VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Our volunteers are a critical component of our Garden! You can become a Shinzen Friendship Garden Volunteer and learn about Japanese gardens and culture. It’s not considered work when you are among friendly faces, supporting joyous events and enjoying the beauty of Shinzen.

GARDEN LANDSCAPE VOLUNTEERS

Come get your hands dirty and spend Wednesday morning tending to the Shinzen Friendship Garden!  Shinzen Garden Landscape Volunteers help grow and maintain plants, as well as inform visitors about the plants and answer casual inquiries. Garden & Landscape volunteers prepare planting beds, plant, weed, prune and water. No prior experience is necessary. 

OUR SATURDAY VOLUNTEERS

The third and fourth Saturday mornings of each month, beginning at 8:30 am, volunteer gardeners arrive at Shinzen Garden to work on scheduled tasks. We often have weeds to pull, shrubs to trim, leaves to rake, and compost to spread. There are also opportunities to work in the Clark Bonsai Collection where you will to tend to the landscape plants and clean the pathways, remove pine needles from rock gardens and assist with the overall maintenance of the area. There are also opportunities to learn about aesthetic pruning and become familiar with horticulture names of plants and the best environment for successful planting. The work usually concludes at noon or before.

VOLUNTEERS DOCENTS & HOSTS

Volunteer Docents to provide guided tours of Shinzen Garden and Clark Bonsai Collection are provided tour training. Tours are scheduled during the non-public weekday hours of the Garden and, at times, during the weekends when the Garden is open. Training materials are provided and ongoing support and training is part of the Docent program.

Volunteer Hosts are needed to support the opening hours of the Clark Bonsai Collection. As this is a very unique and special portion of our Garden, we do want a host present to provide guidance to guests in how to best observe the displays and garden features as well as protect the collection.

EVENT VOLUNTEERS

Shinzen’s Cultural Events provide many opportunities for volunteering and service. Responsibilities can include the following: