Volunteer opportunities at the University and Jepson Herbaria!

There are currently three types of volunteer opportunities that are available in the Herbaria.

1. Weekday volunteers (anytime between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.)
2. Friday mornings (9:00 a.m. - noon)
3. Weekend volunteers (specific Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.)

Each program is described in more detail below.

WEEKDAY VOLUNTEERS

Working with the Collections Management team, volunteers are engaged in a number of interesting projects including mounting, databasing, and sorting specimens. We will try to match your unique interests, abilities, and schedule to one of the numerous curatorial projects that we have.

Please contact Ana Penny (apenny@berkeley.edu) for more details (510) 642-2465.

FRIDAY VOLUNTEERS (cryptogamic specimens)

An un-accessioned specimen is not useful to anyone. Once a specimen is digitized and accessioned, the specimen and its associated data become available to researchers, students, taxonomists, artists, and the general public. Our amazing cryptogam volunteer cadre is going to help to make thousands of such specimens available. The Cryptogam Volunteer program at UC/JEPS focuses on the lichen and bryophyte collections. If you are interested in learning more about lichens and bryophytes, this is a great opportunity for you, and no prior knowledge or experience is necessary! Volunteer tasks include preparing paper packets, gluing labels, adding barcodes, and repackaging specimens. We meet every Friday from 9 a.m. to Noon in the Herbarium Conference Room.

If you are interested in joining our cryptogam volunteer program, please email Dr. Klara Scharnagl (lichen_curator@berkeley.edu).

WEEKEND VOLUNTEERS

One Saturday of each month is a Group Volunteer Day in the Herbaria, in which we hope to welcome back participants from previous years and greet a diversity of new faces. Our focus will be chipping away at the unmounted backlog of pressed plant collections, from California and around the world, some brand new, some decades old. Expect a diversity of "buried treasures" to come to light, primarily new records of noteworthy plants. Volunteers are greatly needed to mount, sort and file these collections. As well, assist with any other related projects. No previous herbarium experience is necessary but a level of dexterity and attention to detail is valued.

The Volunteer Saturday dates for Spring 2025 are as follows:

February 22nd,  March 22nd,  April 12th,  May 17th.

Group Volunteer Saturday begins at 10:00 a.m. and finishes up by 4:00 p.m. (participants don’t need to stay the full time).

Please contact Ana Penny (apenny@berkeley.edu) for more details (510) 642-2465.

GETTING HERE

The University and Jepson Herbaria are in the Valley Life Science Building on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley. The entrance is on the ground floor of the atrium, in front of the Tyrannosaurus rex. The central Berkeley BART station is convenient, as are numerous bus lines. Free parking can generally be found along the streets north of campus (posted 2-hour time limit is in effect only on weekdays).