The education department at Powell Gardens is currently seeking garden enthusiasts to join our existing volunteer docent group. Garden Guides are a committed group of tour guides who engage with Powell Gardens K-12 student and adult tour groups and help them discover the many aspects of the Garden, while discussing unique plant collections and landscapes. Garden Guides lead scheduled group and drop-in tours for varied public audiences during the year.

Docent volunteers selected for this special role will participate in an intensive once-a-week, three-hour training course at Powell Gardens beginning Thursday, October 4, 2018. The eleven-week class will meet Thursday afternoons at Powell Gardens from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. through December 20, 2018 (there is no class the week of Thanksgiving). Each week’s class session focuses on a different topic related to the history, function, garden design and plant collection at Powell Gardens. Class topics will also focus on how to teach varied age groups, the difference between lead visitors in interactive discussions vs. lectures while on tour, navigating groups in the gardens and how to plan and prepare for tours.

The docent group is supported year-round by Powell Gardens education staff who schedule monthly opportunities for continuing education. A curricular framework is provided for docents leading K-12 tours and suggested tour outlines and plant information is provided to assist docents in planning and crafting adult group tours. Garden Guides are not required to be experts in gardening, horticulture, plant care or botany but must possess a passion for learning, a love for Powell Gardens and an enthusiasm for helping others discover new aspects of the garden no matter what the age, interest or ability.

The Powell Gardens docent program is a great opportunity to learn about Powell Gardens and its collections and to discover and share your passion for plants and their significance in the world around us. Garden Guides are part of the Powell Gardens volunteer program and are enfolded in the garden-wide volunteer community as a whole.
Interviews for the 2018 docent training class and (to become part of the permanent docent program) will be scheduled at Powell Gardens in September following submitted applications to the program.

Interested parties can apply to become a docent volunteer online at https://powellgardens.org/join-give/volunteer-opportunities/volunteer-application/.

For questions or additional information, please contact Bobi Hallak at bhallak@powellgardens.org 816-697-2600 ext. 304.

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