Tropical Nursery Volunteer
Tropical Nursery Volunteer
Overall purpose of the role:
The Tropical Nursery is a ‘behind the scenes’ glasshouse holding a large diversity of the living collection. The Nursery is the largest glasshouse at Kew covering 6500 M², comprising of 21 different climatic zones and holding one of the largest and diverse living collections in the world. The nursery is a hub for ex situ plant conservation, supporting scientific research, education and growing plants for our display glasshouse.
Your main focus will be to assist Kew Horticultural staff with the basic maintenance of the living collections in the Tropical Nursery.
Opportunities are available from Monday to Friday only. There are no weekend horticultural volunteering opportunities. Volunteers usually donate one day per week, Monday to Friday, normally starting at 10am and then finishing between 3.00pm and 4.00pm.
At Kew, we recognise that diversity enriches the work we do and welcome volunteer applications from individuals of all backgrounds and lived experiences. Our aim is to provide equal opportunities to all volunteers, ensuring they are treated fairly, without bias or prejudice, while fostering an environment where everyone can contribute meaningfully.
Main tasks of the role:
To support, the Tropical Nursery staff in the maintenance of the living collections.
More details
About you:
If you have a passion for plants and conservation and enjoy getting your hands dirty, join our thriving community of 150 horticultural volunteers. Whilst at least a basic knowledge and experience of horticulture is necessary, the main thing we are looking for is enthusiasm and commitment.
What to expect from us:
- A full induction, basic training in the horticultural tasks required and ongoing support and supervision.
- Free entry to Kew for yourself and an accompanying adult.
- Discounts in Kew shops and eateries.
- Kew volunteer uniform and Safety wear
- Reimbursement of actual travel expenses incurred up to a set value.
- To be treated fairly and with respect.
- To be part of a friendly and dedicated team and volunteering community.
- An opportunity to learn about the amazing collections at Kew, the living plants, the ground-breaking science and other Kew collections.
What we expect from you:
For this role we are looking for volunteers who are willing/able to commit regularly to a day a week on weekdays. Volunteers offered indefinite placements at Kew are encouraged to donate a minimum of twenty four volunteer days per year, inclusive of training/meeting time to be fully operational in a role. Please note that this role is an ongoing placement and we are unable to consider volunteers who are unable to commit to at least one year.
This role will suit volunteers with the following skills and experience:
- An interest in and enthusiasm for supporting our horticulturists in their work.
- Enjoy volunteering as part of a team with a wide range of people.
- Ability to commit to a regular placement
- Ability to perform tasks safely without endangering yourself or others
- Flexible and willing to give support where necessary
Recruitment procedure:
Recruitment for this volunteer role is carried out when a number of placements become available – there is no set recruitment period during the year. Our aim is to find the right placement for each volunteer and to provide opportunities for a diverse range of people, so we do not recruit on a first come first served basis. We endeavour to place volunteers according to their preferences. During recruitment drives application forms held on file will be matched to the vacancy and those applicants whose availability and interests most closely match will be invited to Kew for an informal discussion. The purpose of the discussion is to explain in more detail the volunteering opportunities and to find out a bit more about why applicants would like to volunteer
For further information please contact:
Email: KewVolunteer@kew.org