Volunteer with us this year!

Become a Garden Guide

Botanical Garden Green Team Relaunch

Children's Garden Teen Green Team Sessions start this February

In Memory

I’m sorry to report the passing of long time Youth Program volunteer LeeAnna Friedman, who led walks for school kids and helped out with a variety of other activities from 2000 to 2009. Lee was enthusiastic and committed, always ready to try something new, and brought her energy and wry wit to all she did in the Garden. Lee loved learning as much as she loved helping kids discover the world around them and always found something to delight her in the Garden. I was fortunate to run into her in the Garden several times in recent years and she still spoke fondly of her time with us – I will miss her.

Slices of Joy

• The Gardens hosted approximately 120+ participants in our annual holiday wreathmaking events this December. Many thanks to our volunteers who made this possible!
  
  

• The Gardens have faired well through the storms. There were small limbs down throughout the Botanical Garden as well as a few large trees. A big thank you to our horticulture staff for all of their work clearing debris and pathways to make the Gardens accessible and open to visitors after the storms. 
  
  
• We are excited to welcome Park Section Supervisor for the Botanical Garden, Lisa Graves. Lisa has experience at the Botanical Garden as a gardener and a captain before she moved into the leadership role at Glen Canyon Park where she was a supervisor for the past six years. When you meet Lisa, I hope you'll give her a warm welcome!
  
  
• The Conservatory of Flowers' annual maintenance closure is integral to maintaining our historic glasshouse and will take place from January 15 - 30. To help contextualize how important this closure is, our Engagement Manager Sarah Sawtelle reached out to the Conservatory's Chief Nursery Specialist, Kristen Natoli. Read more about what she learned here.
  
  
• The San Francisco Standard shared a nice shout out to the Bookstore and Plant Shop as well as the Conservatory of Flowers in an article titled “Find Your Vines: Your Guide to the Best Plant Shops and Nurseries in and Around San Francisco.”
  
  
• We were excited to host our first interpretive volunteer training event for the 2023 Magnolia season on December 5. This virtual session introduced the interpretive themes we’re highlighting this season. If you'd like to learn more about magnolias and our interpretive themes, you're welcome to visit our Magnificent Magnolia: Volunteer Guide.
  
  
• The Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture’s Library Terrace was mentioned in the article titled “Finding Nature in a Built Environment.” The library space will be further discussed in the book Changing the Commons: Stories about Placemaking, coming out this month by landscape architect John N. Roberts.