care respect service integrity education fun October Habichat Contents October 2018 Habichat The Newsletter for Volunteers of Zoo Knoxville At a Glance...1 Meetings & Education...2 Volunteer Needs...2 News and Updates...4 Department Spotlight...6 Volunteer Spotlight...7 Animal Spotlight...8 At a Glance October 2: Senior Day 2: Ted Beattie Reception 8-12: Camp Wild 8: Roving Workshop Youth Vols 8: Columbus Day - Double Hours 11-14: Boo! at the Zoo 18-21: Boo! at the Zoo 25-28: Boo! at the Zoo November All: 70 Cent Days 3: Program Animal Orientation 12: Veteran s Day - Double Hours 13: Volunteer Meeting 22: Thanksgiving - Double Hours December 11: Holiday Potluck 13-16: Santa s Village 24-25: Zoo closed 1
Meetings and Continuing Education Volunteer Meetings We will not have a Volunteer Meeting in October Use this time to volunteer for Boo! at the Zoo. Volunteer Meeting - November 13 at 7:00 p.m. in the LCCC Katelyn Dotson, Curator from American Eagle Foundation, will share information about this wonderful organization, including their mission, and everything they do to make a huge impact on the American eagle population. Volunteer Meeting - December 11 at 6:00 p.m. in the LCCC Come celebrate the holiday season with us. Bring a dish to share. Drinks, games, and door prizes will be provided. Volunteers Needed Rove! Roving is a fun and easy way to make a big impact on the guest experience. Tourist season has come to an end, but we have plenty of guests to serve. Our local community members are essential for sustaining us as a non-profit organization. As a rover and zoo ambassador, you may make the difference in their decision to return or even buy an annual pass. Mentoring is available for anyone interested in learning how to rove. (Clock-in code: Rover) Grounds The Grounds Department can use your help with weeding and eventually, raking. Any day, except Sundays and Mondays work well for Grounds. Schedule ahead with Jessica. (Clock-in code: Aide-Grounds, Maintenance, Operations) Guest Experiences Clayton Family Kids Cove The Clayton Family Kids Cove Department welcomes your help with the Contact Yard, which includes sharing rules with guests as they enter the yard, interpreting, and keeping the animals safe. (Clock-in code: Special Exhibits - Kids Cove Contact Yard) Pilot Flying J Wee Play Adventure Staff present ambassador animals and biofacts. They generally have a different topic every day and provide interactive activities for guests. Volunteers are requested to interpret and keep the area clean. If you want to learn about a wide variety of animals quickly, this is a great opportunity to learn from staff. (Clock-in code: Special Exhibits - Wee Play & Nature Play) Williams Family Giraffe Encounter Deck Assist the feeding deck attendant by showing biofacts and sharing information about the Zoo Knoxville giraffes. (Clock-in code: Special Exhibits - Giraffe Feeding Platform) Senior Day October 2 Anyone 65 years of age or older will receive free admission, free parking, and 10% off Zoo Shop purchases. Volunteers are needed throughout the day to present biofacts and animal ambassadors. Camp Wild October 8 12 9:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m. each day The Fall Break Camp Wild is coming soon! Volunteers are needed each day from 8:30 a.m. 3:30 p.m. to help with set up, clean up, tours, activities and lunch. 2
Volunteers Needed Ted Beattie Reception October 2 5:30 p.m.- 7:30 p.m. Natalie and Jim Haslam are hosting a special recognition event for our second zoo director Ted Beattie. Volunteers are requested to help with check in, directing guests, interpreting, and presenting biofacts and animal ambassadors. Boo! at the Zoo October 11-14; 18-21; 25-28 from 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Our biggest event is just around the corner! This family-friendly event is Knoxville s biggest Halloween event. Volunteers are needed as early as 4:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. (Some assignments require an arrival time of 3:30 p.m.) Earn double hours by volunteering for more than 2 nights! We need up to 200 volunteers (a combination of zoo volunteers and community volunteers) every night to make this event exceptional. Zoo volunteers are especially important as they fill roles that cannot be filled by community volunteers and play a critical role in getting our community volunteers in place. We need you! Any time you can commit, even just one night, is appreciated. Recruit Volunteers Help us recruit volunteers for Boo! at the Zoo. Invite friends or family, who are at least 16 years of age or older, to volunteer for this event. For every shift you recruit volunteers, you get two additional volunteer hours! A liability release form is required to volunteer. Boo! Costume Set-Up October 8. Costumes will be moved from storage to the Foundation. Volunteers are needed to help move costumes, organize and set up the Foundation for Boo! at the Zoo. Time TBD, but it will take most of the day. Boo! Costume Laundry Another way to help with Boo! at the Zoo is to assist with costume laundry. Two volunteers are already covering nightly laundry. An additional volunteer is needed to pick-up special dry cleaning items each Sunday. After dry cleaning is complete, items are to be returned by 3:00 p.m. the following Thursday. Sign Up For Activities All volunteer opportunities are available for sign-up in Volgistics. If you have questions: Email: jlhurley@knoxville-zoo.org Telephone: (865) 281-1382 or (865) 637-5331, extension 1374 Youth Volunteers: Contact Jessica Hurley and copyautumn Jackson at ajackson@ zooknoxville.org. Arrive On Time When you sign up for an event, take note of the arrival time shown on the sign up page. Always plan to arrive 30 minutes before an event begins to allow time to receive your assignment and instructions. Logan