Conservation at the CGC

Our Hauck Botanic Garden home was once the eight-acre estate of Cornelius Hauck, who built this public garden during the first half of the twentieth century when nearby natural spaces and farmland were rapidly developed as part of the growing Cincinnati metropolis. Today, we continue this legacy of preserving public greenspaces in urban areas by using our grounds as an outdoor land lab to educate people of all ages on the importance of nature in our urban environments.

Our grounds boast a wide variety of native plants that you can come and enjoy in all seasons. We also host field trips for students, classes, workshops and regular volunteer activities here at Hauck. There’s no better way to learn than to get your hands dirty! Here are a few ways to get involved.

Volunteer at Hauck

Hauck is largely maintained through the support of volunteers. Each week, volunteers work in the gardens planting, weeding and doing other garden maintenance activities as the season and grounds require. We make every volunteer event educational by taking time to explain methods and techniques, look at interesting bugs, learn about the plants we’re installing or answer questions. (Did we mention that active volunteers can take select CGC classes for free or at a reduced cost?) Sign up for our Horticulture Team to stay in the loop.

Help with ReRooted

Our native plant propagation program, ReRooted, grows native plants from seed. Volunteers take part in each step of the propagation process—and get to learn tips and tricks for cultivating native plants along the way! The plants we grow are sold to community members during our Fall Native Plant Sale, planted on our grounds, used in local restoration projects and donated to local school and community gardens. Sign up for our Horticulture Team to stay in the loop.

Visit & Learn

We’re located in Hauck Botanic Gardens, a Cincinnati Park that’s open to the public seven days a week from dawn to dusk. Visitors have the opportunity to explore beautiful gardens featuring native plants, green infrastructure installations, our on-site vegetable garden and unique plant specimens. You can also plan your visit around a class, guided tour or volunteer workday for a deeper experience! Visit our calendar to see what’s coming up.