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October 2021
Dear Volunteers,
With the arrival of October we greet more spiders in the Garden, a smattering of sunny days mixed in with some blustery ones, and blooms that always cycle through but still feel fresh and new. Thanks for all of your hard work this last month - we have a lot of information coming your way and new opportunities.
In observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day this past week, and every day, we acknowledge that San Francisco Botanical Garden sits on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone who are the original peoples of the San Francisco Peninsula. We recognize that we benefit from living and working on their traditional homeland, and we affirm their sovereign rights as first peoples. Dedicated to connecting people to plants, the planet, and each other, the Garden upholds the significance of this cherished and revered place that celebrates Earth’s biological diversity in supporting the health and wellbeing of all people and the planet.
Included are a few ways to enrich your volunteer experience at the Garden we invite you to participate in. Please read on and RSVP!
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Garden Trainings and Enrichments
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Originally intended as a docent only enrichment, we are expanding our invitation to all current volunteers for this small upcoming panel - particularly public-facing volunteers who often interact with guests. In conjunction with National Disability Employment Awareness Month, October's Docent enrichment will focus on strategies to engage all garden visitors, with a one hour panel discussion plus Q&A, and an exploration of the Garden of Fragrance as a place to explore the Garden through different senses.
Our panel will be moderated by docent Helen Doyle and feature docents Jeanette Pettibone and Catherine Archbold, as well as Sheri Albers from Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired. We hope to see you there!
RSVP here - but if you miss signing up, you're still welcome to join us in the Garden on the day of!
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Soon to be included in required training for all volunteers, our implicit bias workshop will challenge the thoughts we don't realize we have and ask us to re-examine how we interact with the world. If you are able, we are asking all volunteers to try to attend this workshop! Resources will be made available after this workshop for volunteers who were unable to attend.
In advance of the Implicit Bias, please plan to take an Implicit Association Test (IAT) of yuor choice from the many selections offered. It should take about 20 minutes. Go to Project Implicit, Harvard University: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
On the left hand side of the screen, either register or hit “Go!” below as a guest to choose a test. We will discuss the IAT during the workshop.
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October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month!
Since 1945, our country has designated time in October to recognize the contribution of people with disabilities in the workforce. As members of the SFBG community, we also want to celebrate volunteers and visitors with disabilities.
Can you name two things that SFBG has done to make our Garden more accessible?
Click here to find out and keep reading our article on engaging with visitors with disaibilites. Many thanks to our docent diversity group for all of their hard work on this!
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Library Book Sale - November 12 & 13
Love gardening, plants, flowers, trees, and books? Then you won’t want to miss the Library’s sale of used horticulture books. We are looking for help with sale set-up on Friday, November 12 and sale volunteers on Saturday, November 13. Book sale volunteers provide customer service, help visitors find books, keep books organized, and assist staff in taking credit card and cash payment. Afternoon book sale volunteers help box up unsold books, carry boxes of books into the library, and break down tables.
Library Volunteer Shifts
The indoor space of the Helen Crocker Russell Library is now open on Fridays & Saturdays, from 10am-4pm. As a library volunteer, you’ll welcome visitors from around the world to our horticultural library. Please contact volunteer@sfbg.org if you would like to join the library team. Library volunteers must be vaccinated.
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Bookstore and Plant Arbor
We are seeking more long-term volunteers to support these important locations in regular, week-day roles. No prior experience required! If you love talking about the Garden and interacting with folks from all over, this role might be for you. A deep love of the Garden is tucked between the pages of our many books and hidden among the trinkets we keep here. Can you help us share it with others? Bookstore and Arbor volunteers must be vaccinated. Email volunteer@sfbg.org to get started!
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Bean Sprouts Family Days
Take a trek up to the Children's Garden to support our Bean Sprouts program! Greet families and hand out tools for digging and playing while teaching youth all about our most explorable garden. Background check and some training required. Shift & Sign-up information here
Garden Tours
Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 1:30pm
Fridays & Saturdays at 10:30am
Current volunteer programs will continue to run this fall, although some, including Green Team, will take a break during the Winter season. Please sign up directly on Volunteer Central.
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- Chloe had her baby! Chloe and her partner, Jacob, welcomed Maya Juniper Rinaldi on October 2. A healthy 8.5lbs and 21” long, baby Maya is doing well and Chloe is too! If you’d like to send them a message, please send to Jenn (jtapler@sfbg.org) and she will forward along to Chloe’s personal email. The new family is trying to limit phone time and respectfully ask that celebratory messages are sent via email and not via text or phone calls. Welcome to the Garden team, baby Maya!
- This past Wednesday we officially broke ground on our new Nursery project with about 180 people in attendance! We are so excited to begin this new chapter of Garden development.
- Engagements and weddings happen all the time in the Garden, but we were so thrilled to be able to assist in a surprise proposal during a private tour! Docent Jill Forth worked in advance to plan a special route for the happy couple and we couldn't be more excited for them. Congrats, and thanks to Jill for her kind lead!
- This month we welcomed the 10th Annual Apprenticeship Luncheon to the Celebration Garden. LiUNA! Local 261 and Recreation and Parks have partnered for years on this extraordinary workforce development program from which the Garden has greatly benefited.
- Early reports from Flower Piano were outstanding with the busiest weekend ever in the Garden's history! About the same number of people attended the 5-day event as had attended the 12 days and 3 nights of 2019. We exceeded fundraising goals and were so excited to provide such a wide array of programming. Volunteers were critical to this event - thanks so much to everyone who came out!
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Thank you for all that you do and have done for the Garden!
Warmly,
Jenn
Jenn Tapler | Program Manager
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San Francisco Botanical Garden
P (415) 661-1316 Ext. 404
C (443) 617-8177
9am-5pm, M-F
jtapler@sfbg.org
P.S. Did you miss an update? Catch up by viewing past newsletters on Volunteer Central.
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