Gardens of Golden Gate Park

Winter Break Notice: Botanical Garden Green Team roles are on pause this winter until January. To learn more about new opportunities to join the Green Team in 2026, select this option.

Green Team volunteers support San Francisco Recreation and Parks employees with the care and maintenance of the Gardens of Golden Gate Park (Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden and San Francisco Botanical Garden). The Gardens encompass a wide variety of plant collections that focus on various geographic areas, themes and taxonomy. As a Green Team volunteer, you will help us steward the land for the enjoyment of the public. In turn, we hope you will feel more connected to the land, have an opportunity to enjoy the community of fellow plant enthusiasts, and refine your gardening skills.

Current Openings: We are currently accepting new volunteers at the San Francisco Botanical Garden on a rolling basis. The Japanese Tea Garden and Conservatory of Flowers are not currently accepting new applicants at this time. 

How to Register: Register for your first assignment in the system and remember to mark your calendar. Training will be provided on your first day, and it will be a continuous learning experience. No experience required. 

As a Green Team Volunteer, you will: 

· Assist RPD staff with mulching, weeding, and other garden maintenance tasks as they arise. Your area of focus may differ depending on the time of the year and the section of the garden you are helping in.

· Be an ambassador of the Gardens by embodying our mission to connect people to plants, the planet, and each other and represent our values: Everybody’s Garden; Stewardship; Experience and Enjoyment; Education and Engagement; Excellence; along with Partnership and Collaboration.

We Are Seeking Volunteers Who Are:

· Comfortable being a part of a team and receiving instruction and guidance from RPD staff.

· Enthusiastic to learn new horticulture techniques and practice them under the supervision of a horticulturist. No experience is necessary to volunteer.

· Excited to support the vision, mission and values of the Gardens of Golden Gate Park as a volunteer.

Time commitment: 3 hour assignments available regularly. You can join more than once a week, weekly, biweekly, monthly, or quarterly. 

Schedule: Most assignments begin at 9:30am; periodically, assignments may be offered at 10am. Weekly offerings are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Please select this if you are interested in learning more about opportunities to become an interpretive volunteer. Interpretive volunteers engage visitors throughout the Conservatory of Flowers and San Francisco Botanical Garden as rovers, tour leaders, and by leading interpretation stations. 

Volunteers rove in the Conservatory of Flowers and San Francisco Botanical Garden, engaging with visitors, answering questions, and sharing what is in bloom. 

Rovers are part of our interpretive community and focus on a specific way of engaging with visitors, roving within a Garden to help answer questions and direct visitors to features in the collection. 

Select this if you are interested in learning more about roving opportunities at the Gardens. 

Please select this if you are interested in learning more when future training opportunities are available for volunteers interested in helping with youth groups such as school groups.