The Garden Visits Committee is a group of energetic and passionate volunteers who organise the popular and successful series of garden visits that have been part of the Museum’s events programme since 2011. We are very proud of the contribution our profits make to the funding of the museum.
We are looking for two new members to join us.
Being a Committee Member
Being a committee member is a fantastic way to support the museum and contribute to fundraising to ensure its future.
It is an excellent opportunity to develop a network of contacts within garden design and horticulture as well as meeting the owners and makers of some very interesting and beautiful gardens.
The committee is made up of individuals from very different backgrounds, we bring skills and experience that compliment each other wonderfully well and are all equally committed to delivering really rather good days out.
As a specialist volunteer role we are looking for individuals who can bring experience and knowledge in the following areas:
- · Strong organisational capability
- · The ability to write engaging descriptions of the visit days
- · An understanding of garden design and / or horticulture
- · A reasonably good working knowledge of plants
It is important that members have access to their own transport.
Remuneration
The role is an unpaid voluntary position. However, committee members are entitled to claim expenses from the museum for travel relating to organising and delivering visits.
Organising a visit
Organising a day means getting in touch with owners, seeking their agreement and support – their generosity and willingness to be involved speaks volumes about how highly regarded the museum is. Then there are head gardeners, perhaps designers, the odd plant nursery, lunch venues and coach hire companies to co-ordinate.
Reconnaissance is vital – we need to be familiar with each venue, so every garden, nursery, restaurant or pub is visited before we finalise the day. As we usually encourage our customers to join us on a small coach, we have all become well-versed in considering the practicalities of negotiating winding roads and coach parking.
We need to capture our customers’ interest so writing a piece to describe each day and getting permission to use those great photographs you see on the website is our final task. We are very lucky to have on our team a professional journalist, who gives their time to check we have ‘crossed all the t’s and dotted all the i’s’. We pride ourselves on getting the visits on sale in early December, as they make great Christmas gifts.
Each of us will lead the visits we organise, assisted by another committee member; we escort a group of 25 to 30 people. We have some loyal customers who regularly come on nearly all our visits and there is also a joy in meeting people who have just discovered them for the first time. As you can imagine, we spend a lot of time on the day making sure that we are on schedule and that we have everyone, but there is always time to discuss the gardens and help with identifying a plant or two, if we can! Our aim is always to make the days sociable and enjoyable.
Commitment
1.5 days per month average
The committee meets 6-7 times per annum for approximately two hours, half of these meetings take place at the Garden Museum and half online.
The committee members lead one visit day and act as second lead on another one each year. Planning and organising one visit takes approximately 6 days work.
Application Process
If you are interested in joining the GVC please email a short expression of interest of no more than two pages to recruitment@gardenmuseum.org.uk by 10am on Monday 30 November 2023.
Informal interviews will be held between 13-20 December.