Volunteer with the RHS

Fancy joining us on a fulfilling adventure with gardening? Lend your skills and passion to our gardens and shows
Find the perfect role for you 

Please note: Better Impact is a third party. When applying for a volunteer role, you are leaving the RHS website, and will be governed by both the RHS and Better Impact’s privacy policies. Please read the Volunteer section in the RHS Privacy Policy.

Volunteering principles

We will ensure that all volunteers have a great experience and their time is well spent. We will value and maximise the vital role that volunteers play in helping the RHS to achieve its strategic goals

  • Volunteers support our charitable aims, enhance the visitor experience and enrich all that we do
  • Volunteers bring a wide range of skills, knowledge and experience to the RHS and help us focus on work and projects we might not otherwise undertake
  • Volunteers bring passion, enthusiasm and energy which motivate colleagues and lift morale
  • ​Volunteers connect us to the local community, enabling us to reach wider audiences, expand our outreach and be a more inclusive, diverse and accessible organisation.

A volunteer showing visitors Herbarium specimens at RHS Hilltop
A volunteer showing visitors Herbarium specimens at RHS Hilltop

Volunteering information

What to consider when you apply:

  • Do you have the skills and experience being requested in the role description?
  • Are you able to travel to the site at which this role is based?
  • Are you able to commit to the frequency of the role as outlined in the role description?
  • Are you open to learning about the RHS and being an ambassador for our organisation?

    What the RHS expects of you:

    We believe that volunteering should be a mutually beneficial experience for both the volunteer and the RHS. All volunteers are expected to follow five principles:

  • There’s always more to learn
  • Collaboration brings us closer
  • Personal responsibility builds trust
  • Be passionate about our purpose
  • Difference makes us stronger

Volunteering highlights

Find out what it’s like to volunteer at the RHS:

RHS celebrates first Lifetime Volunteer

92-year-old Rachel McHugh thinks of RHS Harlow Carr as her own garden after 35 years of volunteering

RHS celebrates first Lifetime Volunteer

Why volunteer at the RHS?

Hear from our volunteers about their experiences of volunteering in different teams at the RHS.

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Volunteer in your community

Discover our national programmes and decide which one is right for you

See community gardening 

More from the RHS

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.