Paignton Zoo

                ENGAGEMENT VOLUNTEER

 Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday Vacancies

We want our visitors to have a great day out when they visit us; our Engagement Volunteers really make a difference by being welcoming and giving our visitors the opportunity to ask questions whilst having some amazing fun facts up their sleeve! You will provide information on animals, plants and key exhibits and be part of the public face of the Zoo.

Objective of volunteer role:

This is a wonderful opportunity to volunteer and spend time in a variety of different areas in the Zoo, chatting with our visitors and inspiring them about our animals.  You’ll raise awareness of conservation and environmental issues and promote projects run by the Zoo and the Wild Planet Trust. You will also help to promote our talks and events and be available to help our visitors with questions relating to their visit. All helping to provide an enjoyable and educational visit to Paignton Zoo.  You can also direct visitors to our online animal talk videos, available by scanning the QR code near enclosures.

Tasks:

Welcoming our visitors to the Zoo, helping them orientate themselves once they exit the main building. Talk to our visitors, impart information about the function of the Zoo as a conservation body, describe the role of species in a given ecosystem, explain the importance of those ecosystems and provide a fun and informative visitor experience. Draw attention to the unique adaptations or conservation issues for selected species. Explain the Zoo’s conservation projects. Where necessary, point out those animals that are hard to spot. Help our visitors interact appropriately with our animals, for e.g. not annoying, feeding or tapping on glass. Answer visitor questions such as: “How do we get to…?” “What time is…?” “Where can I…?” Volunteers may be asked to assist with the angers activities around site.  You will be volunteering in all areas of the zoo which are open to the public. You’ll also provide extra support to our presenters at talks around the Zoo or interact with our visitors in animal / conservation related games. 

Time:

Most volunteers offer a day per week and start from 10:00am; finishing by approx. 4:00pm. This is a flexible role so you can decide on your start and finish times between these times and provide cover in different areas around the zoo between the volunteers who are in on duty on each day to maximise interactions with visitors across the zoo. You may also volunteer on different days in the week.

Mentors / other support available:

Engagement Officer / Engagement Manager / Engagement Ranger / Campaigns and Programmes office manager. (In Campaigns and Programmes building)

PLEASE VISIT THE EDUCATION CENTRE and catch up with Engagement Staff during your duty. 

The Engagement Staff are there to help support you with your volunteer role and will also be able to help answer the animal / plant / zoo-related questions you may have in order to be able to carry out your volunteer duty.

Skills required:

Friendly and confident, at ease speaking to visitors. Flexible, enjoy learning new things. Reliability and regular attendance. We’re not looking for experts, an interest in wildlife and conservation will be developed through training and written fact files. You will be kept up to date on any changes in the departments / enclosures / livestock that are relevant to the public, through catch-ups / meetings / weekly updates / Engagement Volunteer Diary (which we ask you to help keep updated for others to read and keep updated on news). You will need a good general knowledge of the Zoo in order to direct visitors and answer questions, which will, again, be developed through training and being out and about. Many smiles for our visitors!

Information packs and training will be provided along with training events periodically for the role. You will be provided with uniform but please wear comfortable shoes.

Any health and safety requirements:

With you needing to carry out full training for the role. There is a lot of walking and standing involved with this role.

The Engagement Officer / Manager or another member of the Engagement Team will talk you through the Risk Assessment / other health & Safety information for this role

Please note that all volunteers for this role must be aged 18 years or over

Bird department food prep Volunteer

Aim of volunteering role:

Support the bird department with the daily preparation of diets for all species.

Description of the volunteer role is to:

A food preparation volunteer will provide essential support to the bird team. The role involves the preparation of a huge variation of diets that make up both morning and afternoon feeds. Diets are formulated using research and specific species guidelines, and we follow specific diet sheets for each species. This role does not involve working around enclosures or animals, but it is a key role that will help to maintain our animal’s health and welfare.

Department Manager:

Curator of Birds – Pete Smallbones

Where & When:

You will be based at the Avian Breeding Centre (ABC). We could accept volunteers on any day of the week, though currently weekends would be the main priority. Food preparation for the whole department can take over 4 hours in total, though the work is usually split between two people. Therefore it would be beneficial to have a volunteer for a minimum of 2 hours. Food prep usually takes place between 9am – 1pm, so hours can be flexible within that time frame.

Possible tasks you may be asked to do:

Chopping food

The bulk of the diets are made up of fruit, vegetables and pellet. There are also some species that eat day old chicks, mice, rats, fish or meat and this will need to be chopped or prepared as part of the role. Fruit and vegetables are prepared with either knives or a grater and veg is lightly steamed using a microwave. Food is either weighed on scales or measured with a scoop, amounts need to be followed accurately to allow us to monitor food intake and health and welfare.

Cleaning

You will need to clean down your tools and workstations when you come to the end of your day. You may also be asked to help clean other areas of the kitchen such as microwaves, floors or fridges.

Talking to public

The ABC kitchen has windows that allow the public to view the team working, so you must be aware you are visible to public at all times. Staff working in the kitchen are often asked questions through the windows, so ideally you would be confident in politely answering their questions or seeking support where needed. The team will be around to support you and run through the most common questions before you start!

Skills required:

Happy to volunteer alone after initial training; comfortable working with knives; reliable, trustworthy and happy to follow guidance from staff; confident enough to communicate with the team when needed; the ability to adapt to small but regular changes to diet sheets

Materials required:

A uniform will be provided as part of your volunteer induction. You must not wear uniform off site unless required to do so for volunteering purposes. You will need to change into your uniform on site (including footwear), changing out of your uniform / footwear and other items provided by you for use when on duty before you leave.

Any health and safety requirements:

You will be made aware of all relevant health and safety requirements and risk assessments for the duties that you will be carrying out, with you needing to carry out some training for the role. As the ABC is a busy working environment, you will need to be aware of your surroundings at all times and ensure you keep a tidy and safe work area. The ABC is the base for all the birds’ food, which then goes out to all the enclosures. To help ensure good biosecurity, you will be expected to use foot dips as required, wear gloves when required and ensure good standards of hygiene at all times.

Please note that all volunteers for this role must be aged 18 years or over

Please use this form if you are not sure what role you are interested in, or you are interested in multiple roles.