Volunteer opportunities at Earth Sangha

Founded in 1997, the Earth Sangha is a nonprofit public charity based in the Washington, DC, region. Their mission is ecological restoration as a form of socially engaged Buddhism. Volunteers come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and the work is secular and science-based.

In the DC area, they operate a volunteer-based program to propagate local native plants, restore native plant communities, and control invasive alien plants. The Wild Plant Nursery is the region’s most comprehensive effort to propagate native plants directly from local forests and meadows. Nursery and office addresses are different. Click here for directions to the Wild Plant Nursery.

The summer nursery workdays are Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9 AM to Noon.  Please be sure to bring a water bottle and stay hydrated.  There is no indoor space, air conditioning or even fans at the nursery.  Keep a close eye on the volunteer calendar.  For safety reasons, they may have to cancel volunteer workdays and nursery hours on short notice because of high temperatures, poor air quality, and thunderstorms.  Contact Matt Bright, Conservation Manager, to RSVP to volunteer or for questions or concerns at [email protected] or at his cell: 703-859-2951.

Volunteers can help with watering, weeding, pot preparation, transplanting, and sowing seed.  Gloves and tools will be provided.

In addition to environmental work, Earth Sangha hosts weekly meditation sessions in Alexandria, Virginia, along with discussions of what it means to live in a responsible way. These sessions are free and open to all.