Garden Volunteers

Gardening and grounds care at The Bakken Museum’s campus includes a wide range of outdoor projects in a unique, multifaceted landscape. Sitting on nearly three acres, the property includes a wetland restoration area, a cottage-style medicinal plant garden, an organic vegetable garden, immaculate birdlife, and countless other highlights and surprising elements for lovers of nature. Volunteering in the gardens is peaceful, cathartic, and simple.

FAQ

  • No prior experience or training needed. We host first-time gardeners and people involved in MN Master Gardener programs and everyone in between. Because of the breadth of different tasks involved in our garden care and maintenance, there are roles for anyone.

  • Yes and no. We host a regular weekly opportunity for garden volunteers on Saturday mornings (9:30am-12pm) and on Thursday afternoons (3:30-5:30pm). We understand that doesn’t work for everyone, and on a case-by-case basis, we will aim to offer other days/times for volunteers.

  • If you want to work in the gardens on other days/times, you can connect directly with the Director of Facilities to make personal arrangements. After an introduction and orientation session, and with an established routine of communication for individualized shifts, we will be able to host you.

  • Garden efforts include a range of tasks: weeding, planting, transplanting, pruning, mulching, replenishing bird feeders, cleaning bird baths and koi pond, gathering branches, wood chipping, digging stumps, tending to compost piles, raking, tool maintenance, and many more projects depending on the season and conditions.

  • Yes. Volunteers can participate weekly, biweekly, monthly, or occasionally. It is best when volunteers arrive between 9:30-10:30am so that there is plenty of time to introduce, work on, and tidy up after the garden efforts.