Friends of the Regional Park Botanic Garden, Tilden Park, Berkeley

Our docent training program offers a unique opportunity to learn about the plants of California in a spectacular setting and then give something back to the community by leading tours. Botanic Garden docents are volunteer educators who promote the garden's mission of preserving our rich native plant heritage by helping school children and other visitors understand and appreciate California plant life.

Docent training is offered each year in fall through winter. There are 20 weekly sessions held on Tuesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Botanic Garden. The fee for the course is $135, and scholarships are available.

Docent training covers a comprehensive array of topics including basic botany and plant identification, plant geography, pollination, ethnobotany, and interpretive techniques, and prepares docents to lead tours in the garden. Each session features a lecture/slide show followed by a walk in the garden.

Being a docent has many benefits, including continuing education classes and field trips as well as the wonderful rewards of sharing a child's joy of discovery or a visitor's enthusiasm. No prior experience or knowledge is necessary--just a desire to learn and share. Docents may choose to lead tours on weekdays or weekends or both.

For more information or to sign up for the next docent training course, contact Glenn Keator at gkeator@aol.com or (510) 527-9802.

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