Woodland Park Zoo
When I first considered volunteering at the zoo, what drew me was the animals—my childhood love of creatures and memories of trips to Woodland Park Zoo, picking out the orangutan Mulati from amongst the foliage of the Tropical Asia exhibit or climbing trees in the Discovery Loop park. Members of the volunteer and staff community at WPZ are all brought together, in fact, by their care of animals and concern for their survival and welfare on our planet. But as it turns out, volunteering at the zoo doesn’t often take the form of animal interaction. Even in the family farm contact area, where I spent my summer volunteering--and the one region of the zoo where guests and volunteers can find regular intimate contact with animals--it’s evident the real reason for our presence is to interact with zoo guests. People—the Seattle community, our city’s visitors, the global community—are integral to the mission Woodland Park Zoo has set out for itself: “Woodland Park Zoo saves animals and their habitats through conservation leadership and engaging experiences, inspiring people to learn, care and act.” The zoo exists with the purpose of reaching out to the community and bringing them into a relationship with animals: a relationship in which they recognize the importance of caring about other species and the threats they face in a world ever more populated by humanity; one in which they accept their role of responsibility concerning the survival and well-being of animals in the future, by learning to co-exist with them and by sharing and conserving the resources of our planet. In this way, the zoo promotes life-long learning and a sense of global-citizenship, both in its guests and its volunteers.
|
Map of Woodland Park Zoo: Summer 2015
As a zoo ambassador, I have come to know the zoo nearly as well as the back of my hand. ...perhaps better. One of my principle responsibilities as a volunteer is to help guests navigate the complex layout of the zoo. |
As a nonprofit, committed to its mission, Woodland Park Zoo relies on numerous volunteers to be the main liaisons between the zoo’s guests and the zoo itself, as an entity. Roving ambassadors are often the ones interacting with guests face-to-face, day-to-day. Through their service, zoo volunteers enhance the zoo’s impact on the community, helping ensure that guests have a valuable, personable, and educational experience through which they are able to recognize and respect the importance of preserving natural areas and the species which depend on them.
Being involved in the zoo community and cognizant in their goals and actions has enhanced my own awareness, education, engagement, and contribution as a global citizen, something which I intend to continue throughout my life.
Overall, the time I’ve spent at the zoo has emphasized to me the truth of my own life perspective and values—that as a global community we have an obligation to each other, to our planet, and to the animals and other life forms we share it with to take initiative, preserve our natural areas and resources, and be conscious of the effects of our actions on the welfare of all. I’m pleased to be part of the community of staff and volunteers at the Woodland Park Zoo who promote the zoo’s mission by sharing it with the larger community.
Leadership Competencies Gained
Problem-Solving: One thing about volunteering at the zoo is that there is a lot of potential for unexpected situations to crop up. Being aware, being able to roll with new situations and think on my feet has proven to be important as a zoo volunteer. It means keeping a corner of an eye on the small child who looks like he knows where he’s going…but there don’t seem to be any guardian-figures around. It means having good judgement about how to handle unexpected situations, keeping a level head and thinking things through, being resourceful, and being able to act when the need arises, and without a lot of guidance.
Listening:
Oftentimes volunteering doesn't consist of a whole lot of interaction—people generally are self-sufficient, knowing what they’re doing and where they’re going…and it can feel a little idle. But the act of being there itself can also have an impact. While zoo employees are often busy and on the move from place to place, volunteers are the zoo’s face to the public. Our presence, even if it is not active interaction with guests, provides a service in that we make ourselves available, should they have a need, a concern, or a question. There are often questions that come up at the zoo that I don’t know the answer to, or problems I can’t solve as a volunteer. But being empathetic and understanding, demonstrating patience and helpfulness, in these situations can still make a big difference to guests. They appreciate how they are treated even if there isn't a solution to their problem.
Attitude: Having a positive attitude as a volunteer has everything to do with providing good service to guests at the zoo. But hand in hand with a positive attitude comes an attitude of willingness. Sometimes the willingness to help makes all the difference in a guests’ day—being willing to walk with a guest to the guest services office if they have a concern, for instance. I have held down volunteer shifts in pouring down rain and bitter cold, all the while maintaining a positive, willing attitude that made it—at least in retrospect—a better experience for myself, and surely for the guests and volunteers I interacted with as well. The team of volunteers at Woodland Park Zoo demonstrates this unfailingly, in fact. They are a supportive, generous, willing, and upbeat bunch. I’ve never seen one in a bitter mood or complaining, and that draws my respect. I strive to demonstrate the same strength of attitude and willingness myself.
