Getting Involved

Help restore Portland’s Western Cemetery by spending some of your spare time with the Stewards of the Western Cemetery, Inc., an all-volunteer organization.

Saturday morning work sessions

From mid-May to mid-October, we meet starting at 8:30 AM every Saturday, weather permitting, to locate, document, clean, repair, and re-set grave markers. We gather at the toolbox inside the maintenance entry on Vaughan Street. We offer you training, tools, and materials for cleaning, epoxy repairs, fine mortar filling of cracks, and resetting of pinned tablets. For this kind of work, contact Peter@WesternCemetery.me

landscaping

If your interest is landscaping, we are working to remove invasives—particularly black swallowwort and garlic mustard—and relic-threatening saplings from the cemetery’s 12 acres. You can also help counter trail erosion and, in time, help install native plants. This work is also usually carried out Saturday mornings. If interested, contact Peter@WesternCemetery.me

capital campaign & fundraising

We are engaged in a one-time capital campaign to raise $250,000 to create all the infrastructure proposed in the cemetery’s master plan. We also sustain about $10,000 in annual expenses for hiring a professional conservator, paying premiums for directors’ insurance, and buying tools and materials. If you are interested in donating, please follow this link. If you are interested in helping to raise these funds, please contact John@WesternCemetery.me

grant writing

If you are interested in grant writing, accounting, or financial management, Sam@WesternCemetery.me is the contact.

social media

If you are apt and interested in social media, let us know. You could help with needed publicity for our workdays, tours, news updates, and special events. To learn more, contact John@WesternCemetery.me

tour volunteer

As a tour volunteer, you will be trained to lead one-hour walks through the cemetery. Tours are typically offered at 2 pm Sundays. They touch on the cemetery’s history and significance, interesting individuals buried there, its landscape, and future plans. Contact Kip@WesternCemetery.me if you’re interested in becoming a tour guide in this nationally significant cemetery.

historical information

And if you are interested in gathering historical information, you can help collect, store and disseminate facts and photos about those buried on the grounds. The contact here is also Kip@WesternCemetery.me