Volunteering at Franklin Park Conservatory

     Franklin Park Conservatory (FPC) is a botanical garden and educational institution in Columbus, Ohio that features a large variety of rare and exotic plants as well as the largest private Chihuly art collection in a botanical garden. It also happens to be my favorite place to volunteer when I get the chance. I began volunteering at FPC in 2019 and try to put in a few hours every time I am home. It is truly such a unique place and I often forget that I am in Ohio when I am there. Every volunteer shift brings new opportunities, and this past shift was no different.

    Over fall break, I volunteered for a total of four hours and spent that time carving pumpkins. The pumpkins are to be featured in FPC's fall special event titled Pumpkins Aglow. The event happens for three weeks in October and features over 300 carved pumpkins. The most unique aspect, however, is that the carved pumpkins get switched out every week. This means that I and other volunteers are hard at work carving as many pumpkins as possible to match the themes of the different areas of the park. It is such a unique opportunity and I am so thankful to be a part of it!