Volunteers are essential to the Arboretum’s educational mission of fostering knowledge and appreciation of life science and the natural world. Please consider participating as an Arboretum volunteer—enjoy the rewards of connecting people with the world of plants.
Field Study Guides
Make a difference as a volunteer guide in our Field Study Experiences. Lead small groups of children from Boston area schools through hands on, active learning programs. Guide recruitment is ongoing; we are always interviewing for new guides. To learn more, submit a volunteer application, or contact Outdoor Educator Ana Maria Caballero at 617.384.9032 or by email.
Arboretum Docents
Share your love of plants. Become an arboretum docent and lead landscape tours for groups of adults. Tours include a combination of Arboretum information, current plant highlights, natural history, and botany. To learn more about the program, please email Lauren Strack, Manager of Visitor Engagement.
Program and Event Helpers
Help make the Arboretum’s free public programs possible, with no extra knowledge or training required. Duties may include, assisting instructors with logistics, greeting and checking in visitors, helping with late arrivals, and assisting visitors with wayfinding. To learn more about the program, please email Lauren Strack, Manager of Visitor Engagement.
Arboretum Observers
Arboretum Observers are the eyes on the grounds, collecting information and documenting particularly beautiful events (lilacs flowering, crabapples fruiting, and ginkgo leaves turning color) visitors might want to see. To learn more about the program, please email Lauren Strack, Manager of Visitor Engagement.
Photographs by Jon Hetman, Nancy Sableski, Sheryl White, and Regina Mission.
Past Programs
Tree Spotters Citizen Science Program
Active from 2015 through 2020, the Tree Spotters Citizen Science program partnered with the National Phenology Network (NPN) to train citizen scientists to collect phenology data from 15 native tree species at the Arnold Arboretum. The program began as an initiative of the Temporal Ecology Laboratory (formerly located at Harvard University), and later became an official Arnold Arboretum program in 2018.
During its six-year span, hundreds of volunteers submitted more than 330,000 phenological observations to the NPN’s database. These data can be accessed on the Data Resources page, or using the NPN’s Phenology Observation Portal or Phenology Visualization Tool.
The Tree Spotters program officially concluded in December 2020 and is no longer an active Arboretum volunteer program. A group of former participants continues to observe and share phenology information on their own. While this independent effort is no longer organized or managed by the Arboretum, we greatly appreciate their ongoing enthusiasm for studying seasonal change.
Many thanks to Tree Spotters participants for their hard work and dedication to the program over the years!