Volunteer Symposium Hosted by Cornell Botanic Gardens

On October 11 - 13, Cornell Botanic Gardens was the host site and co-sponsor for the Volunteer Engagement Symposium “Remarkable, Resilient and Rewarding Volunteer Engagement,” offered by the American Public Gardens Association.

The symposium was attended by over 45 professionals from the public garden field who are involved with volunteer management and supervision.  The group included six staff and one volunteer from Cornell Botanic Gardens.  Adult Education and Volunteer Coordinator Kevin Moss was instrumental in organizing the symposium with the Association.
The symposium featured a variety of speakers, with sessions on best practices, student engagement, volunteer retention, risk management, and more. The keynote address, “Land Stewardship and the Volunteer Connection”, was delivered by Andrew Zepp, Executive Director of the Finger Lakes Land Trust. Tours of the F. R. Newman Arboretum and Cascadilla Gorge, and an excursion to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, rounded out the week.

One attending Volunteer Manager had this to say, “This gathering is so vital to us. For volunteer managers at public gardens, this is the only peer networking group that is gardens-based, which means that we have the chance to confer with colleagues sharing the same issues and learn from each other. The sessions and presentations were interesting, and our time at the Ornithological Research Center and Cascadilla Gorge were enlightening and thought provoking (and hiking back up through the gorge was breathtaking in the truest sense of the word…good exercise for mind and body).  The planning, location and conduct of the event were wonderfully orchestrated. Our thanks to all those who helped in making this a great success.”

Click here to view images from this event.