A Wrap on the Summer Teen Volunteer Program

As Mother Nature preps us for the fall season with immense downpours and crashing thunderstorms, volunteer services’ Teen Volunteer Program finishes strong. This year, our teen volunteers contributed a total of 1,500 hours. We couldn’t be more grateful for their time and efforts toward taking care of our guests and the Gardens. They’ve done a great job! 

Every summer, teens participate in two types of shifts: horticulture and guest engagement. Horticulture shifts involve upkeep of the Gardens via planting, weeding, harvesting and more. Guest engagement shifts, on the other hand, include leading activities for visitors to engage in and assisting them with wayfinding and waste sorting for Evenings al Fresco and the Summer Concert Series.

Teens also participate in Lavender Festival, which takes place at Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms during the middle of July. This year, teens worked as children’s craft table assistants and pollination table exhibitors, educating and entertaining over 12,500 guests—the most attendees Lavender Festival has had yet! In the Volunteer Services Department, we enjoy having our teens work with children because we feel that they can inspire and set great examples for little ones.

Although my internship at the Gardens is soon ending, I am glad that I had the opportunity to work with a great group of teens. Before this, I had barely any experience managing groups, or even individuals—to have their support and encouragement while I navigated this new role is something that I am very grateful for and is something I will take with me as I continue in my professional career. I hope that the teens can say the same about their experiences this summer.

This article was contributed by Katelyn Thach, who is the Volunteer Services Department intern as part of the Diversity in the Arts (DITA) Internship Program.