Uhrig at Boo! at the Zoo 70 Cent Days Note: Do not share the following information outside of the zoo until 70 Cent Days are annouced to the public after Boo! at the Zoo. All November. To celebrate Zoo Knoxville s 70th anniversary, guests can enjoy the zoo at 70 cents admission. This is great for the community to enjoy the zoo at very little cost. All of November is anticipated to be busy. Volunteers are needed, especially on weekends, to help keep guests safe and keep the foot traffic moving easily through the zoo. Volunteers are needed to direct people, monitor aviary doors, collect donations, hand out maps and assist in the Zoo Shop. On week days, it is requested to have volunteers show biofacts and ambassador animals to enhance the guest experience through interpretation. All weekends and Thanksgiving are double hours. You are welcome to invite friends or family to volunteer for this event as long as they are 16 and older. Referral hours are available. 3
Volunteers Needed Santa s Village December 13-16 10:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. Guests can visit Santa and take pictures. Volunteers help with line control, crafts and activities. Outreach Opportunities Off-grounds outreach opportunities count as double hours. Volunteers are expected to pick up and return supplies to the zoo. Katy Crank and Norm Naylor at Santa s Village Career Fairs: Representatives from companies around the city will be present to share about careers offered at their company. Carter High School - October 5 8:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. Roane County High School - October 23 8:00 a.m. -12:30 p.m. Austin East High School - October 24 7:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. News and Updates Current Operating Hours Operating Hours Effective October 1-10:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. every day. Columbus Day October 8 - Double Hours Take advantage of this opportunity to get extra volunteer hours. Document Encounters Please continue to document the number of people you encounter when roving or interpreting by using the Google Form Jessica shared with you by email. The form is also located on the zooknoxvillevols.org website, at the bottom of the page. Or, stop by Jessica s office before you leave each day and document your encounter on the log available in her office. Thank you to Patti Harper for donating clickers for volunteers to borrow to help count their audience! Feel free to grab one from Jessica s office on your way. Volgistics Signing up for opportunities, personal information changes and checking hours should all be done in Volgistics. If you do not feel comfortable using Volgistics, please schedule a one-on-one meeting with Jessica, and she will walk you through the program. Help us Improve Attendance! Our zoo attendance is lower than projected. To help us reach our attendance goal of 495,056 please consider taking a personal visit to the zoo with your friends or family. 4
News and Updates Reserve Biofacts If you want to use biofacts when volunteering, you must reserve them at least 4 days in advance. This includes both Youth Volunteers and Adult Volunteers. Due to meetings and other duties that remove her from the office, Jessica is not always available to check out biofacts to you. Also, special arrangements must be made in order for you to use a biofact during the weekend. Temperature for Animal Ambassadors Always check the temperature before handling an animal ambassador. Fall mornings will become cooler, while we still have warm afternoons. Make sure your animal can be handled at the current temperature. Your Feedback Requested Every November we either have a round table meeting or survey to gather your feedback on the volunteer program. This year, it is the survey. In early November, be on the lookout for an email with a link to the survey. Please invest a few minutes into the survey, as your input is valuable in making our program better. Linda Blair Program Animal Orientation November 3 2:00 p.m. This class is for volunteers interested in animal handling, who need to learn the basic information before hands on handling. Those who qualify have been a volunteer for one full year or have reached 100 hours or more. This is a great class to learn if this is really what you want to do. The classes will be held every other month on the first Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Enrichment Request of the Month Please consider donating a box of low sugar dry cereal. Many of our animals enjoy this treat for enrichment. Bags must be unopened. We can also use the box itself for enrichment! Youth Volunteer News and Updates Autumn s Schedule Autumn Jackson is officially out of the office, however, she is checking email periodically. Youth Volunteers need to email Jessica with all communications and copy Autumn to keep her informed during this hiatus. Madison Stooksbury Roving Workshop for Youth Volunteers Autumn Jackson is providing a roving workshop for Youth Volunteers on Monday, October 8 1:00-4:00. This workshop is to help you feel more comfortable with roving, as well as go over the guidelines that make you an effective rover. Fall Break Youth volunteers will be on fall break soon. Take advantage of this opportunity to volunteer at the zoo. We will be busier during Knox County fall break. 5
