Montgomery Zoo honors volunteers of the year | News

The Montgomery Zoo’s Education Department and the Montgomery Area Zoological Society acknowledged the outstanding contribution of volunteers, by hosting a banquet on Tuesday, January 29, 2013. Annually the Zoo recognizes these dedicated individuals whose unpaid, tireless efforts go largely unsung, but who have a lasting and profound impact on our community’s youth and adults alike. In 2012, the combined volunteer hours for the Zoo’s 43 Docents and Zooteens equaled 14,000 hours. The awards banquet is held to honor, say thank you and recognize the marvelous contribution that our volunteers make to the Montgomery Zoo and the community.

The highlight of the event every year is the announcement of the “Docent of the Year.” This is a hard decision for the staff to make every year because all our volunteers give so much and are so valuable. Education Curator, Jennifer Hutcheson stated, “Each volunteer is an integral part of the Education Department; and we could not run this department without the volunteers”. This year our honored winners were Valerie Castanza and Sarah Martin. They have donated a lot of time to the Zoo, are always willing to help with programs and events, have knowledge of the animals in the department, are always looking for ways to improve animal care, follow the guidelines and rules in the department, and most importantly, love what they are doing and always have a great attitude about the Zoo and the department.

Valerie has volunteered with the Education Department for two year. She has been very dedicated, even taking time off from work to volunteer at the Zoo. She started her volunteer experience at the Giraffe Encounter Post, and then joined the Education Department.

Sarah Martin started as a docent in the summer of 2011 and became a full time intern in January 2012. As an intern, she planned and implemented our 2012 summer camp, gave animal presentations out in the community and was in charge of the “Creatures of the Night” program during Zoo Boo. Sarah earned her masters degree in education in December of 2012 and has now moved on in her teaching career.

The Montgomery Zoo Education Department and the Zoo Staff along with the Montgomery Area Zoological Society want to thank Valerie, Sarah and all the Docents and Zooteens for their dedication to the Montgomery Zoo.

Volunteering at the Zoo is a rewarding experience. It gives you a chance to get hands on with the animals and make life-long friends in the process. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Jennifer Hutcheson at (334) 240-4909 or jmurphy@montgomeryal.gov

Zoo hours and admission: The City of Montgomery Zoo and Mann Wildlife
Learning Museum are open daily from 9:00am to 5:30pm., the last admission tickets
are sold and major animal exhibits begin closing at 4:30pm. Discount combo
admission to both Zoo and Mann Museum are: Adults: $16.00, Children 3-12 yrs.
old $11.00 and toddlers 2 yrs. and younger are FREE. Zoo only admission is
$12.00 for Adults, Senior Citizens 65+ $10.00 and children ages 3 to 12 yrs. Old
is $8.00. Montgomery Zoo members and Toddlers 2 yrs. and younger are
admitted FREE.

The Montgomery Zoo and Mann Wildlife Learning Museum are located off the Northern Blvd, between Coliseum Blvd and Lower Wetumpka Road. The address for the Montgomery Zoo is 2301 Coliseum Parkway.

Information Source: Montgomery Zoo