Duke Gardens Adult Volunteer Opportunities


Thanks for your interest in volunteering with Sarah P. Duke Gardens!

Duke Gardens volunteer opportunities are ongoing opportunities that require a commitment of 2 to 4 hours per week for a minimum of six months.  

As of April 2025, we are accepting new volunteer applications for the following opportunities:

  • Gardening Assistant: (Tues., Wed. or Thur. mornings only)
  • Trolley Ambassador: (Weekdays and Weekends, mornings and afternoons (10 a.m.- noon, noon-2 p.m., or 2-4 p.m.), seasonally March-Nov.
  • Photographer: (Weekdays and weekends, flexible schedule)

Browse the volunteer opportunities listings below to learn more about each activity.

If you are interested in any of our currently available volunteer opportunities, please complete an application form by clicking on the yellow button to the right that says "Fill in an application". 

New volunteers are interviewed and placed according to the Garden’s needs. 
Completing an application does not guarantee volunteer placement, but it will help us match you to the right opportunity.

As additional volunteer opportunities become available, they will be posted on this page.

Questions about volunteering? Email GardensVolunteer@duke.edu or call us at 919-668-3694.

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Adult Volunteer Opportunities - April 2025

Horticulture & Gardening

Horticulture & Gardening Volunteer Opportunities:

  • Gardening Asst.

Gardening Assistant

Days & Times needed: Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday mornings (8:30/9:00 a.m.-noon), year-round as weather permits. 

Qualifications & Skills: Gardening Assistants support horticulture staff by performing gardening tasks including, but not limited to: weeding, raking, watering, mulching outdoors throughout the Gardens to maintain our plant collections. These tasks involve bending, kneeling, reaching, lifting, standing and stretching as well as the use of garden tools. 

  • Interest and/or experience in gardening and gardening tasks
  • Ability to physically perform garden tasks in a repetitive nature in varying weather conditions with the possible presence of insects. 
  • Able to work on a team of volunteers to perform needed tasks and take direction from staff as needed. 

 

 

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Marketing & Communications

Marketing & Communications Volunteer Opportunities:

  • Photographer

Photographer

Days & Times needed: flexible days and times 

Qualifications & Skills: Photographers share photos they have taken of Duke Gardens plants and landscapes as well as at Gardens events with our Communications staff to be utilized for social media, publication and marketing purposes by the Gardens.

  • Must possess your own digital camera to take photographs. Gardens cannot provide a digital camera. 
  • Ability to be outdoors and traverse various terrain while taking photographs 
  • Ability to take direction from Marketing & Communications staff
  • Ability to adhere to volunteer photographer policies and follow instructions on how to submit photos provided by staff. 

 

 

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Visitor Engagement

Visitor Experience Volunteer Opportunities:

  • Trolley Ambassador

Trolley Ambassador 

Days & Times needed: weekdays and weekends, mornings and afternoons,10 a.m.-noon, noon-2 p.m. or 2-4 p.m., seasonally from March through November.

Qualifications & Skills: Trolley ambassadors drive and operate a six-seat golf cart along a designated route with set stops to support visitor accessibility and mobility needs. Along the way, they greet and offer directions to visitors and share information about the Gardens plant collections, features, events and more. 

  • Enjoy meeting and greeting people and offering assistance as needed
  • Able to be outdoors in the Gardens for two-hour shifts in varying weather conditions
  • Participate in on-the-job ambassador training, which requires observing and shadowing current ambassadors as well as attending classroom training or workshops periodically throughout the year
  • Able and willing to learn to use a two-way radio to communicate with staff and other ambassadors
  • Able to take direction from staff 
  • After training, must be able to simultaneously safely operate a six-seat golf cart, orally deliver information and engage with passengers.
  • ***Trolley ambassadors must possess a valid U.S. Driver’s License.***

 

 

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Sarah P. Duke Gardens Mission Statement, Vision, Diversity & Inclusion Statement

Our Mission: We are a botanic garden in the heart of Duke University that inspires transformative learning, promotes wellness and builds community. 

Our Vision: We invite a deeper connection to the natural world through horticultural artistry, plant conservation, sustainable practices and innovative programs. We play a vital role in the health and well-being of the Duke and Durham communities and beyond. 

Our Core Values

Beauty: Duke Gardens is an artful expression inspired by nature.

Wonder: Duke Gardens invites all to discover the rejuvenating benefits of nature, follow their curiosity, and connect with the natural world around them. 

Sustainability: We demonstrate and promote best practices for environmental, fiscal and social responsibility to ensure a healthy future for generations to come. 

Community: We embrace the knowledge that people and plants are diverse and interdependent, and we seek ways to understand, share and celebrate the full spectrum of the human experience. 

Diversity & Inclusion Statement: Sarah P. Duke Gardens is committed to being a welcoming place for all. As people who work with plants, we know the natural world is interdependent in multilayered ways. Living communities are supported and enriched by having diverse and healthy members, and caring for them is continuous, open-ended work. 

As we strive to better embrace and represent the full diversity of our community, we will collaborate with and learn from people who represent a spectrum of human experience. We welcome and encourage new relationships and dialogue as we build a more inclusive future together.