National Volunteer Week
Berkeley Lab Volunteers Across the Bay Area for National Volunteer Week and Earth Day
This April, the Lab’s Government & Community Relations Office celebrated National Volunteer Week and Earth Day by participating in service activities across the Bay Area.
STEM Frenzy
Lab volunteers hosted a booth at the 3rd annual STEM Frenzy Festival, where visitors learned about internship opportunities. They also learned about circuits and electricity by playing our banana piano! STEM Frenzy, a San Francisco-based organization with a mission to inspire the next generation of diverse STEM professionals by providing access to STEM education in underserved communities.
REAP Climate Center
Lab volunteers partnered with the REAP Climate Center, a new non-profit in Alameda that’s dedicated to supporting scalable, nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change while also supporting the health and resilience of our planet's ecosystems.
Trees for Oakland
On a sunny Sunday, Lab volunteers met in East Oakland to plant trees on the median along Bancroft Avenue. This activity was in partnership with Trees for Oakland, which strives to make Oakland lusher and more beautiful, with better air quality that leads to the improved well-being of people who live, work, and visit the city.
The Gardens at Lake Merritt
A hidden jewel in Oakland, the Gardens at Lake Merritt is a 7-acre collection of themed gardens in the heart of the city that was established more than a half-century ago. Volunteers spent a morning at the Gardens, doing weeding, composting, mulching, planting and other beautification projects in the Oakland-Fukuoka Sister City Garden, the Sundial Garden area and the Succulent Garden.
Oakland Zoo
On the last Saturday in April, volunteers participated in an Earth Month event at the Oakland Zoo, focused on planting for pollinators. In collaboration with the Lab’s Sustainable Gardening Club, the Community Relations team hosted a booth where visitors could read about Lab research related to pollinators, test their pollinator knowledge, and learn about internship opportunities. Visitors also engaged in a hands-on activity that focused on how to help declining pollinator populations, by planting seed starters that are attractive to pollinators.
