2024 Volunteer Opportunities

Thanks to all our volunteers!

One-time Volunteering Opportunity:

The 33rd Annual Arbor Day celebration gives people the chance to visit The Arboretum and the Kentucky Children’s Garden, free of charge! We will have a variety of tree-related programs and crafts in the Kentucky Children’s Garden, as well as UK student groups and organizations from across Kentucky. This year, we will be celebrating Arbor Day on Saturday, October 19th, and we need volunteers to help make this day amazing! 

We are looking for volunteers available anytime between 10am and 5:30pm. Volunteering will consist of facilitating crafts, games, and other activities for children and their families. There are 4, two-hour shifts for each station, with at least 2 volunteers per station. The shifts are 10AM-12PM, 12PM-1:30PM, 1:30PM-3:30PM, and 3:30PM-5:30PM. Volunteers are welcome to sign up for as many shifts as they would like. Please email hannah.wells@uky.edu with interest.

Would you like to make a difference in the community and connect with others who care for and maintain The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky? We have the following options for those interested in volunteering:

• The Kentucky Children’s Garden (KCG) – an orientation (for those new to the KCG) and a refresher (for those returning to volunteer in the KCG) session are required as well as a background check. The last training session of the season has already taken place. Please reach out in March to learn more about this opportunity.
• Tuesday mornings in the Ornamental Horticulture Gardens – complete a volunteer agreement form (link below). Jesse Dahl (Jesse.dahl3@uky.edu) will contact you via email to let you know the time of his volunteer session.
• Wednesday mornings in the Demonstration Vegetable Garden - complete a volunteer agreement form (link below). Sumi McCarty (Sumi.McCarty@uky.edu) will contact you via email to let you know if the group is meeting.

We have reached capacity for our regularly occurring opportunities on Thursday mornings (working with Jess Slade in the Walk Across Kentucky Native Plant Collection).

If none of our volunteer opportunities worked for you this year, we encourage you to check back with us in March 2025 for information on how to on-board and join one of our volunteer areas.

If you have questions, please contact us at (859) 257-6955 or arboretum@uky.edu.

Volunteer Agreement Form