Volunteer

Thank you for your interest in volunteering at Brooklyn Bridge Park!

Volunteers play an important role in Brooklyn Bridge Park’s horticulture, education, and public programs. Volunteers regularly maintain and enhance the park’s landscapes, educate the public, and assist with public programs and special events at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Read about all the available opportunities below:

Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy Volunteer Docents

Green Team

Zone Gardeners

Program & Special Events Volunteers

Group Volunteering

Annual Events

Corporate Volunteering

Summer Park Survery Volunteers

Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy Docents

Volunteer docents lead public tours on weekends and play a crucial role in educating the public about Brooklyn Bridge Park. Docent tours cover the topics of BBP’s design, history, and ecology and take place along the Pier 1 and Empire Fulton Ferry sections of the park. Tours will begin in summer 2013 and will be free to the public. In-depth training for new docents takes place twice a year. If you love nature, landscape design, or Brooklyn history, this is the opportunity for you!

Volunteer Docents for the 2013 summer season must:

Submit a completed application by March 31.
Attend a group interview.
Attend 6 training sessions that will take place on weekends from April-June 2013.
Commit to a minimum of 2 tours per month, for 1 year (tours are approximately 60 minutes long).
Be comfortable speaking to the public and working outdoors.
Be enthusiastic about BBP and willing to represent BBP.
Have interests in park planning, landscape design, horticulture, or Brooklyn history.
Be punctual and reliable.

To be considered as a volunteer docent, please submit a volunteer application here. Please note, the Spring 2013 volunteer docent training sessions are full; the next docent training sessions will take place in Fall 2013.

Green Team

Join this dedicated corps of volunteers who keep Brooklyn Bridge Park beautiful! The Green Team is a weekly volunteer group that provides essential horticultural care to the park. Weekly projects may include planting, mulching, or removing invasive plants. The Green Team is a wonderful opportunity to learn about gardening, enjoy nature, and make the park look its best.

Children are welcome to volunteer with a parent or guardian. Green Team meets twice a week from April through October in the Main Street section of the park.

Tuesdays, 6 - 8 pm
Saturdays, 10 am - 12 pm

To join the Green Team, please submit a volunteer application here and sign up for upcoming Green Team shifts here.

Groups of 6 or more, please contact sward@brooklynbridgepark.org to schedule your group for a Green Team session.

Zone Gardeners

Learn all aspects of horticultural maintenance while working in one of Brooklyn Bridge Park’s beautifully designed landscapes.

Zone Gardeners assist BBP Gardeners or work independently in a specific zone of the park to care for more than 3 acres of planting beds. Members of this horticultural team must have some previous horticultural experience and commit to working 3-4 hours per week. Prospective applicants should be prepared for work that may be physically demanding and must be performed in all weather conditions. Opportunities for specialized horticultural and educational workshops will take place throughout the season.

Please note that there are limited opportunities for volunteer Zone Gardener positions and volunteers will be evaluated based on their skills, experience, and availability. Complete the online volunteer application to be considered here.

Programs & Special Events Volunteers

Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy produces more than 400 exciting, free programs every year. Public programs include films, kayaking, and history tours, among others. Program Volunteers greet and provide information to the public, assist in the set-up and break down of equipment, and distribute park-related materials. Administrative volunteers are also helpful in assisting with office work such as mailings, data entry, or fundraising projects.

Volunteers must have strong communication skills, be comfortable working outdoors, and willing to represent Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. Orientation for Program Volunteers takes place throughout the year. To be considered as a Program Volunteer, please submit an application here.

Group Volunteering

Community and school groups are welcome to schedule outdoor volunteer or community service projects at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Community service projects promote environmental stewardship while providing hands-on connections to concepts learned in the classroom. BBP can host up to 25 volunteers per group. Activities must be scheduled in advance and are based on the needs of the park at the time of the visit. For more information or to schedule a volunteer service project at Brooklyn Bridge Park, please contact Sarah Ward, sward@brooklynbridgepark.org.

Corporate Volunteering

Corporate volunteer groups play a vital role in the health and upkeep of Brooklyn Bridge Park. Large-scale horticultural and maintenance projects promote team-building while providing an important service to the park. To best serve the park, corporate volunteer projects at Brooklyn Bridge Park are an exclusive benefit of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy Corporate Membership program at the Corporate Partner Level or above.

Brooklyn Bridge Park can host groups with up to 25 members for corporate volunteer projects. Projects are typically scheduled Tuesdays through Fridays for 3-5 hours. Activities are based on the needs of the park at the time of the scheduled visit. Examples of one-day projects may include planting, mulching, cleaning the coast-line, and installing edging or fencing.

For more information about becoming a Corporate Member, please click here.

Summer Park Survey Volunteers

From June through August, Brooklyn Bridge Park is seeking outgoing volunteers to administer our annual park survey. As one of NYC’s newest parks, it’s important that we collect data about the park’s users. The survey provides essential demographic data, as well as information about how often people visit the park, their favorite aspects of the park, and suggestions for improvement.

This is a great volunteer opportunity for individuals or students interested in public parks or social sciences. Volunteers must be comfortable working outdoors and speaking to the public. Volunteers will be trained and receive a thorough orientation to the park.

We request that volunteers commit to work a minimum of one shift per week.

Weekday & Weekend shifts available; volunteer shifts will last approximately 2-3 hours

Please fill out a volunteer application here.