Volunteer Opportunities
All volunteers receive free admission to the Garden for the shift. For more information or to sign up for a shift, please contact Stephanie Moss, Volunteer Coordinator, at (503) 223-9233 or smoss @ japanesegarden.com.
Please check back often, this information is updated regularly.
Love Japanese gardens? Enjoy people? Become a...
Garden Rover
Ongoing
Over 200,000 people visit the Portland Japanese Garden each year. With so many visitors, our Garden needs extra help to protect it from accidental damage. Many of our visitors are unfamiliar with etiquette required when visiting a Japanese garden. Japanese gardens can be a bit fragile due to all the moss and other plantings that require significant care to remain beautiful and provide a feeling of tranquility.
As a volunteer Rover, you will get to:
- Stroll through the Garden, enjoying the beauty
- Educate our visitors about ways they can help the Garden (e.g., stay on the paths to protect the moss, keep food and drink tucked away to avoid attracting rodents, and use cell phones outside the Garden to protect the tranquility of the Garden)
- Answer basic questions about the Garden
- Know that you are helping keep the Garden beautiful
In addition to meeting lots of interesting people, you will get to:
- Learn about the Garden
- Enjoy free admission to the Garden on the days you volunteer
- Receive one coupon for 10% off at the Garden Gift Store for every four shifts you complete
- Receive four admission tickets for every eight shifts you complete
We will provide training to help you learn about the Garden and the answers to most questions you'll receive.
Volunteer Shifts
Shifts are 11am-2pm and 1-4pm during the Garden's summer season (April-September). Shifts are scheduled in advance, but attendance is only required if the weather is generally good (i.e., partly cloudy/sunny or sunny).
Requirements
- Commit to at least one shift per month, preferably one shift per week
- Pleasant, professional demeanor
- Enjoy interacting with diverse people
- Comfortable speaking to large groups and initiating conversations with visitors
- Comfortable standing and walking for sustained periods of time
- Comfortable working outdoors
- Ability to work both in a team and independently
- Dress code: similar to Gate Staff, name badge required
- Minimum age: 18
Love meeting people from all over? Become a...
Garden Greeter
Ongoing
Over 200,000 people visit the Portland Japanese Garden each year. Many of them visit during the spring, summer, and early fall months. Visitors not only come from the Greater Portland Metro Area, but also from every U.S. state and from countries all over the world.
We'd love to offer our visitors extra help. Many of them are unfamiliar with the Garden and with Washington Park (our home). You can help them with many of their questions.
As a volunteer Greeter, you will get to:
- Greet visitors as they arrive at the Garden
- Answer their basic questions about the Garden and Washington Park
- Show them where to wait for our shuttle or where they can take the walking path to the Admission Gate
- Connect them to Staff who can answer more in depth questions
In addition to meeting lots of interesting people, you will get to:
- Learn about the Garden
- Enjoy free admission to the Garden on the days you volunteer
- Receive one coupon for 10% off at the Garden Gift Store for every four shifts you complete
- Receive four admission tickets for every eight shifts you complete
We will provide training to help you learn about the Garden and the answers to most questions you'll receive.
Volunteer Shifts
Shifts are 1-4pm on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays as well as some Monday holidays, beginning with Memorial Day weekend and going through Labor Day weekend.
Requirements
- Commit to at least one shift per month
- Pleasant, professional demeanor
- Enjoy interacting with diverse people
- Comfortable speaking to large groups and initiating conversations with visitors
- Comfortable standing for sustained periods of time
- Comfortable working outdoors
- Ability to work both in a team and independently
- Dress code: similar to Gate Staff, name badge required
- Minimum age: 18
Guiding Tours
Ongoing
Guides lead tours of the Garden for members of the public, vacation groups, seniors groups, school groups, and more. Guides complete the Introductory Guide Training course and work with a mentor before leading tours on their own.
“I choose to be a guide because I love the Garden and wanted to share its serenity with others and let the world know there is this peaceful place that they can come to in this chaotic world we live in.”
The Introductory Guide Training course takes place over several sessions. You will receive a Guide Training Manual before training begins. This course is designed to provide you with the information and tools to lead a basic, 45-minute tour of the Garden. Once you are certified as a Garden Guide, you will have the opportunity to lead tours throughout the year.
“It's a chance for me to give back to the place I enjoy most in Portland. I also wanted to learn more about Japanese garden design and culture. I like meeting people from all over the U.S. and world on my tours.”
We are not currently accepting applications for new Guides at this time. If you would like to be notified when we offer Introductory Guide Training in the future, please complete the online application and mark Guide Training as one of your interests or contact Volunteer Coordinator Stephanie Moss at (503) 223-9233 or smoss @ japanesegarden.com.
