What can I do?

Artspace Mackay

The Artspace Mackay volunteers provide an invaluable service to the gallery by staffing our front desk, and keeping visitors informed about the exhibitions, workshops, events and other exciting opportunities and services offered by Artspace Mackay.

Artspace volunteers also provide valuable assistance at exhibition openings and help with preparation and facilitation of public programs and special events.

Find out more about volunteering at Artspace.

Greemount Homestead and Museums

Council maintains four historical centres in the region; Mackay Museum, Sarina Museum, Pioneer Valley Museum, and Greenmount Homestead.

Volunteers across all four historical centres support museum staff by providing engaging tours to visitors and acting as the front-of-house customer service team. They are key players in the successful running of educational programs, workshops, and other special events.

Working together with museum staff, our volunteers provide support with collection care and conservation tasks. Volunteering at Greenmount Homestead and Museums helps volunteers develop new skills, knowledge, and expertise.

*Some volunteer activities may require volunteers to hold a Working with Children Blue Card.

Library Services

Volunteers of the Mackay Regional Council’s Library Services are invaluable and provide assistance with many facets of the day-to-day operations of the region’s local libraries.

From encouraging community awareness by representing the library in the community, to helping with library programs and special events that promote libraries and learning, our volunteers are strong advocates for our libraries.

Our Home Library Service volunteers deliver collection items to eligible library members of the Mackay region who are unable to visit the library. Council's Home Library Service provides a range of library materials to ensure that our members recreation, cultural, educational and entertainment needs are met.

We look forward to hearing from you in the near future and to welcome you as a Friend of Mackay Libraries.

* All volunteers will be required to hold a current Working with Children Blue Card. Our team will assist volunteers in the process.

With the many keen volunteers we have in our region, we currently do not have any general shelving and branch maintenance volunteer vacancies across all our library locations. Please check our website for notification of when general shelving volunteer vacancies become available.

However, if you are interested in assisting in the following areas:

• Home library services
• Literacy volunteers
• Technology help volunteers
• Family history volunteers
• Readers group
• Program presentations and support
• Library promoters

Mackay Region Festival of Arts

The Festival of Arts is a great opportunity for people in the community that have an interest in the festival, events or hospitality fields and would like some hands on experience, or for people that simply love the arts.

There is a range of fantastic events volunteers can be a part of each year and can help by getting involved in stage operations, information services, being an artist host, photography and much more.

Find out more about volunteering at the Mackay Region Festival of Arts.

Friends of the MECC

The Friends of the Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre (MECC) provide ushering services at performances, banquets and expos, and act as ambassadors at conferences and conventions, providing local advice to visitors to our region.

As a Friend of the MECC you will get to work on some of the most exciting events in Mackay, meeting many new friends along the way.

Many of the Friends have been associated with the venue for over 20 years, and the value of the work they have done exceeds the one million dollar mark.

Find out more about volunteering at the MECC.

Natural Environment Activities

Several of the Mackay region’s natural parks and reserves have dedicated Friend’s Groups that hold working bees on a regular basis, undertaking weed control, maintenance and revegetation activities.

A regular program of working bees is also offered as part of the Mackay Coasts and Communities Project to provide opportunities for people to get involved in the sustainable management of coastal areas.

Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens

Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens and Queens Park welcomes people in the community to register their interest to volunteer.

You don’t have to get your hands dirty to volunteer at the gardens. Volunteer opportunities vary throughout the year but can include: nursery activities, gardening duties, photography, customer service in our information centre, administration support and event planning.

For more information, please contact the Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens Visitor Services Officer on 4952 7300.

*Some volunteer activities may require volunteers to hold a Working with Children Blue Card.

Mackay Natural Environment Centre

The Mackay Natural Environment Centre (MNEC) nursery specialises in local Central Queensland provenance plants for rehabilitation, revegetation and water sensitive urban design projects from the rainforest to the coast.

The nursery propagates over 100,000 plants each year, follows Best Management Practice Guidelines and is accredited by the Nursery Industry Accreditation Scheme, Australia (NIASA).

The MNEC is run by a dedicated team of council staff and volunteers, growing a wide range of local native garden plants for Mackay Regional Council’s Free Native Plant Program and other projects across the region.

MNEC welcomes volunteers on Tuesdays and Thursdays, offering a range of activities including:

• Seed collection and sorting
• Propagation of local native plants
• Nursery maintenance tasks
• Weed control
• Field trips to key sites to learn about and get involved in land management activities such as revegetation

For more information or if you are interested in volunteering, please email MNEC or call 1300 MACKAY (622 529).

Orchid House

Volunteers at the Ken Burgess Orchid House are a friendly and welcoming face to visitors as they enter the display house.

Volunteers do not need to be orchid experts; staff and other volunteers are happy to share their knowledge with volunteers. Volunteers will welcome visitors, undertake some basic housekeeping duties within the display house and restock brochures as required.

For more information, please contact the Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens Visitor Services Officer on phone 07 4952 7300.

Sarina Sugar Shed

Volunteer at the Sarina Sugar Shed and help our visitors have a great experience, plus contribute to our region’s tourism industry for the benefit of the local community.

There are many aspects of the Sugar Shed that volunteers can be involved in, including the retail store, the café, the kitchen, the distillery, and general maintenance.

Full training is provided, and fixed shifts across flexible times are available over a seven-day working week.

*Sarina Sugar Shed is currently at full volunteer capacity and is not taking new volunteers. We will keep you updated and look forward to welcoming you to the facility soon.