Blog

Vol­un­teer­ing on Gov­er­nors Island

Jul 28, 2017 3:05 pm

As New York City’s most inno­v­a­tive green space with 172 acres to care for and over 600,000 vis­i­tors to wel­come each sea­son, we rely on the pow­er of vol­un­teers! Our vol­un­teers are essen­tial in help­ing us meet the rig­or­ous demands of car­ing for the Island’s new and his­toric land­scapes and cre­at­ing won­der­ful expe­ri­ences for vis­i­tors. With options for var­i­ous inter­ests and ages, the vol­un­teer pro­gram on Gov­er­nors Island offers some­thing for every­one. Our ​“Island Ambas­sadors” wel­come and inform vis­i­tors, ​“Gov­er­nors Gar­den­ers” lend their green thumbs to help care for the Island’s beau­ti­ful lawns, flowerbeds, mead­ows and trees, and our newest vol­un­teer oppor­tu­ni­ty-tour guides-learn the his­to­ry of the Island and lead vis­i­tors on tours, point­ing out impor­tant land­marks and telling the sto­ry of this vibrant civic space. 

So far this sea­son vol­un­teers have con­tributed a total of 5,653 hours gar­den­ing, pro­vid­ing vis­i­tor ser­vices and guid­ing tours on the Island! That’s the equiv­a­lent of $130,019 worth of ser­vice! Not only do we rely on vol­un­teers to help keep the Island beau­ti­ful, they also fos­ter a strong sense of community. 

Bruce, who has been vol­un­teer­ing on Gov­er­nors Island since 2011, is an inte­gral part of this com­mu­ni­ty and an ambas­sador for the Island who has been instru­men­tal in help­ing us launch our new vol­un­teer tour guide pro­gram. A long-time his­to­ry buff, Bruce enjoys explor­ing New York City by bike to learn the city’s his­to­ry. When Gov­er­nors Island opened to the pub­lic in 2005, he incor­po­rat­ed the Island into his bike route and lat­er began vol­un­teer­ing here. Today, Bruce vol­un­teers reg­u­lar­ly at both the Friends and the Nation­al Park Ser­vice, shar­ing his wealth of knowl­edge with vis­i­tors on tours. This year, he worked close­ly with the Friends staff to launch our new vol­un­teer tour guide pro­gram, cre­at­ing the talk­ing points and train­ing new vol­un­teers. ​“Vol­un­teer­ing on GI com­bines so many things that used to be just pleas­ant hob­bies for me into a use­ful resource that I’m proud to share…It’s been espe­cial­ly grat­i­fy­ing to help the Friends start their vol­un­teer tour guide pro­gram, which has attract­ed a diverse group of new vol­un­teers who share my enthu­si­asm for GI’s his­to­ry and future development.” 

Thank you to Bruce, and to all our vol­un­teers, for their hard work! 

Want to get involved? Learn more about sup­port­ing Gov­er­nors Island by becom­ing a vol­un­teer or mem­ber.