First Impressions Gardens, including:

Four Seasons, Courtyard, Visitor Center, Gift Shop Patio and Entrance Drive

The Four Seasons Garden offers some of the best views of the Salt Lake valley from the garden. It is a showcase of large masses of blooming perennials, ornamental grasses, trees and shrubs designed to show garden interest every season of the year. It is home to one of the largest spring daffodil displays in the state. This area also includes the gardens surrounding the Orangerie. When working in the Four Seasons Garden you might be working on sloped terrain.

The Entrance Drive, Parking lot and just outside the Visitor’s Center focuses on a low water landscape. The plantings include many native and low water perennials, shrubs, and grasses designed in large swaths to draw guests to the beauty of what is lying within the Garden. Here there is the added element of working directly by traffic of folks coming and going from the Garden as well as the Museum.

The majority of volunteer work will be done in the Four Season’s Garden, but will have necessary days in the front of the Visitor Center. Tasks generally include weeding, deadheading, mulching, light pruning and planting.

We want to provide a learning environment where we help you learn as you go. Inquisitive gardeners and questions are always welcome and encouraged.

Supervisors:

Danielle Frohn Jake Eiting

Available Shifts:

Tuesday mornings, 9-Noon Wednesday mornings, 9am - Noon

Allergy Concerns: grass, pollen, bees

Other Concerns: steeper inclines, heat, rattle snakes, car traffic and weather

Area Description:

The Floral Walk, a garden walk connecting the upper and lower gardens, is planted with a variety of garden themes – shady woodland, pear arbors, Hot Wall, Cottage Garden and annual plantings. Plant highlights: espaliered pears, paperbark and Japanese maples, waterwise plants, lilac collection, peonies, and annuals.

The Rose Garden is planted with over 100 different varieties of roses, growing alongside annuals, bulbs, perennials, shrubs and trees. The Rose Garden also highlights plants in the rose family. Plant highlights: climbing roses, shrub roses, daffodils, early spring-flowering bulbs and conifers.

Volunteers learn about a variety of bulbs, perennials, roses, shrubs and trees as they work in the Floral Walk, Rose Garden, and Amphitheatre. Typical garden duties include planting, pruning, deadheading, weeding, mulching and spring and fall clean-up. They also assist in rose care, including pruning and deadheading. Volunteers work alongside other great volunteers and have an opportunity to make new friends.

Supervisors:

Craig England Jr- Lead Horticulturist

Cheryl Underwood- Assistant Horticulturist

Available Volunteer Shifts Dates/Times:

Wednesday Morning: 9:00am-Noon

Thursday Evening: 5-8pm (shift canceled if there is an evening concert)

Saturday Morning: 9:00-Noon A and B Team (A and B teams alternate Saturdays each week)

Allergy Concerns: grass, pollen, bees

Other Concerns: some work on steeper inclines, rattlesnakes, and weather

Natural Area Team

Neal Dombrowski

Jaime Loewen

Description

The Natural Area Team provides volunteers with the opportunity to learn about the local habitat in the Foothills overlooking Salt Lake City. You’ll learn about the local plants and wildlife, geography, history, geology, and more!

Tasks include assisting with restoration projects, trail maintenance, invasive species removal, deadwood removal, and native seed collection. On the boundary of the urban wildland interface, our 80 acres of trails and natural habitat offers beautiful views and a unique Garden experience!

Working in the Natural Area involves physical labor (hiking, kneeling, bending, lifting, and tool use), often on uneven terrain, and working in hot and cold temperatures with threats of precipitation. Volunteers must be 18 years or older.

Available Shifts

Thursday mornings (Natural Area) 9:00 am – Noon, April-October

Wednesday evenings (Both Areas) 5:30 – 7 :30 pm, May - September

Hazards

• Allergy Concerns - plants, bees/wasps
• Other Concerns - loose/unstable surfaces, eye hazards in dense forest, steep hikes, weather conditions, sun exposure, heat and humidity, snakes/wildlife.
• Personal protective equipment (PPE) recommended: eye protection, gloves, sturdy footwear required (no open toe or heel shoes), long pants and long-sleeved shirts, sun protection, snack (to share :)), water.
• Some PPE and all tools are provided.

Thank you for volunteering!

Private Events:

Location: Rose Garden/Rose House and Fragrance Garden/Orangerie

Supervisors: - Amie Cox, Event Coordinator

- Liz Strom, Assistant Event Coordinator

Description:

The Garden provides a beautiful backdrop for Weddings, corporate events, memorials, private amphitheater gatherings and more. Volunteers with the Special Events team assists in greeting and directing event guests, vendors, clients, and helps redirect general public away from the private space. Most commonly, volunteers are a vital part of the evening for events taking place in our Rose Garden and Rose House where guests are directed through our Amphitheater space, toward the Rose Garden.

Need to Know: Special events volunteers will be working around many different clientele, their guests, and our community vendors such as caterers, florists, etc. Tram Training may be required. All events have a back-up plan for inclement weather, though volunteers are needed rain or shine to help get guests where they need to go. Some shifts may go late into the evening.

Available shifts: depending on event schedule.

Typical shifts:

Nights from 4pm – 7pm or 7pm – 10pm

Days from 9am – 12pm or 12pm – 3pm

Allergy Concerns: Flowering plants and trees, grass, pollen, bees/wasps

Working Hazards: weather, wildlife, wasps, rattlesnakes. Some event guests choose to serve alcohol at their event. Volunteers may encounter intoxicated persons.

