Volunteer Updates & Opportunities
Save the Date!
I finalized dates for some Volunteer Events and I want to make sure you mark your calendars!
Summer Fun – Smores and Story Telling
Many of you have been asking for opportunities to visit and socialize with other Volunteers and I am excited to say that we have a few experiences on the books. Over the 3 Summer Months, June, July & August, we will have monthly after hours events here at the Zoo. These events will host a variety of BTS Building Tours, Nighttime Strolls through an Empty Zoo, Stories around the Campfire and more. Below you will find the dates for these events, additional information and sign ups available in MVP next Friday!
- June 6th
- July 18th
- August 1st
Volunteer End of Year Celebration
Thursday, October 19th, has been reserved for our Year-End Celebration! Mark your calendars now so you have the date on hold. The evening will be filled with Food, Fun and Friends! This event will require that you have completed and logged at least 50 volunteer hours this year. RSVP will open closer to the event.
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Bourbon Flights Volunteers
A Special Thank You to all the Volunteers who helped with the Bourbon Flights Event! IT was a HUGE success and we couldn’t have done it without you! If you are interested in volunteering for events in the future, make sure to keep your eye on your e-mail for opportunities. The Next Sign up will be mid June for the Wild About Wine Event in August!
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Doug Feist Tribute
This Past Monday the Development Team hosted a Beautiful Event to celebrate the opening of our new Carousel. Last Year the Zoo Family lost an individual who was very close to the hearts of many Volunteers, Doug Feist. Doug’s contributions to the Zoo were many and before his retirement he had spent several years as the Captain at the Helm of the Volunteer Educator Program (Currently the Habitat Ambassadors). After his passing many volunteers contributed funds that were used to assist Doug’s family (pictured below) sponsor one of our Carousel Animals, the Golden Eagle. Any Volunteer who contributed to the memorial fund was invited to the event and we had a lovely celebration!
Thank you to everyone who sent photos with “Doug’s Eagle”, it certainly seems to be the perfect tribute!
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Volunteer Opportunities Accepting Applications
Currently there are a few departments accepting applications for new Volunteers. If you were looking for additional ways to get involved, see the opportunities below:
- Garden Engagement Volunteer
- Volunteer Divers
- Have you ever dreamed about helping the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden assist the animals in our care? The volunteer SCUBA divers provide valuable support to our keepers and the animals by helping to maintain exhibits to the high standards required by the American Zoological Association (AZA).
- Position Requirements:
- Our volunteer divers must meet CZBG and OSHA safety qualifications/requirements, including:
- Certified Open Water Diver
- PADI, NAUI, SSI, YMCA, etc…
- 1-Year Experience Minimum
- 25 Dive Minimum
- Current Documentation
- CPR/First Aid/AED Certification
- COVID Vaccination and Booster, including the bivariant booster
- TB Test with Negative Result within the Last year*
- Medical History Form and Doctor’s Clearance*
- Liability Waiver*
- Click Here for the Volunteer Diver Application
- Zoo Volunteer Observer (ZVO)
- Zoo Volunteer Observers (ZVO)complete animal observations remotely and in person for various reasons, including birth watch and behavior. While assisting with these watches, volunteers are asked to complete 4-hour shifts that can be scheduled 24 hours/day. While completing these observations, volunteers are asked to take detailed notes and observe for behavior changes.
- Click Here for the Full Position Description
- Click Here for the ZVO Application
Zoo Updates
ZooTales Podcast
We’re talking with April, the senior insect keeper, who helped the Cincinnati Zoo become the 1st Zoo on record to take the blue feigning-death beetle from egg to larvae to adulthood! Plus, learn about more of your favorite insects during this new episode
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Congrats to Thane on Book Award
Congratulations to Thane for winning the 2022 Arizona Library Association Grand Canyon Reader Award for Nonfiction for his book Saving Fiona: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Hippo.
It is available in bookstores everywhere and you can also find it in our Zoo Shop.
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Congrats to the Sustainability Team
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International Bird Rescue
Message from Cody Sowers (Head Keeper – Aviculture)
For the last couple years, I have been lucky enough to secure a CREW Internal Conservation grant for the fine folks at International Bird Rescue. For those not in the know IBR is based on the west coast, focusing on rescuing and rehabilitating native seabirds. After looking over schedules last year and this year, I was finally able to carve out some time last week to go see firsthand the amazing work that they do.
First off, their location is pretty amazing. Located on top of a coastal hill in the LA neighborhood of San Pedro, my walk commute was perfect. That aside, the facility while small, was in constant motion from the time I arrived to the time I left. It was interesting to have a set schedule of birds to work with, then regularly a bell rings and a volunteer drops off another bird for treatment. Due to recent HPAI issues on the west coast, every bird that is brought in goes through an entry quarantine, with IBR staff donning the appropriate PPE to ensure other birds are not potentially infected, if the incoming bird is affected. Half of their indoor holding space was sectioned off for HPAI quarantine. Bird safety takes up quite a bit of space.
Baby bird season was winding down when I got there, but there were a few oiled birds that were right in the middle of their treatment. Some species do better than others; a common loon was progressing nicely while a Western grebe ended up being humanely euthanized. I was able to release a Red Necked loon back into the ocean on the first day. Watching the bird hesitantly take a couple dives, take a few looks around, then run across the water and fly out of sight was nothing short of magical.
Overall, it was great to meet their team in person, and start brainstorming specific items that could be addressed with future CREW grants. I would love to get more bird staff involved with hands-on seabird rescue and rehab, and this trip was a great first step. Big thanks to Team Bird for keeping things running smoothly while I was off wrangling Brown pelicans!
If you’d like to take a deep dive into their rescue numbers and see some photos better than my iPhone, check them out at birdrescue.org.
Plant & Animal Updates
Lightning Pregnancy Update
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Bowyer Update
It has been a busy time at the Bowyer propagation greenhouse. Since
starting to sow white oak and swamp white oak acorns last fall to
sowing perennial seed last week, we have planted seed from over 100
different species of plants ranging from American elm for our browse
program to Pennsylvania smartweed for our wetland restoration program.
Our seed program allows us to grow thousands of plants and many
species that we would have a difficult time finding elsewhere.
Words and pic cred: Philip Sommer- Bowyer volunteer
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Skunk Kits
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Saving Oaks with CREW
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Bat-Eared Fox Kit Update
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Birthday
5/19 – Tucker’s Birthday
5/12 – Nubo, Snow Leopard
Just For Fun
5/19 – Endangered Species Day
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Otter Fun
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May 13th – World Binturong Day
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Ringtail
Conservation Corner
Plant for Pollinator Kits Available
Drum roll….. we are excited to announce that our 2023 Spring/Summer Plant for Pollinator Kits are ready for purchase. Jerome has put two great recipes together. Each kit contains 15 plants (3 of each variety).
Kit 1. A Bloomin’ Good Time Kit
- Phlox paniculata ‘Jeana’
- Solidago ohioensis
- Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker’s Red’
- Stachys ‘Hummelo’
- Allium ‘Summer Beauty’
Kit 2. Cheetah Choices – Runnin’ Wild Kit
- Asclepias incarnata ‘Cinderella’
- Pycnanthemum flexuosum
- Penstemon digitalis
- Iris versicolor
- Erigeron ‘Lynnhaven Carpet’
Click the Link Below to Order Yours Today!
https://store.cincinnatizoo.org/webstore/shop/ViewItems.aspx?CG=pkit&C=pkits23