Every wondered exactly what volunteering at the Aquarium entails? Can you simply pitch up and start working with the fish? Or does it take months and months to be properly trained? Here’s a quick look at what you can expect from volunteering at the Aquarium.
As a volunteer, you have front of house duties that involve interacting with Aquarium visitors by interpreting and explaining the various exhibits.
Behind the scenes, you assist our aquarists with maintaining and caring for the various creatures in the Aquarium (a task called animal husbandry). From cleaning exhibits and scrubbing tanks, to preparing food for the animals and collecting material for the Aquarium, you’re an integral part of our well-oiled machine.
If you have a commercial diving licence, you can even become one of the lucky volunteer divers, who assist the Aquarium by cleaning the main exhibit floor and exhibit windows.
In order to become an ocean ambassador, you need to attend an eight-week training course at the Aquarium. The next course runs from August to October 2010, every Saturday morning from 8h00 to 13h00 (dates are yet to be finalised).
The course introduces you to the fascinating lives of our marine animals, including sea anemones, sea urchins and starfish as well as a range of sea plants (no, anemones aren’t plants).
There’s also a field trip to a marine reserve, where you can explore the diversity of the plant and animal life on our rocky shores first hand.
Once you’ve completed this course, you are required to volunteer at the Aquarium for at least one four-and-a-half hour shift per month, either front of house or behind the scenes.
The Aquarium also has a dedicated penguin volunteer group who clean the penguin exhibits, prepare food for our birds, assist with presentations, feeding, data capturing and record keeping as well as spend quality, interactive time with them. These are exciting times for the group, considering there is a new addition to the fold.
Click here to read more about volunteering at the Aquarium or to apply for a position online.
