September 2022

Dear Volunteers,

Happy September! Flower Piano is around the corner and this is the last week before our opening event, Fall and Fly. if you have been on the fence about signing up to volunteer at Flower Piano, this is the time!

We have added many new volunteer opportunities since I last wrote in August, including an opportunity to usher and help with admission check-in at our opening event, Fall and Fly. Volunteers have asked if they can sign up for more than one assignment and the answer is a resounding yes! Are you unsure of which role might suite you?

Where your support is most needed:

Performance Usher >>

Admissions Check-in >>

If you enjoy being in the midst of pianos and performances:

Donation Collector >>

Performance Usher >>

Piano Ambassador >>

If you enjoy welcoming everyone upon arrival:

Admissions Check-in >>

Greeter >>

Membership Table >>

Volunteer + Performer Check-in Table >>

Do you know someone who is interested in volunteering at Flower Piano?

Share our Flower Piano Registration Page >>

Helen Crocker Russell Library 50th Anniversary

Library Updates

First off, happy 50th anniversary to the Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture! We are still looking for a few more book sale volunteers to help with set-up on Friday, September 9 and sale volunteers on Saturday, September 10.

The Library has also added Wednesdays to their open hours and we are seeking library reception volunteers for those shifts. Library reception shifts are from 10am-1pm, and from 1pm-4pm. Enjoy the library's vast collection of horticulture books while welcoming visitors to the library!

San Francisco Chronicle members joined Owen for a special Green Team service activity this summer.

Are you interested in joining a Green Team?

Mark your calendars for a special Green Team Preview as volunteers join Toby Kanzawa, Acting Section Supervisor, for a walk through the Garden. Volunteers joining this event will have the opportunity to meet different horticulturists hosting new Green Team volunteers this fall on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you are interested in joining Green Team - our crew of wonderful volunteers who help care for our unique living collection - please sign up for either or both days below.

This opportunity is open to any volunteers interested in joining a Green Team, even if you're already part of another Green Team, too.

Join Tuesday, September 27 from 10:30 - 11:30 am >>

Join Thursday, September 29 from 10:30 - 11:30 am >>

Volunteer Spotlight

Maja Joss, Visiting Volunteer

We're so excited to welcome Maja Joss this month! Maja will be exploring all things related to the Gardens of Golden Gate Park during her time with us.

Maja is joining us from Zurich, Switzerland where she is a psychomotor therapist at a local elementary school. She recently shared, "in my free time I like to be outside in nature. I like jogging and hiking. Another passion is gardening. We live in a house with an old wild garden. My husband and I dance salsa together. I also like to pursue creative hobbies like sewing and knitting. My friends and family are also very important to me. At the Garden, I hope to learn more about the various plants and how to care for them, but I am also looking forward to being involved in a variety of work such as Flower Piano."

After 20 years as a psychomotor therapist, she's joining us for a unique sabbatical experience where she will explore the many facets of Gardens of Golden Gate Park until October 18. I hope you'll get a chance to meet Maja during Flower Piano and give her a warm welcome!

A photo from Steve, one of our bed marker project volunteers! - Thank you, Steve!

Slices of Joy

Betty, Catherine, Karen, and Steve just finished a huge undertaking, completing an inventory of the bed markers in the Botanical Garden. In the Garden each planting bed is marked with an alphanumeric code allowing for easier orientation and documentation. Many of these markers are outdated or in disrepair and need replacing. This project has laid the foundation for making these improvements and repairs. Over the last five months the team has inventoried the bed markers in 359 garden beds, each of which contained multiple bed markers. Thank you for all of your help improving our beds!
The Gardens received a Museums for America grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for our project titled Audience Research and Interpretive Plan Development of the Gardens of Golden Gate Park. The grant is for $191,304, and the grant agreement requires us to provide $193,568 in matching contributions which we will do through staff and volunteer time, for a total of $384,872. This grant support will enable the Gardens to conduct essential audience research and an interpretive elements audit to inform the strategic and interpretive planning for the Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden, and Botanical Garden.
Docents and guides joined Steven Pitsenbarger, Japanese Tea Garden Supervisor, for a wonderful walk exploring the rich history of the Japanese Tea Garden. If you would like to learn more about the history of the Japanese Tea Garden, please visit this link.

I hope that your September is off to a beautiful start!

Best wishes,

Crystal

Crystal Lee Stone | Volunteer Program Manager
__________________________________________
San Francisco Botanical Garden
P (415) 661-1316 Ext. 400

9am-5pm, M-F
clstone@sfbg.org

P.S. Did you miss an update? Catch up by viewing past newsletters on Volunteer Central.

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1199 9th Ave. Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, CA | 94122 US

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