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The arboretum announced its first volunteer training program in two years, inviting people to help with gardening, nursery work or curating.

“Our volunteers are the heart and soul of this organization,” said Kathleen Socolofsky, the director. “Without them the place of education, beauty and respite the arboretum has become for our regional community would not exist.”

The first step to becoming a volunteer is an orientation class, scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 12. Preregistration is required, after which arboretum staff will advise where the orientation will be held.

Registration information is available , or by telephone, (530) 752-4880, or email, arboretum@ucdavis.edu. Prospective volunteers are asked to fill out an aopplication form and an interest sheet, both available ,

Specialized training will be held on later dates for each category of volunteer.

The arboretum is seeking volunteers from the campus and the community at large. The existing volunteer corps includes college students and retirees, and all ages in between.

Volunteers work in teams — each one usually meets from 9 a.m. to noon, one day a week — to assist the arboretum’s horticultural and curatorial staff with gardening, nursery propagation, nursery caretaking and plant curation. Experience in any of these areas is a plus, but not required.

“My knowledge of plant propagation was limited when I began,” said Terry Davison, a �ٺ���Ƶ retiree who serves as a plant propagation volunteer. “One of the bonuses of being a propagator is the opportunity to learn more about plants and gardening. The nursery manager has taught us about seed germination and dormancy as well as about pruning trees, shrubs and perennials.”

The arboretum is recruiting for these volunteer positions:

• Gardeners — They work on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday mornings to help maintain and beautify the arboretum gardens. Each team focuses on a different section of the arboretum. Specialized training dates: Wednesdays, Jan. 16-Feb. 13.

• Nursery propagators — They learn propagation techniques and grow plants for arboretum sales and collections, and help prepare the nursery for plant sales. Specialized training dates: Thursdays, Jan. 17-Feb. 14.

• Nursery caretakers — They tend the nursery growing area at arboretum headquarters. Specialized training dates: Thursdays, Jan. 24-Feb. 14.

• Curators — They verify plant taxonomy, assist with research requests, catalog new acquisitions, record new plantings and update the arboretum’s GIS (geographic information system) maps. Specialized training dates: Thursdays, Jan. 24-Feb. 14.

MORE AT THE ARBORETUM

• Folk Music Jam Sessions — Pull out your fiddles, guitars, mandolins, penny whistles, pipes, flutes, squeezeboxes — you name it! — and join your fellow musicians during the lunch hour for a little bluegrass, old-time, blues, Celtic, klezmer and other world music. All skill levels welcome. Listeners, too! Noon-1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4 and 18, .

• Winter Birds in Davis — Photo slide show highlighting birds that you might see in the arboretum in the winter. Then, weather permitting, join an arboretum docent for a birdwatching tour. 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, 146 Environmental Horticulture.    
 
• Audacious Aussies and Curious Kiwis — A docent-led tour of the arboretum collections from “down under," highlighting unusual features of these plants from Australia and New Zealand. 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, meet at the Wyatt Deck.

SPRING PLANT SALES

The schedule comprises three Saturday sales and one on Sunday, each from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Arboretum Teaching Nursery.

The season begins with the Member Sale, Saturday, March 9. Not a member? No worries — you can join at the gate!

The other three sales are open to the public:

• Saturday, April 6
• Sunday, April 28
• Saturday, May 18

All programs are free and open to the public. More information: (530) 752-4880 or (for directions, click on “Plan Your Visit”). Keep up with arboretum news by reading The Leaflet e-newsletter. To start receiving it, send an email to arboretum@ucdavis.edu, with “newsletter” in the subject line.