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Why Volunteer for Scotland’s Gardens Scheme
At the heart of our charity are around a thousand volunteer organisers and garden owners, without whom there would be no gardens to visit. We are incredibly grateful for the skills and experience they bring to the charity and the time that they give to us and we want their experience with us to be inspiring, rewarding and fun.
Please register your interest by completing our simple EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FORM or call the office for an informal chat on 0131 226 3714.
Volunteer with Scotland’s Gardens Scheme to:
Get involved in one of Scotland’s longest running volunteer networks
Meet new people and share your enthusiasm for gardens and gardening
Visit inspiring gardens, often not open to the public and a rare chance to see something special
Enjoy working as part of a team
Use your skills to help raise funds for charity
Join in our winter talks programme on zoom
Join us for our annual conference and regional meetings - usually in a garden!
Receive training to support you in your volunteer role.
Current opportunities - could you help one of our District Teams?
Aberdeenshire: Event Volunteers
Angus & Dundee: Event Volunteers
Ayrshire: Event Volunteers
Argyll: Area Organisers, especially for Lochaber area
Berwickshire: District Organiser & Treasurer, Area organisers, Events Organisers
Caithness, Sutherland, Orkney & Shetland: Area Organisers, Event Volunteers
Dumfriesshire: Area Organisers
Dunbartonshire: Area Organisers, Event Volunteers
East Lothian: Event Volunteers & Area Organisers
Edinburgh: Event Volunteers
Fife: Event Volunteers & Area Organisers
Glasgow: Area Organisers
Inverness, Ross, Cromarty & Skye: Area Organisers, Event Volunteers
Kirkcudbrightshire: District & Area Organisers
Lanarkshire: District & Area Organisers, Event Volunteers
Moray & Nairn: Event Volunteers, Area Organisers
Peeblesshire & Tweeddale: Event Volunteers, Area Organisers
Perth & Kinross: Event Volunteers, Area Organisers
Renfrewshire: Area Organisers, Event Volunteers, Media Volunteer
Roxburghshire: Treasurer, Area Organisers, Event Volunteers
Stirlingshire: Treasurer, Area Organisers for Callander, Killin and Falkirk,
Wigtownshire: Area Organisers, Event Volunteers
Our Volunteer Roles – many hands make light work!
We have 23 District Committees around Scotland who work as a team to find gardens to open, then support those openings through the season, which can run from March right through to October. Each District Committee works in its own way but usually consists of some or all of the following roles and opportunities:
District Organiser
The District Organiser leads the team and oversees garden openings through the season, making sure garden owners know what to expect from their open day and have the right support.
Area Organisers
Area Organisers look after gardens in a particular area and help to recruit gardens, making sure they are supported on open days. They share the work of the District Organiser by supporting a specific area.
Admin & Database Volunteers
Database Volunteers help to put our garden openings onto our database, which then provides information for our annual guidebook, national leaflet and website, which details garden openings around Scotland.
District Treasurer
The District Treasurer makes sure that funds raised are paid to charities and to Head Office. Treasurers enter information about openings into the finance part of our database so must be numerate and comfortable with technology.
Event Volunteers
Event Volunteers help out before and during open days; they might deliver and put-up signage before and remove after an opening, sell tickets at the gate; direct traffic and manage parking; or help out with refreshments or to sell plants.
Media Volunteer
Our Media Volunteers play an important role in promoting garden openings in their area, through local PR and press releases and social media. Head Office can provide templates and resources to help with this.
Photographers
Our District Photographers use their skills to provide us with great photography to support our garden openings and we are able to use their photographs on our website, social media, in printed materials and for PR, which is a huge help in promoting our openings. We are happy to credit our photographers.
