The Bellevue Botanical Garden displays the best plants and gardening practices for healthy, beautiful Northwest gardens. Visitors are encouraged to participate in Garden volunteerism, events, and programs that are engaging, educational, and inspiring. The Bellevue Botanical Garden Society supports this mission by cultivating the bond between plants and people. To learn more about the Garden, please visit our website at BellevueBotanical.org.
If you love working with plants, you will easily get as much as you give at the Bellevue Botanical Garden. We encourage you to read through our volunteer opportunities below and complete a Volunteer Application! Please note that some volunteer teams may not be accepting new volunteers. Only individuals should complete a volunteer application. If you are a member of a group that would like to volunteer, please follow the directions at the bottom of this page.
Horticulture Teams
Dahlia Display Assistant
Work with the Puget Sound Dahlia Association.
Exotic Inspiration Garden Assistant
Work with the Bellevue Botanical Garden Society.
Fuchsia Garden Assistant
Work with the Eastside Fuchsia Society.
General Garden Assistant
Assist Garden grounds staff in creating, planting, pruning, weeding, and maintaining garden beds on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
Native Discovery Garden Assistant
Work with the Washington Native Plant Society.
Perennial Border Assistant
Work with the Northwest Perennial Alliance on Thursday mornings.
Rock Garden Assistant
Work with the NW American Rock Garden Society.
Waterwise Garden Assistant
Participate in a work party with Bellevue Utilities on Wednesday afternoons, spring to fall.
Visitor Experience Teams
Docent
Lead tours of the Garden. Stroll the Garden with visitors and share interesting information about the Garden and its history. Training classes are provided annually.
Garden Beautification
Help clean signs and benches and pick up trash around the Garden. This is a great opportunity to enjoy the whole Garden, while making an impact.
Garden Greeter
As an ambassador of the Garden, welcome visitors, answer questions, and help provide the best guest experience possible for our over 425,000 annual visitors.
Master Gardener Foundation Clinics
Help visitors achieve their home gardening dreams by answering plant and soil health questions and providing science-based ideas for sustainable garden design and maintenance.
Special Event Support
Ensure special events, like Arts in the Garden and Garden d'Lights, run smoothly and safely. Assist visitors, patrol the grounds, and help Garden staff with operational duties.
Trillium Store
Assist shoppers, work as a cashier, and provide inventory support.
Education Teams
Adult Education
Help design, coordinate and host our adult education programs. Identify and recruit speakers on a broad range of gardening and garden-related topics. Requires monthly meeting.
Children’s Programs
Assist with botany, biology and horticulture related programs for children ages 3-12 years old, including Living Lab, Kids in the Garden, and Scouts programs.
Outreach Teams
Event Hospitality
Help plan and execute a wide range of community-building and fundraising events produced by the Bellevue Botanical Garden Society.
Garden d'Lights Teams
Build & Repair Team
Build, renovate and repair the light displays that illuminate the Garden every holiday season. The team meets weekly on Thursday.
Installation & Take Down Team
Participate in set-up and installation of light displays from the last week of October until the Monday of Thanksgiving week. Take-down is the first week of January.
Organization Support Teams
Content Creation
Write for the Bellevue Botanical Garden’s blog or quarterly BUZZ publication.
Garden Society Administrative Assistant
Work in our office to support Bellevue Botanical Garden Society operations.
Librarian
Help maintain and organize our Gardening Resource Library.
Photographer/Videographer
Take pictures and videos of our beautiful gardens, programs and events for use in promotional and educational materials.
Group Volunteer Opportunities
The Garden offers volunteer opportunities for groups on most Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9-11 a.m., March through October. Depending on the gardeners’ priorities, groups may help with weeding, cut-back, removal of invasive plants, or trail maintenance. Limit group sizes to 20 or less. Please request group volunteer days at least three weeks in advance by emailing BBGVolunteers@BellevueWA.gov with your preferred date(s).
Accepted group volunteers will be asked to complete the Volunteer Waiver, as instructed by the BBG Volunteer Program Coordinator.