VOLUNTEER VOICE October 2013 In This Issue... - Denver Zoo

Volunteer VoiceLiaison Team UpdatesHeidi Lumberg, Public Programs Specialist720-337-1613 hlumberg@denverzoo.orgZOO PRESENTERS 2013: IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR!Another summer has come and gone, and with itanother very successful season for the ZooPresenter volunteer program! This summer wehad 165 volunteers—Ambassadors, Guides, andDocents—contributing just over 8,115 hoursengaging zoo guests at the Wildlife Show, LorikeetAdventure, Guide stations, Visitor ResourcePresenter kiosks, Meet the Animal Stars, Ask Me'sin Toyota Elephant Passage, and WildEncounters!This year we piloted a brand new Zoo Presenteractivity—Visitor Resource Presenters. Volunteerswere stationed at information kiosks nearConoco/old pachys and Giraffe Meadow, armedwith all the resources necessary to answer guest VRP—Giraffes (Gretchen Koplin)questions and make their visit as rewarding aspossible. One of the outcomes we intended for guests after interacting with oneof these volunteers was that they would take advantage of more shows anddemos, since we could help them plan their visit accordingly. The large crowdsobserved at the Wildlife Show, Animal Giants demonstrations, sea lion shows,etc.; tell me we did a great job achieving that goal. Many Visitor ResourcePresenters themselves reflected on positive guest interactions and expressed realsatisfaction in helping to better connect our visitors with our fantastic facility andanimal collection. And with so many new babies this summer, there was alwayssomething fun to bring to the visitors’ attention! This is a volunteer opportunitythat we intend to continue to offer in the fall on busy weekends and Free Days,and will likely continue next year.Another new venture this summer was pairing a teen and an adult volunteer atone of our Guide stations, “An Enriched Home is a Happy Home.” Our hopewas that these partnerships would be mutually rewarding and provide a freshperspective on how we interpret a Guide station. Approximately 345 hours werespent in these partnerships this summer! Our adult volunteers were tremendouslyimpressed with the amount of interpretive training and knowledge that our teensbrought to the table, and the teens undoubtedly picked up valuable skills fromVRP—Conoco Pavilions (CarrieWinter)(Continued on page 10)Page 9