Teens can sign up for youth service with Morton Arboretum
The Morton Arboretum in Lisle offers a variety of youth service opportunities.
While most volunteers are over the age of 21, there are options for teens and youth to contribute.
The selection process for the Youth Volunteer Program takes place in April of each year. For information, contact youthvolunteers@mortonarb.org.
The program is for youth entering seventh, eighth, or ninth grade in the fall of 2021, who enjoy being outdoors, working with children, and/or gardening.
The program is intended to be a multiple year experience as volunteers may return to the program each summer through high school.
The season each year is June-August, with some branches serving optional fall weekends. Most branches have weekday daytime shifts, however the Naturalist branch offers weekend daytime shifts.
Volunteers in the Naturalist branch facilitate activities and interact with Children's Garden family visitors; new applicants may apply.
For the Gardener branch, teens assist in planting, maintaining and harvesting from trees and plants in the Children's Garden; new applicants may apply.
In the Science Camp, teen volunteers interact with camp staff to deliver informal nature-based curriculum for summer science camp participants. This program is open only to youth volunteers with at least one year experience.
For the Tree Monitor branch, teens monitor trees for seasonal events like flowering, fruiting, and fall color to understand how to protect species from the impacts of climate change. It is open only to youth volunteers with at least one year experience.
Scout Projects are offered year round. Morton Arboretum welcomes a limited number of Eagle Scout and Gold Award candidate projects annually. For more information contact volunteer@mortonarb.org.
Sponsorship support for the Youth Volunteer Program is provided by U.S. Bank, BP, and International Paper.
To learn more about these youth service opportunities, visit www.mortonarb.org/join-support/volunteer/youth-volunteers.