Seed collecting

Volunteers provide assistance to the Arboretum in many ways. Some volunteers participate in scheduled work days, working with a group to complete projects such as invasive species control, trail maintenance, collecting seed or planting trees or shrubs. These events are generally hosted on the third Saturday of each month. Other volunteers select independent projects that can be done on their own time. In addition to restoration tasks, they may conduct a bird or plant inventory, monitor a rare species, or lead field trips. If you would like to offer your time or expertise, please contact Arboretum Director Nancy Braker or attend one of our group events. We send out announcements and reminders of our activities, so please let us know if you would like to be on our email distribution list.

Arboretum Volunteer Work Events

Work events are generally held on the third Saturday of the month, and commonly include activities such as tree planting, seed collecting or removing invasive plants.  Specific project and meeting location will be announced in advance of the event. We also plan other work events on an “as needed” basis. We ask that you sign up for these events on our website so we can contact volunteers if we need to cancel.

See details of our upcoming volunteer events at our events calendar.

Meeting Locations – Arb Office and Upper Arboretum



We generally ask volunteers to meet up with us at one of two locations: the Arboretum Office, and the bridge over Spring Creek. The bridge over Spring Creek is located near the Arboretum entrance at 2nd and Oak Streets, near the Carleton College Tennis courts. On this map, if you zoom out until two marked points are visible, the upper marker denotes the Arboretum Office, and the lower marker denotes the Spring Creek bridge.