Department Spotlight: Development Sharon Moore Title: Director of Development Primary responsibilities: Overseeing a fantastic team of dynamic and driven coworkers who are raising funds for Zoo Knoxville through Circle of Friends, Zoofari, Tribute gifts, planned giving, and the Dream Wilder capital campaign. What is the toughest thing about your job? Balancing priorities. There are so many. And well, asking people for money. What is the best thing about your job? Giving behind-the-scenes tours. Sometimes, I think I am enjoying it even more than the donors. What is your favorite zoo animal? All of them, but most recently it has become Georgie gibbon. We have been spending quality time together since he moved to his new digs. What do you love about working for Zoo Knoxville? So many things, especially the people, but most of all its the conservation mission that means the most to me. Juliette McClure (soon to be Kesterson) Title: Annual Giving Coordinator Primary responsibilities: Memorial Giving (benches and memorial trees), general giving, Circle of Friends What is the toughest thing about your job? Time management. We all have a lot of responsibilities, so it is challening to juggle everything while ensuring a great guest experience for our donors. What is the best thing about your job? I get to do a lot of different things, including organizing our behind the scenes animal encounters, which means I get to bring people behind the scenes for their first time a lot! It s always a good day when we can wow someone new. What is your favorite zoo animal? Honey badger, even though we don t have them here. At Zoo Knoxville, I love our red pandas and river otters. What do you love about working for Zoo Knoxville? I love that everyone is so passionate about their job and the mission of the zoo. Aaron Richardson Title: Donor Relations Coordinator Primary Responsibilities: Coordinate and execute Zoofari, the zoo s annual gala. Outside of that, I am responsible for helping to raise major gifts for the zoo s capital campaign. What is the best thing about your job? When I meet a new donor or prospect and help them truly connect with the zoo on a personal level, as opposed to them seeing the zoo as just another charity. What is your favorite zoo animal? Snow leopard, even though we don t have them here anymore. What do you love about working for Zoo Knoxville? I absolutely love getting to show new guests all the progress the zoo is making on the new exhibits and sharing the plans for the future. 6
Department Spotlight: Development Dana Decareaux Title: Development Specialist Primary responsibilities: Supporting the Development Team on events and fundraising efforts, managing our donor database, reconciling with Finance What is the toughest thing about your job? Maintaining an ever-growing and changing database. What is the best thing about your job? I can always turn a bad day around with a walk through the zoo looking at animals. What is your favorite zoo animal? Lately it s been Georgie gibbon, our closest office neighbor! What do you love about working for Zoo Knoxville? I believe in our mission. and I love being a small part of something so important. Abbie Early Title: Campaign Coordinator Primary responsibilities: Assisting Development team and working as Lisa New s assistant What is the toughest thing about your job? Sometimes it s tough being in my office and knowing that Georgie is right outside! What is the best thing about your job? Behind the Scenes tours! What is your favorite zoo animal? Al, our giant tortoise What do you love about working for Zoo Knoxville? Interacting with the awesome employees and volunteers who prove every day that conservation is a worthwhile cause. Liana Woods I started volunteering in April 2016. I have been a member of Zoo Knoxville since 1979, and, yes, I was a child at that time. I have always had a love for zoos and both of my parents have volunteered. After my dad s passing in 2014, my mom needed rides at night to the volunteer meetings. I really wanted to start volunteering and finally found the opportunity. My main activities are interpreting at the gorilla habitat and roving. I also do animal handling and try to take the critters out at least a couple of times a month. I help with Boo! at the Zoo (and I have done this since before I became a volunteer) and Harry Potter Day. Volunteer Spotlight I love talking to the public about the animals at the zoo. I especially enjoy talking about Wanto our bachelor gorilla, and Georgie and Nipper gibbon. I love watching the children s faces light up when they see either myself or anyone else holding an animal. I really enjoy all of the animals but my three favorite to talk about are Wanto, Nipper, and Snap one of the Guinea Pigs. Liana Woods and LoAnna Woods 7
Animal Spotlight: Red Wolf Interpretation Guide Status SSP Yellow Critically Endangered (IUCN Red List) Danger Threats Loss of habitat Population Wild: 50 Captivity: 200 in captive breeding facilities Distribution Habitat Diet Size Longevity Social Family Units Reproduction Our Animals Scientific Name Southeastern United States Given their wide historical distribution, red wolves probably used a large suite of habitat types at one time. The last naturally occurring population used coastal prairie marshes, swamps, and agricultural fields dedicated to growing rice and cotton. Wild: White-tailed deer, raccoons, and smaller mammals such as rabbits, rodents, and nutria. Eats small invertebrates, insects, fruit, mollusks, and carrion. Zoo Knoxville: Dog food, chicken, rice Length: About 4 feet, from nose to tail Height: About 26 inches, at the shoulder Weight: 44-80 pounds Wild: 8-9 years Captivity: Red wolves are social animals that live in packs, and, like human families, a pack is a very close-knit group. Red wolves tend to form pair-bonds for life and mate once a year in February. After a 3-month gestation period, the litter includes 4-6 pups. We currently have 13 wolves: Leah and T. O. and their 8 pups (still unnamed) now have access to both lots in the red wolf habitat. The pups were born May 10, 2018. Saaron, Sunny and Waya have been moved to the old cheetah lot, and are currently off-exhibit. Sunny and Saaron gave birth to Waya on April 30, 2016. Order: Carnivora Family: Canidae Genus: Canis Species: rufus 8