Volunteers are an integral part of Desert Botanical Garden. Each year, Volunteers in the Garden, or VIGs as they are affectionately known, help make the Garden as lively as it is.
In 2023, the Garden counted on 663 volunteers, who served more than 49,000 hours together. Volunteers range in age, from 14 to 94 years-old. They contribute in a variety of roles that enable the Garden to fulfill its mission.
Guests can find them as docents offering daily tours, assisting in the Garden’s herbarium or in the seed lab, out on the trails lending a hand to the horticulture department, guiding guests at events and assisting in adult education classes or children’s programming. They even help polish the three glass Dale Chihuly sculptures at the entrance. All this, and so much more.
There is no role big or small — our VIGs do it all.
In the past year, VIGs found new ways to connect and collaborate. They established Retread Your Threads, a drive-through clothing collection at the Garden, as well as an internal event titled Cross Pollination where volunteers showcased their roles, responsibilities and projects to VIGs from other departments.
The Garden is grateful for all the hard work our VIGs do each day within the Garden. We would also like to mention those who have achieved milestones.
