08/06/2025
As Volunteers' Week draws to a close, our Mammals, Reptiles and Education teams would like to say a few words of thanks to their volunteers.
Mammal Keeper James: "On the Mammals team we are blessed with a growing number of volunteers. They join the keepers on their rounds assisting in tasks such as cleaning out the animal houses and paddocks, food preparation and even washing windows. Our longest serving volunteer is Dave who has been assisting us for 17 years and always brings with him his endless humour and can-do attitude. Many of our younger volunteers including Faye, Tegan, Josh, Bobby, Lucy and Alex come from our successful work experience programme. Even though many of them are still at college and work part time they still give up their spare time to come and volunteer with us! We are particularly pleased that even when they go on to their next stage in life, volunteers like Alex still come back during the holidays when home from University.”
James adds: "We would also like to make a special mention of Lucy who has volunteered with us for over a year now, and joins us every week. Lucy has now secured an internship with us after her college course finishes in the summer which is a true testament to her dedication, reliability and keenness to learn and she should be very proud! We are also very lucky to have Jack and Jess help out on the Children's Farmyard once a week. Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers as we celebrate them all this national volunteer week!"
Meg, Section Head of Herpetology, said "We have taken on a few weekly volunteers on the Reptiles Section recently, all of whom are really enthusiastic! As a team, it's great for us and always useful to have an extra pair of hands for any bigger jobs such as enclosure refurbishing or refreshing, or even just to achieve more in the day. We'd like to thank Harry, Maddie and Layla - we're really grateful for all they do to help us out!"
Harriet from our Education Department: "Every week, we have a fantastic team of volunteers who give up their time to help us run our on-site Museum. As a very popular part of the wildlife park, attracting hundreds of visitors on a busy day, we are so grateful for the help of the volunteers to keep the Museum running smoothly! Thanks to Sylvia, Dave, John, Katie, Katherine, as well as Frances, Hollie and Jules who have been helping in the Museum for years. They all do fantastic work engaging with the visitors who come into the Museum, overseeing the handling of artefacts such as Giant Tortoise shells, snakeskin sheds, bird eggs and feathers. They make sure the Museum is clean and tidy and provide a friendly face for all our visitors who come into the Museum. Our volunteers can also sometimes be found in the Goat Walkthrough enclosure on busy days, helping to oversee the visitor-animal interactions which is hugely appreciated by the Mammals team. They also give up their time for 'Dreamnight at the Zoo' by showing our special guests some animal artefacts on the night. Thank you so much to all our Museum volunteers for their hard work and friendly faces!"
Thanks to James, Meg and Harriet for the photos. Most of all, thanks to all our volunteers who help to make the Park such a special place.
