Since its inception, a core part of the Conservancy’s mission has been to recruit and deploy enthusiastic volunteers in Washington Square Park in service to this vibrant community space. What began a decade ago with occasional community days has now blossomed into a thriving and diverse volunteer program, with over 200 volunteers contributing 1600 hours in 2021 — despite a still-raging pandemic. With 2022 drawing near to an end, we can’t wait to see how the numbers shake out for this year! As the community has gotten more involved and engaged in giving back to the Park, WSPC has tailored the available opportunities to provide as many different and exciting ways to contribute as people want to tackle. As the Conservancy celebrates its 10-Year Anniversary, we’re looking back over a decade of dedication from WSP’s wonderful volunteers and remembering the journey from where our volunteer efforts began to where they are today.

It started simply, with “It’s My Park! Day,” a roughly once-a-month opportunity for anyone in the community that wanted to pitch in for a few hours. It was one of the early projects of the Conservancy’s first (and at the time, only) staffer, the executive director/Park Administrator. Unsurprisingly, the days were a hit and the community quickly showed a deep interest in giving back to Washington Square Park. Neighbors didn’t shy away from raking leaves, picking up trash, or planting bulbs. And now the Monthly Clean Ups are a highlight of the Conservancy’s spring and summer lineup. Beginning in May, join us on the second weekend of each month (alternating between Saturdays and Sundays) and get to work.

Not long after the clean ups took shape it became apparent that a number of volunteers were itching for more rigorous and regular gardening opportunities than the once-a-month schedule was providing. And so the Conservancy’s first committed program was born: the Wednesday Weeders. Unlike the Clean Ups which is just a 60-minute commitment, the Weeders require an orientation process and sign up to work side-by-side with the Park’s gardeners for a full volunteering season, about six months. The Weeders are still hard at work in the Park and have become an integral part of the maintenance of the Park’s landscapes. What started as just a handful of eager urban gardeners has grown into 29 today, including 4 from the original cohort!

While the first committed program grew organically from the community clean up days, the second was a stroke of inspiration…that required a bit more work. In a space with as much vibrant life as WSP it made sense to deploy volunteers out into the Park to interact with the community. There’s so much to learn about Washington Square, from history and horticulture to all the events going on in the warmer months, and we wanted to help Park-goers interact with all that information. So recruitment for the Greeter/Guide program began. The most intensive of the committed programs, Greeter-Guides get rigorous training to turn them into Park experts before venturing out with the WSPC Welcome Wagon to spread their knowledge. It’s no surprise that a community like Greenwich Village has turned out some inquisitive and eager volunteers who’ve thrived in their roles.

It can sometimes be a challenge for the Conservancy’s small staff of three to keep up with burgeoning volunteer interest, but it also allows us to remain nimble. We have the ability to change and develop volunteer opportunities as the needs of the Park and the interests of the community shift. When people started expressing interest in taking photos of the Park, our third committed program for Photography Volunteers began. The work they produce has quickly become an essential part of the Conservancy’s regular communications (all the images in this article were taken by Photography Volunteers!), so while initially the program began to fulfill a community request it has also become integral to furthering the Conservancy’s mission. It also resulted in some truly spectacular images of this iconic Park. 

When the Monthly Clean Ups became more popular, we extended the hours and added multiple shifts to accommodate additional volunteers. And when the world changed during COVID, we implemented masking, contact tracing, and social distancing policies to allow nearly all our volunteers to continue their work.

COVID made maintaining the Park a bigger challenge than ever, as a hiring freeze left the maintenance crew short of its seasonal workers and thousands of people used WSP as their socializing hub. Recognizing the need for more hands, the Conservancy started our newest committed program, the Clean Team. Clean Team members come to the Park individually or in pairs on their own schedule and spend time walking around with a trash can, broom and grabber, tidying things up. “They’re a huge help,” says DeAndre, a Conservancy-supported maintenance worker. “When I know there’s a volunteer walking the pathways I can focus on emptying the cans and cleaning the bathrooms. The more of us there are, the more that can get done.” 

Washington Square Park is a community space, and in a neighborhood like Greenwich Village it’s no surprise that the community strives to give back to its Park. The Conservancy is proud to offer a wide variety of opportunities for all ages and abilities. One of the best ways you can support your Park is to give it your time and energy. A decade into supporting Washington Square Park, and we’re still innovating new ways to help people give back. 

Want to join the effort? Sign up for our volunteer email list to receive notifications about upcoming opportunities, or sign up for our May Clean Up now!