Volunteers play a vital role at the Des Moines Botanical and Environmental Center. Thanks to volunteers’ generous donations of time, the Des Moines Water Works is able to efficiently operate and maintain the Botanical and Environmental Center’s buildings and grounds.

Volunteer Opportunities

Here are some of the volunteer opportunities at the Botanical and Environmental Center:

Admissions Desk: Greet the public and accept payment for admission to the Botanical and Evnrionmental Center.

Gift Shop: Assist with tasks such as selling merchandise, stocking inventory, and pricing and displaying items.

Horticulture: Help Des Moines Water Works gardeners maintain the 14 acres of land surrounding the Botanical and Environmental Center as well as the plants inside the dome and greenhouses. Grounds maintenance tasks include watering, weeding, pruning, dead heading, fertilizing, and planting. Horticulture volunteers may specify a preference for working inside or outside the Botanical Center. Outside work is also available at Water Works Park.

Janitorial: Assist with light housekeeping duties such as preparing rooms for reserved events, stocking supplies, sweeping walkways inside the dome, emptying trash, etc.

Tour Guide: Conduct pre-arranged tours of the Botanical and Environmental Center for visiting groups. Tours are scheduled in advance, allowing volunteers the flexibility of working when their schedule permits.

Special Events: Assist with scheduled events such as spring and fall clean-up, holiday decorating, flower bed change-outs, and more. This volunteer position doesn’t require a weekly commitment; we’ll call you when we need additional help.

Benefits

· Work in a beautiful environment.

· Free admission to the Botanical and Environmental Center.

· 10% discount in the gift shop (20% discount for volunteers who are members of the Friends of the Botanical and Environmental Center).

· Opportunity to make new friends and work with a great group of volunteers and employees of the Des Moines Water Works.

· Annual recognition dinner and potlucks.

Application

Application Procedures for Volunteers:

Complete and submit the volunteer application. A background check will be completed and an interview will be scheduled to learn more about your volunteer interests and preferences.

Volunteer Application in Adobe PDF Format

Requirements

· Volunteers must be at least 17 years old and willing to commit to a mutually agreed upon schedule of at least 3 hours per week.

· Volunteers will attend an orientation session before they start working at the Botanical and Environmental Center.

Volunteer Hours

Horticultural and Janitorial: Morning or afternoon shifts are available Monday through Friday.

Gift Shop and Admissions Desk: Volunteers have a choice of working three- or four-hour shifts (10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. or 2:00-5:00 p.m.) Monday through Friday.

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The Des Moines Botanical & Environmental Center welcomes your comments and questions. If you have questions,
or comments about the botanical & environmental center e-mail us at Friends@botanicalcenter.com

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