We are a friendly group of plant enthusiasts that love to learn more about plants, get more people involved and engaged with us, and get outdoors to see plants in their native habitats! We need your ideas, energy, and dedication!

The Society needs assistant for several key tasks that make things run smoothly and spread the word about our purpose and activities. These range from a couple hours per week in person or to occasional work that can be done from home. In person volunteering for the Society takes place at the UC Davis Center for Plant Diversity Herbarium, which is lively and convivial place to work, and the Herbarium staff enjoy mentoring those who wish to help the Society.

Please contact Teri Barry (tcbarry@ucdavis.edu) or Alison Colwell (aelcolwell@ucdavis.edu) at the Herbarium 530-752-1091 for more information.

Social Media

Create and post content about Davis Botanical Society news and events on social media, including Instagram, Facebook, etc.. in collaboration with DBS Board members and staff at the Botanical Conservatory and Center for Plant Diversity.

Events

Help to plan and coordinate DBS specific events, such as tabling at the plant sales, field trips, workshops, presentations, etc. Schedule volunteers to staff events, as needed.

Membership

As part of our membership team you will have opportunities to help process new DBS membership forms and renewals and enter data in our membership database. Assist in mailings of Lasthenia and other Davis Botanical Society correspondence. Welcome guests and answer questions at our information table at special events.

Outreach

Help to plan and coordinate outreach activities on campus and in the community to educate students and others about DBS, membership benefits, etc. Help to prepare mailings/emails/social media to spread the word about DBS membership, programs and activities.

Herbarium

The UC Davis Herbarium at the Center for Plant Diversity welcomes volunteers and student interns.

Volunteers work in the Herbarium a minimum of two hours a week. Due to the training time that we invest in our volunteers, we request a time commitment of at least three months. The following is a list of projects that our volunteers have worked over the past year:
● Specimen filing
● Label-making
● Specimen mounting
● Collecting processing
● Organizing the library
● Helping collect, identify, and arrange the Picnic Day exhibit plant specimens
● Curating our slides
● Plant collecting
● Curating one part of the collections, for example the conifers or the ferns

 

Student Interns typically have had some prior experience with plant identification by taking PLB 108 (Plant Taxonomy) or PLB 102 (California Floristics) or their equivalents. Interns are normally trained in as many aspects of collections management as time allows. This usually includes:
● Specimen curation
● Specimen filing
● Label-making
● Specimen mounting
● Plant identification
● Use of taxonomic literature
● Understanding type specimens and synonymy

If the student has a particular interest that they want to pursue in the herbarium, other projects are possible. For example, one of our students researched our Ethnobotany of California exhibit that we included in our Picnic Day display. Advanced students may like to curate a particular area of the collection, updating the nomenclature of the specimens or confirming plant identifications.

Please contact Alison Colwell (aelcolwell@ucdavis.edu); phone (530)752-1091, for more information about volunteering or becoming a student intern.

Photography

Volunteer photographers are needed to document DBS events, field trips, etc.

Shop

Seed Cones of California Pines is available as an educational resource through the Center for Plant Diversity, you may purchase it at Bohart Museum gift shop.