WHAT: Volunteer opportunities
WHEN: 2010-2011 school year; training begins in August and September
WHERE: Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Blvd., south St. Louis
Litzsinger Road Ecology Center, 9711 Litzsinger Road, Ladue
INFO: www.mobot.org/volunteer; (314) 577-5187 or jackie.juras@mobot.org
(ST. LOUIS) If you love nature and enjoy working with children, the Missouri Botanical Garden has two opportunities for you to combine both passions as a volunteer! Consider becoming an outdoor Volunteer Educator at the Litzsinger Road Ecology Center (LREC) in Ladue, or teach informative school programs as a Volunteer Instructor at the Missouri Botanical Garden in south St. Louis. Free training is provided for each position, and volunteers are needed throughout the 2010-2011 school year. Visit www.mobot.org/volunteer for more information.
The LREC is a private 34-acre nature facility, managed by the Missouri Botanical Garden, which offers students hands-on opportunities to explore and investigate nature in a local setting, which includes a woodland, prairie and creek. Volunteer Educators work outdoors, guiding and teaching small groups of students to help them better understand nature.
Free Volunteer Educator training at the LREC is held Mondays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for ten consecutive weeks, beginning Monday, Sept. 13. During training, volunteers will become familiar with the site, learn inquiry-based, outdoor teaching strategies and gain an understanding of basic ecology. Trainees will also have many opportunities to observe school groups and practice teaching. Upon completion of training, Volunteer Educators are asked to commit four hours one day a week during the school year.
The 79-acre Missouri Botanical Garden offers a variety of informative school programs for children in kindergarten through eighth grades, from a "Rendezvous in the Rainforest" to "A Seasonal Snapshot." The Garden's Education Department seeks Volunteer Instructors to help meet demand for these fun, inquiry-based programs.
Free week-long Volunteer Instructor training is held Monday, Aug. 16 through Friday, Aug. 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Volunteers will learn inquiry-based outdoor teaching strategies and have many opportunities to observe school groups and practice teaching before being assigned to classes on their own. Volunteer Instructors are asked to make a commitment of four hours one day a week from September through December and February through May.
For more information on becoming a Volunteer Educator at the LREC or a Volunteer Instructor at the Garden, contact Jackie Juras, manager of volunteer programs, at (314) 577-5187 or jackie.juras@mobot.org. For a complete list of volunteer opportunities currently available, visit www.mobot.org/volunteer.
For more information about the Garden and LREC, visit www.mobot.org or www.litzsinger.org. |
