Retail Garden Shop Volunteer
Retail Garden Shop Volunteer
Retail Garden Shop Volunteer
Overall purpose of the role.
To assist Kew Retail Garden shop staff with customer service, plant care and area upkeep in the indoor and outdoor Garden shop in the Victoria Plaza shop.
Opportunities are available every day of the week. Volunteers usually donate one day per week. Suggested volunteer ‘day’ being 10am-4pm.
Main tasks
To support and assist Kew Retail Garden shop staff in a wide range of tasks and activities. Tasks may include:
- plant care (watering, dead-heading, pruning).
- customer interaction (giving plant care and general advice).
- sweeping and tidying.
- helping put out deliveries of plants and plant-related stock.
Volunteers use hand tools but not machinery. Some tasks by their nature can be quite physically demanding
This role will suit someone with the following skills/experience
- An interest in and enthusiasm for ‘hands on’ plant care.
- Horticultural knowledge and experience of practical horticulture.
- Enjoy volunteering as part of a team and interacting with a wide range of people.
- Ability to commit to a regular placement
- Ability to perform tasks safely without endangering yourself or others
- Flexible and willing to give support where necessary
Retail Garden Shop Volunteer
Overall purpose of the role.
To assist Kew Retail Garden shop staff with customer service, plant care and area upkeep in the indoor and outdoor Garden shop in the Victoria Plaza shop.
Opportunities are available every day of the week. Volunteers usually donate one day per week. Suggested volunteer ‘day’ being 10am-4pm.
Main tasks
To support and assist Kew Retail Garden shop staff in a wide range of tasks and activities. Tasks may include:
- plant care (watering, dead-heading, pruning).
- customer interaction (giving plant care and general advice).
- sweeping and tidying.
- helping put out deliveries of plants and plant-related stock.
Volunteers use hand tools but not machinery. Some tasks by their nature can be quite physically demanding
This role will suit someone with the following skills/experience
- An interest in and enthusiasm for ‘hands on’ plant care.
- Horticultural knowledge and experience of practical horticulture.
- Enjoy volunteering as part of a team and interacting with a wide range of people.
- Ability to commit to a regular placement
- Ability to perform tasks safely without endangering yourself or others
- Flexible and willing to give support where necessary
Retail Garden Shop Volunteer
More details
About you
You are happy to support a small team of Kew Retail Horticulturalists in helping visitors take home a small piece of Kew Gardens to remember their visit, be it a plant, plant related product or purely inspiration for their own home or garden.
A good knowledge or experience of horticulture is necessary as you will be advising and answering plant related questions.
What to expect from us
- A full induction, basic training in the horticultural tasks required and ongoing support and supervision.
- Free entry to Kew for yourself and an accompanying adult.
- Discounts in Kew shops and eateries.
- Kew volunteer corporate wear.
- Reimbursement of actual travel expenses incurred up to a set daily value.
- To be treated fairly and with respect.
- To be part of a friendly and dedicated team and volunteering community.
- An opportunity to learn about the amazing collections at Kew, the living plants, the ground-breaking science and other Kew collections.
What we expect from you
For this role we are looking for volunteers who are willing/able to commit regularly to one day or half day a week. Volunteers offered indefinite placements at Kew are encouraged to donate a minimum of 24 volunteer days per year, inclusive of training/meeting time to be fully operational in a role. Please note that this role is an ongoing placement and we are unable to consider applicants who are not able to commit to a minimum of 12 months volunteering.
Recruitment procedure
Recruitment for this volunteer role is carried out when a number of placements become available – there is no set recruitment period during the year. Our aim is to find the right placement for each volunteer and to provide opportunities for a diverse range of people, so we do not recruit on a first come first served basis. We endeavour to place volunteers according to their preferences. During recruitment drives application forms held on file will be matched to the vacancy and those applicants whose availability and interests most closely match will be invited to Kew for an informal discussion. The purpose of the discussion is to explain in more detail the volunteering opportunities and to find out a bit more about why applicants would like to volunteer.
Volunteer Recruitment meetings w/c 3 August 2026
General Volunteer Induction Friday 17 August 2026
For further information about this role email: kewvolunteer@kew.org