McLaughlin Garden is a place to cultivate your interest in horticulture, gardening, historic preservation, and the environment; it is a place to discover and renew your relationship to the natural world. Volunteers are an essential part of the equation at the garden and key to the success of our ongoing educational programs and general day to day services offered to the public. Volunteers are utilized in various ways depending on interests and level of skill.
Why Volunteer?
- Increase your horticultural knowledge and gardening skills
- Make new friends and meet people with similar interests
- Discover new interests and abilities
- Participate in the preservation of one of the most popular visitor destinations in Western Maine
- Enrich your life, have fun and get your hands dirty
Volunteer Projects at McLaughlin Garden:
- Welcome visitors
- Plant, weed, water, and prune
- Help out in the library
- Assist customers in the gift shop
- Assist staff with office work
- Help manage herbarium collection
- Work on special events
- Help with educational programs
McLaughlin Garden provides a unique opportunity for volunteering. For more information on how you can join our volunteer team please visit or call the garden:
McLaughlin Garden
97 Main Street
Phone: 207-743-8820
Click here to email us.
McLaughlin Garden Internship Program
Resume, Cover Letter & List of References
ADDRESS COVER LETTERS TO:
Intern Search
McLaughlin Garden
South Paris, Maine 04281
Two 12-week positions available. Compensation: $2,000 and housing
Garden Internship: (May 15–Aug 15)
Responsibilities include: general garden maintenance of a two acre perennial garden; assisting garden manager with the implementation of garden master plan; inventory and documentation of collections, assisting with volunteer coordination and some program set-up. Housing is provided in historic home. One large room, shared bath and use of kitchen facilities. McLaughlin Garden is busy in the summer, so interns need to be comfortable around people, and willing to work in a flexible, collaborative environment.
Education Internship: (June 1–August 31)
Responsibilities include: assisting with planning and conducting of a 7 week (9 hours/week) children's nature program. Topics include birds, bugs, reptiles, plants, gardens, weather, etc. incorporating art and games along the way. The education intern will also help out in the garden and with adult visitors. Housing is provided in historic home. One large room, shared bath and use of kitchen facilities. McLaughlin Garden is busy in the summer so interns need to be comfortable around people, and willing to work in a collaborative environment.
Garden Information:
A tranquil three acre perennial garden and arboretum created by one man over the course of sixty years, McLaughlin Garden has been a favorite place to visit for gardeners from all over the northeast. The garden is known for its extensive lilac, wildflower, hosta, sedum, sempervivum, daylily, astilbe, and iris collections. Built on open pasture next to a handsome 1840s farmstead, the garden has a true Maine flavor. For the past five years, the readers of People, Places & Plants magazine have voted McLaughlin Garden their "Favorite Public Garden." The McLaughlin Foundation was formed in 1996 to rescue the garden and farmstead from commercial sale. We have an Executive Director and a Garden Manager, and a large volunteer crew to assist with the garden, café, and gift shop. There is a live-in caretaker on site. The garden is open and free to the public seven days per week during the summer; over 10,000 people visit annually. The garden is situated directly on Main Street (Route 26) in South Paris, Maine. Portland is one hour south; beaches are approximately 1.5 hours away, as are the White Mountains.
