Volunteer at Kew Gardens - Herbarium

Introducing Kew's Herbarium

Kew's Herbarium offers a series of opportunities for volunteers with either its regional teams, that work in specific geographical areas, or its basic research teams, whose work is centred on systematic botany (i.e. comparative plant biology). Other sections include the GIS Unit that is responsible for mapping (both vegetation and species) and the UK Overseas Territories Programme which carries out conservation and biodiversity research.

The main goals of Kew’s research are to define the units of plant diversity (species and higher categories) and organise them into meaningful classifications that reflect their evolutionary relationships. We then apply that knowledge to conservation science. This work generates vital basic data for habitat and plant conservation and sustainable development strategies.

Volunteer opportunities

The volunteering opportunities available in Kew's Herbarium involve handling delicate specimens, data basing, geo-referencing, scanning, indexing, labeling, managing loan returns, cataloguing, printing labels, filing, laying specimens in the correct location, literature research, curation, and information compilation, among many other interesting tasks.

You will enjoy this role if you have:

• a passion for plants and conservation
• a background in biology and/or taxonomy
• computer/IT skills
• manual dexterity for handling specimens.

Current Opportunities - No specific volunteering opportunities are currently available.

How to apply

We recommend that applications are made for specific volunteering opportunities as advertised above. However, general applications will be held on file and we will be in touch if appropriate opportunities arise.

Please complete the application form and return it to our Herbarium Volunteer Co-ordinator.

Amélia B. Baracat (Volunteer Co-ordinator)
Herbarium Department
RBG, Kew
Richmond
Surrey
TW9 3AB

• Download application form (Pdf)

Thank you for your interest in volunteering at Kew Gardens.