San Francisco Botanical Garden Docent & Volunteer Forum

There are still some Pipevine Swallowtail Caterpillars near the reservoir in the California Native Garden, also you'll see the butterflies flying around, not a lot, but some.

When you become a Docent you get to go on trips around the Bay Area for some enrichments. We had a private tour of the Japanese Tea Garden, just across the way from the SF Botanical Garden, it was such a nice tour and we learned so many facts that the general public doesn't know. Think about joining us and come on some great trips and hear knowledgeable speakers and tour guides from all over.

Being a children's walk docent is so satisfying, and makes you keep learning yourself to keep up with them! It's a great feeling knowing you're helping children to be future stewards of this planet, to give them the tools to be kind to all animals & plants, actually showing them that we are all connected, the web of life is what joins us all, this is one topic we teach. Showing children what decomposers look like and educating them on the importance of each and every insect in our world, explaining that we all have a job to do together. If we teach children to respect nature then there's a better chance that these future people will make better decisions for our planet too. -Tracy Thatcher (Docent)

In case you haven't heard, the milkweed is full of monarch caterpillars right now, there are some located at the intersection of the conifer pond and Mesoamerican Cloud forest, heading up the path towards the restrooms, on the left hand side.

One of the best enrichments is when we have the history of plants, this is when the stories of a plant come to life! It seems almost all plants have some sort of story or history behind it, here is Donna and Helen doing a "Fact Sheet" tour, sharing their knowledge with the Docents, just another great perk!