Volunteer Shifts
Varies by assignment
Requirements
- Ability to walk the entire tour through each of the gardens over the course of about an hour, rain or shine
- Ability to work independently
- Commitment to learning about the Garden
- Willingness to participate in ongoing training opportunities
- Enjoy speaking with diverse people
- Commitment to lead at least ten tours in the first year as a Guide
- Garden members only
Horticultural Support
Ongoing
Contact smoss @ japanesegarden.com or (503) 223-9233
The volunteer Horticultural Support Team is extending the reach of our staff Gardeners. With 5.5 acres to maintain, there is always something to do. These volunteers help with a wide variety of projects. They trim off spent flowers (deadheading), clean the ground underneath azaleas, cut back ivy, skimmed waterways, remove weeds, and more. The volunteers bring a range of experience. Director of Grounds Maintenance Virginia Harmon interviews each volunteer to allow her to match the right tasks to each volunteer.
We are not currently accepting applications for new volunteers in Horticultural Support at this time. If you would like to be notified when opportunities become available in the future, please complete the online application and mark Horticultural Support as one of your interests or contact Volunteer Coordinator Stephanie Moss at (503) 223-9233 or smoss @ japanesegarden.com.
Volunteer Shifts
Varies by assignment
Requirements
- Comfortable sitting and standing for sustained periods of time
- Work clothes and footwear that are appropriate for the weather and outdoor gardening
- Ability to work both in a team and independently
- Willingness to learn and follow directions
- Garden members only
Volunteer Orientation
Sunday, September 26
10:30am-Noon in the Garden Pavilion
Free, Reservations requested - contact
smoss @ japanesegarden.com or (503) 223-9233
Do you want to learn more about how you can become involved at the Garden? Veteran volunteers and Volunteer Coordinator Stephanie Moss will join you at the Volunteer Orientation where they will share their experiences, answer questions, and advise you on upcoming upcoming volunteer opportunities at the Garden.
Gallery Attendant for Art in the Garden Exhibit
The exquisite miniature carvings known as netsuke were the essence of understated chic for the fashionable merchants of Edo period Japan. From damsels to demons, netsuke have depicted everything from zodiac animals to gods of good luck and from fierce protective demons to beautiful maidens. They were used to secure tobacco pouches, small medicine boxes (inro), and other containers to the sashes of the wearer’s pocket-less kimono. More info about the exhibition is available in our Events section of this website.
Volunteer Gallery Attendants will receive behind-the-scenes training by Diane Durston, Curator of Culture, Arts, and Education on Friday, June 18th at 2pm. Written training materials will be available to volunteers who cannot attend the training with the Curator.
Shifts are:
- 10am-Noon
- Noon-4pm
- 4-7pm
You may also qualify for extra goodies by signing up for more than one shift.
- Sign up for 2 shifts (6 hours) and get one coupon for 10% off at the Garden Gift Store
- Sign up for 3 shifts (9 hours) and get one coupon for 10% off at the Garden Gift Store and four admission tickets
- Sign up for 4 shifts (12 hours) and get one coupon for 10% off at the Garden Gift Store, four admission tickets, and free admission to lecture by Hollis Goodall, Curator of Japanese Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Requirements
- Commit to at least one shift (3 hours)
- Pleasant, professional demeanor
- Enjoy interacting with diverse people
- Comfortable speaking to and initiating conversations with visitors
- Comfortable standing for sustained periods of time
- Dress code: business professional
- Minimum age: 16
Behind the Shoji Art Show & Sale
July 31-September 6
Behind the Shoji is the Garden’s biggest art show and sale. Each year we feature handmade pottery, glass art, paintings, photography, jewelry, and more by artists inspired by Japanese aesthetics and craftsmanship. Volunteers help the Gift Store Staff wrapping up packages, keeping a watchful eye, and welcoming visitors.
Shifts are Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, 11am-2pm and 2-5pm.
Requirements
- Commit to at least one shift (3 hours)
- Pleasant, professional demeanor
- Enjoy interacting with diverse people
- Comfortable speaking to and initiating conversations with visitors
- Comfortable standing for sustained periods of time
- Dress code: business casual
- Minimum age: 16
Assist with O-Bon, The Spirit Festival
Wednesday, August 11
7:30-9:30pm
O-Bon is the name of a Buddhist memorial festival that dates back more than a thousand years. Over a three-day period in mid-August in Japan, families gather to pray for the spirits of their ancestors. The Garden celebrates this festival with dance and floating lit candles in the Upper Pond. Many guests find lighting a candle for a loved one is a helpful experience as they grieve. Volunteers help distribute the candles and light the pathways.
Shifts are 7:30-9:30pm.
Requirements
- Ability to have a quiet, compassionate demeanor
- Comfortable standing for sustained periods of time
- Dress code: business casual and weather-specific
- Minimum age: 16
Volunteer Orientation
Sunday, September 12
10:30am-Noon in the Garden Pavilion
Free, reservations requested - contact
smoss @ japanesegarden.com or (503) 223-9233
Do you want to learn more about how you can become involved at the Garden? Veteran volunteers and Volunteer Coordinator Stephanie Moss will join you at the Volunteer Orientation where they will share their experiences, answer questions, and advise you on upcoming upcoming volunteer opportunities at the Garden.
