of Education Annette Huddle for a late afternoon walk in the Botanical Garden and learn about the experience of being a Garden Rover. The Rover position at the Botanical Garden developed during the pandemic when gathering in groups was impossible, and now it has become a popular option for volunteers familiar with the Garden.
Rovers are typically volunteers who have trained to lead public walks, guide school groups, staff interpretation stations, or worked in other volunteer capacities that helped them develop familiarity with the Gardens. Pick up tips from current Rovers, learn how to access resources like Garden Explorer to share with visitors, and enjoy the company of other Garden volunteers.
Register here >>
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Former board member Mary Craig Fishman passed away peacefully on June 6, 2024. Mary was an avid volunteer and generous supporter of the Gardens who drove over the Golden Gate Bridge once a week for over 35 years to volunteer in San Francisco Botanical Garden's nursery. We are sad to learn of Mary's passing and wish to share with our volunteer community that a memorial service to celebrate Mary's beautiful life will be held on June 21, 2024 at 1pm at Kimball Hall at St. Stephen's in Belvedere. Condolences may be sent to rememberingmary@yahoo.com. To learn more about Mary's legendary life, please visit this link.
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Our summer high school internship program began last week, with five interns hired to support weekday youth programs joined by two interns placed by Balboa STEM Academy. Two more interns are supporting Saturday programs; and next week three interns from the Mayor's Youth Education and Employment Program will start at the Gardens, two working with youth programs and one in the bookstore. Please give these young people a warm welcome when you see them – for many of the interns, this is their first real job!
Garden Camp welcomes a full team of 21 counselors this summer! Training week was packed with learning about the Gardens and meeting so many wonderful people – thank you so much to everyone who stopped to say hello or meet for a session! Garden Camp's first day was June 17; we welcomed 83 children for this first two-week session. Please feel free to say hi to campers as you see them out and about in the Gardens!
We are sad to announce that Plant Records Manager Tory Stewart's last day with the Gardens will be June 28. Tory has been a valued colleague of ours for over 5 years, and we will miss her enthusiasm and dedication to the Gardens. However, we are very excited for her, as she embarks on exciting new adventures! The Gardens have gained so much from Tory’s time with us, and her hard work has set the Collections & Conservation team up for many future successes. In addition to the news of Tory's departure, the Collections & Conservation team recently shared that they welcomed Plant Records Assistant Royal (Roy) Jenkins and GIS Coordinator Alek Fraser. These roles will help the Collections & Conservation team expand their work more fully at the Conservatory of Flowers and Japanese Tea Garden.
Please join us in welcoming Cathy Mulligan to the Gardens. Cathy is currently a teacher librarian at San Francisco Unified School District, where she manages libraries for grades K-5 and will be joining the Library staff over the summer.
One last reminder, Crystal began her maternity leave this week and we look forward to hearing news of her new addition to her family. In the meantime, Jenn Tapler will be the Interim Volunteer Program Manager during her leave.
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The Retail team is excited to announce the Conservatory of Flowers Shop is now open in the outside kiosk! The shop had a soft opening on Memorial Day weekend and the team is now in full swing for seasonal operations through October. Currently, the shop is open Saturdays and Sundays from 10am-4pm and plans to extend their hours. The Conservatory of Flowers Shop features amazing plants and books, custom merchandise, and cards, pins, seeds, and prints from California based artists and vendors. Stop by and say hello!
The Bookstore and Plant Shop hours at the Botanical Garden have been extended to 10am-5pm every day as we continue to align with the Garden’s hours and the park’s busy season. A huge thanks to the Bookstore and Plant Shop volunteers for all their support during this time!
The Library is thrilled to welcome a new art exhibit and artist to the library, Hummingbirds and Flowers: Photography by Ian Reid. The exhibit will be on display and for sale in the Library through September.
New flat stones have been placed in front of the Pagoda in the Japanese Tea Garden to create a natural looking 'stage' for future performances and programs. Large boulders and lush trees are now framing a comfortable space for gathering and enjoying the Garden. We can't wait to welcome visitors here soon.
The Gardens of Golden Gate Park were named a top 10 garden via CultureComp, by Morey Consulting. The top 10 gardens have the highest CompScores which comprise attendance, market capture, visitor experience, Google rating, visit frequency, and admission price to identify the highest performing gardens. There were 83 gardens, arboretums, and conservatories included as part of their ongoing analysis of more than 11 million visitors to 806 cultural attractions in the 100 largest U.S. markets.
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Thank you for being a part of our volunteer community, we hope you will join us in the Gardens this summer.
Best wishes,
Jenn and Crystal
Jenn Tapler | Interim Volunteer Program Manager
Gardens of Golden Gate Park
(415) 661-1316 Ext. 404
jtapler@gggp.org
P.S. Did you miss an update? Catch up by viewing past newsletters.
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