The Kirkland House Foundation was created in 1992 in order to take a broken down, overgrown and vandalized old house back to its former glory and as close to the original design from 1911. The foundation is 100% volunteer run and operated and we are ALWAYS looking for new people to help out, socialize with and care for this hidden (hopefully not too much longer- tell your friends to picnic here!) gem.
Looking to learn a new skill? Have one to teach? Volunteers meet Wednesdays to work on various projects and have a meeting at 10:30 where coffee and goodies are served. Saturday mornings some volunteers put in extra time on their areas of interest. Contact us at info@kirklandhouse.ca and let us know if you would like to have a tour and try us out. An alternative is to just come on over after 9:00 on a Wednesday. 4140 Arthur Drive, Ladner BC.
All Skill Levels are Welcome
Come learn, play and teach in these areas:
Gardening: In five acre Hawthorne Grove Park, Kirkland House’s gardens take up two full acres. We are ALWAYS in need of more gardeners of ALL levels. Raking, pruning, weeding, trimming, edging, planting and watering. You do not need to know how to do anything as there will be someone there to guide you. Do you have some expertise? Please join us and share your skills.
Woodworking, maintenance, painting, restoration, building, machine and metal work: Our other larger zone of volunteer need is in the building and maintenance of the house, the outbuildings and the garden furniture and features. Like woodworking? Restoring old tools and farm machinery? Think you might like it but don’t know much about it? There is over a century of amazing combined knowledge in the friendly volunteers who have lovingly restored and rebuilt the house and the new Agricultural Display Shed (Which is HUGE). Don’t be shy. These volunteers would gladly pass on their skills to new people.
Model trains: Kirkland House has a hidden secret in the basement: we have a 1/87th (HO) scale model train room complete with a mural of the Coast Mountains. Scale-model cars, trucks, bicycles, boats, people and operating trains make the scenery come alive. The volunteers who are building this gem encourage anyone to join and share their skills and/or learn how to build, operate, and maintain the train layout.
Heritage design, maintenance and styling: The Kirkland House Foundation strives to find early 20th century items with which to decorate the interior of the house, and sometimes the donations we receive need a little update or repair, and continued care. Fresh eyes interested in maintaining the integrity of the design are always welcome!
Digital Assistance: Do you have a certain level of comfort working with technology? Are you confident you can learn new applications? (expert level not required; the ability to learn new digital and social media programs is an asset!) We are actively looking for help with graphic design, printing and social media creation. Interested in helping us create a Facebook presence or create reels and posts for Instagram? Reach out to us!
Exhibit creation and representation: The House’s big event takes place on July 1 for Canada Day. Food, fun, music, cool wooden crafts for the kids and tours of the house are all a part of that day. We need volunteers to help assemble exhibits and represent the house as people tour through and enjoy their day. We hope to expand to other events as well so bring your ideas!
These are a few of the areas where extra help would be appreciated. Don’t be shy if you want to explore and learn something new or put a present skill to work! Remember, this is a volunteer position. There is no expectation for you to do more than you wish. Please forward any enquiries to info@kirklandhouse.ca and we look forward to seeing you.