The Australian National Botanic Gardens has a range of volunteer positions available.

Front of House Roles

Visitor Information Centre Volunteers

Provide a warm welcome and information to our visitors. Engage with visitors to provide highlights of the garden.  

Volunteer Guides

Lead our 1 hour daily walks, special interest walks and Flora Explorer electric bus tours throughout the Gardens.

Back of House Roles

Herbarium Mounting Volunteers

Mount herbarium specimens and prepare scientific samples of plant material for storage and future use in our herbaria.

Seed Bank

Process and prepare native seeds for archiving in the National Seed Bank.

Seed Bank Data Basing

Enter information on archived seeds into data base. 

Seedy Volunteers

Seasonal activity undertaking field work to collect seeds that become part of the National Seed Bank.

Nursery Pot Recycling and Flowering Recording 

Assist in the Gardens’ Production Nursery with pot sterilization and recording flowering of nursery plants.

Seed Orchard  

Seasonal position to collect seeds from orchard plants in the nursery growing areas.

Orchid  

This program is designed for people with previous experience with propagation and maintenance of orchids.  Assist the head of Orchid Research in maintaining the orchids in our glasshouses.

Education 

Help to set-up and prepare for the school education programs.

Administration

Assist with Administration tasks in areas such as Market Research, Public Programs, Events, Marketing and Social Media

Library 

Support the Gardens’ librarian in loans and maintenance of the Gardens’ library.

Photographic Collections 

Support the maintenance and data basing of the photographic collections.

Stocktake 

Support the stocktaking of gardens’ living collection.

Cryptogam Garden 

The newest of the volunteer positions at the Gardens. Volunteers assist maintain the Cryptogam Display Garden in the Visitor Information Centre.

Volunteer Recruitment

Volunteers are recruited based on the requirements of the participating sections of the Gardens. There are currently no volunteer opportunities directly related to gardening and horticulture.

There are no prerequisite qualifications other than an interest in people, botanic gardens and our work.

Associates undertake specific research projects and are selected on the basis of their technical experience and the projects they wish to undertake.

Volunteer Insurance

Registered volunteers are deemed to be employees under the Commonwealth Employees Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 and the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1998 and are insured by Comcare, subject to the conditions of these Acts.

Volunteers are protected from liability claims under the conditions outlined in the Commonwealth Volunteers Protection Act 2003.

How to volunteer

For further information on volunteer opportunities at the Gardens contact:

• Natalie Aked
  Volunteer Coordinator
  Australian National Herbarium
• Phone: (02) 6246 5127
• Email: Natalie

More about our Volunteers

• Volunteering at the Australian National Herbarium
• Parks Australia Volunteer Policy
• Parks Australia Volunteer Schedule