Advocating for a Point of View: As a volunteer at the zoo, I have become aware of those who advocate against the zoo. As a volunteer, I am an ambassador for the zoo among my friends, family, and community. The value of zoos. I do so more through my actions in volunteering than I do through. My advocacy is rather quiet, as I am an advocate more often through my actions—as a volunteer—than through , but by letting my community know I am a volunteer I represent myself as one who supports the zoo’s mission. At the same time, volunteering at WPZ and being caught up in the discussion on it’s value has encouraged me to contemplate my own position. I have to admit to myself that I don’t know the whole story, that I can’t possibly see all parts of the big picture, and I believe that there are parts to other stories and points of view that are valid. In many cases there are no overwhelmingly ‘right’ answers, but I see the work that the zoo does as very valuable to our community and trust the zoo’s leadership and commitment to the animals it cares for and it’s mission.
Being involved in the zoo community and cognizant in their goals and actions has enhanced my own awareness, education, engagement, and contribution as a global citizen, something which I intend to continue throughout my life.
Overall, the time I’ve spent at the zoo has emphasized to me the truth of my own life perspective and values—that as a global community we have an obligation to each other, to our planet, and to the animals and other life forms we share it with to take initiative, preserve our natural areas and resources, and be conscious of the effects of our actions on the welfare of all. I’m pleased to be part of the community of staff and volunteers at the Woodland Park Zoo who promote the zoo’s mission by sharing it with the larger community.
Leadership Competencies Gained
Problem-Solving: One thing about volunteering at the zoo is that there is a lot of potential for unexpected situations to crop up. Being aware, being able to roll with new situations and think on my feet has proven to be important as a zoo volunteer. It means keeping a corner of an eye on the small child who looks like he knows where he’s going…but there don’t seem to be any guardian-figures around. It means having good judgement about how to handle unexpected situations, keeping a level head and thinking things through, being resourceful, and being able to act when the need arises, and without a lot of guidance.
Listening:
Oftentimes volunteering doesn't consist of a whole lot of interaction—people generally are self-sufficient, knowing what they’re doing and where they’re going…and it can feel a little idle. But the act of being there itself can also have an impact. While zoo employees are often busy and on the move from place to place, volunteers are the zoo’s face to the public. Our presence, even if it is not active interaction with guests, provides a service in that we make ourselves available, should they have a need, a concern, or a question. There are often questions that come up at the zoo that I don’t know the answer to, or problems I can’t solve as a volunteer. But being empathetic and understanding, demonstrating patience and helpfulness, in these situations can still make a big difference to guests. They appreciate how they are treated even if there isn't a solution to their problem.
Attitude: Having a positive attitude as a volunteer has everything to do with providing good service to guests at the zoo. But hand in hand with a positive attitude comes an attitude of willingness. Sometimes the willingness to help makes all the difference in a guests’ day—being willing to walk with a guest to the guest services office if they have a concern, for instance. I have held down volunteer shifts in pouring down rain and bitter cold, all the while maintaining a positive, willing attitude that made it—at least in retrospect—a better experience for myself, and surely for the guests and volunteers I interacted with as well. The team of volunteers at Woodland Park Zoo demonstrates this unfailingly, in fact. They are a supportive, generous, willing, and upbeat bunch. I’ve never seen one in a bitter mood or complaining, and that draws my respect. I strive to demonstrate the same strength of attitude and willingness myself.
Advocating for a Point of View: As a volunteer at the zoo, I have become aware of those who advocate against the zoo. As a volunteer, I am an ambassador for the zoo among my friends, family, and community. The value of zoos. I do so more through my actions in volunteering than I do through. My advocacy is rather quiet, as I am an advocate more often through my actions—as a volunteer—than through , but by letting my community know I am a volunteer I represent myself as one who supports the zoo’s mission. At the same time, volunteering at WPZ and being caught up in the discussion on it’s value has encouraged me to contemplate my own position. I have to admit to myself that I don’t know the whole story, that I can’t possibly see all parts of the big picture, and I believe that there are parts to other stories and points of view that are valid. In many cases there are no overwhelmingly ‘right’ answers, but I see the work that the zoo does as very valuable to our community and trust the zoo’s leadership and commitment to the animals it cares for and it’s mission.