Area Description:

School Programs brings botany-based, informal, science education to tens of thousands of K-12 Utah students every year! We have the awesome job of planting seeds of curiosity, scientific literacy, and an appreciation of plants and nature and would love your help.

Field Classes run in April, May, September, and October every year throughout the Garden. We have options for different types and levels of involvement.

Our Botany Bin and Virtual Garden programs bring the Garden, plant materials, scientific tools, and engaging lessons to students throughout the state of Utah. In the Horticulture building, or even at your own home, you can help by processing and assembling materials.

Supervisors:

Sarah Sandoval – School Programs Manager

Christine Melvin – Garden Experience Coordinator (Field Classes)

Jonny Gonzalez – Teacher Resource Coordinator (Botany Bins & Boxes)

Available Volunteer Shifts Dates/Times:

Variable

Field Classes are Monday – Thursday 8:30-2:30 in April, May, September, and October

Botany Bins – as needed

Terrace Gardens and Water Pavilion

Location: Terrace Garden Table

Supervisor: Lynsey Nielson, Lead Horticulturist

You will be greeting guests and discussing what volunteering in the Terrace Gardens and Children’s Garden looks like

Description: Volunteers in the Terrace Gardens can look forward to spending time working in a meadow of fragrant flowering plants and getting up close and personal with the finest culinary herbs and medicinal plants.

The Children’s Garden is filled with whimsical plantings, hardscapes and garden bed themes centered on learning and fun. It includes the Sprout House, which is the hub of many of the youth education programs during the warmer months.

Need to know: Activities include weeding, deadheading, mulching and general garden tidying. A lot of time on knees and can be hard on the back at times. Doesn’t work directly with children, but will be around them.

Available Volunteer Shifts Dates/Times:

Thursday Morning 9:00-Noon

Friday Morning 9:00-Noon

Allergy Concerns: Flowering plants and trees, grass, pollen, bees/wasps

Working Hazards: Uneven terrain, weather, wildlife, wasps, rattlesnakes...

Thank you for volunteering!

Supervisors: Guy Banner & Emily Alworth

Area Description

Come enjoy unparalleled views of the Salt Lake valley from the highest cultivated space in Red Butte Gardens. Experience a variety of drought tolerant and low water plants in the eight themed gardens. With an extensively detailed design and garden sections that range from xeric plantings of cacti and tree yucca to a water harvesting rain garden, there is something for every type of gardener. Learn the ways of passive water harvesting, hydro-zoning, and low-water food production in the Desert Harvest area. Gain an insight into the fascinating ways in which plants have evolved to use water efficiently and protect themselves from climactic extremes in the Adaptive Beauty section. Most importantly, become a part of an exemplary water-wise garden that serves as a shining illustration of the beauty that is possible in environmentally conscious landscaping. Be a steward for the shift towards more diverse water-wise gardens.

Working Conditions

Volunteers in the Water Conservation Garden can expect to help with many common gardening tasks, including: weeding, mulching, planting, deadheading, sweeping, plant cut back, and raking. Volunteers will work alongside passionate horticulturists who are eager to share their knowledge of plants as we work toward the collective goal of improving our world through gardening.

Hazards

There is very limited shade within the Water Conservation Garden. We recommend all volunteers bring a reusable water bottle, as we have a drinking fountain in our garden, running from mid-April to first frost. There is access to water year-round in the nearby Children’s Garden as well. In the warmer part of the season, morning shifts will begin at 8 am, to avoid the hottest part of the day. Due to the potentially hazardous vegetation and animals, we encourage the practice of maintaining awareness of your surroundings and giving respectful space to wildlife.

Availability

Monday Evenings

5-8 pm from April 4th, with a break as needed in summer due to heat, returning until October/November.

Tuesday Mornings

8-11 am beginning in April 5th, with a break as needed in summer due to heat, returning until October/November.

Wednesday Mornings

8-11 am beginning in April 6th, with a break as needed in summer due to heat, returning until October/November.

Water Pavilion Team

Neal Dombrowski

Jaime Loewen

Description

It’s a new area for our team! Realistically, you’ll mostly be helping control weeds J to prepare for future designs and plantings while enjoying the ornamental grasses and sounds of nature as you work near the upper waterfall and ponds of Red Butte Creek.

We may also ask you to help establish new plantings, or prune back the wild edges of the garden and creek. You never know when you’ll be called upon to plant, weed, mulch, cutback, rake, remove dead wood, and more!

All gardening skill levels are welcome, however please be aware of the concerns and hazards listed below.

Available Shifts

Monday [JE1] mornings (Water Pavilion) 9:00 am – Noon, March - October

Wednesday evenings (Water Pavilion and Natural Area) 5:30 – 7:30 pm, May - September

Hazards

• Allergy Concerns - plants, bees/wasps
• Other Concerns - steep/loose/unstable surfaces near water, eye hazards, weather conditions, sun exposure, heat and humidity, significant walk down non-ADA paths to work area, snakes/wildlife.
• Personal protective equipment (PPE) recommended: eye protection, gloves, sturdy footwear required (no open toe or heel shoes), long pants and long-sleeved shirts, sun protection, snack (to share :)), water.
• Some PPE and all tools are provided.

Thank you for volunteering!