The Two Oceans Aquarium has been supported by volunteers since we opened nearly 21 years ago. In fact, even before we opened, volunteers were a major part of the building and setup of exhibits.
If you have extra time to spare (our minimum volunteer requirement is 4,5 hours per month) and want to get involved in spreading marine awareness and assisting with our animal care, then this is your moment. We are now accepting applications for our next volunteer training programme, set to start late January 2017. Applications close on 14 November 2016. Follow this link to apply: https://www.volgistics.com/ex/portal.dll/ap?ap=1874404381.
I could go on and on about how we value our volunteers and what an amazing role they play in the Aquarium – we really could not run the Aquarium without them – but who better to tell you about being a volunteer at the Aquarium, than our volunteers themselves?
Tracy Whitehead, 52, has been a volunteer at the Aquarium since March 2016. She says, “I have lived with the ocean all my life: For work, sports and leisure and through all this I have a deep respect, general knowledge, commitment and love for anything to do with it.”
Volunteers who start with us do not require any prior knowledge of the ocean; all you need is passion and interest to qualify. If you are a student already studying marine sciences, then the course may be very helpful to you and your studies.
Aviwe Godongwana, 24, an Aquarium volunteer and a student at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, studies marine sciences. He says: “Even though I had prior knowledge of the oceans and its animals and plants, being at the Aquarium helped me this year with my studies - I gained so much practical knowledge."
“I have a passion for the environment, I enjoy interacting with people and informing others of the importance of protecting and maintaining a healthy natural world, and I enjoy working outdoors – especially if it involves being around nature.”
Through volunteering with us, you will be exposed to many different skills and responsibilities. All of our new volunteers start off at our Touch Pool & Microscope exhibits, something we call front-of-house (FOH) volunteering. This means that you get to talk to many visitors, international and local, and educate them on our amazing marine animals and plants. For this very reason we run a training programme before our volunteers hit the floor, so that everyone is equipped with interesting information and to boost everyone’s confidence to present.
After 45 hours of FOH volunteering, there are opportunities available in other areas of the Aquarium, such as behind-the-scenes (BTS) work, which entails working with our animals; penguin volunteering, which, you guessed it, involves penguins; and assisting with our education programmes.
Aviwe’s highlight so far has been helping Thabo Sabeko, our Oceans in Motion outreach teacher, with an outreach course at Kuyasa Primary School in Khayelitsha. Seeing the children happy, learning about the marine plants and animals which they were able to see and touch, was very rewarding for Aviwe.
Tracy is in love with the turtles in our rehab-and-release facility. “Turtles... just amazing... every minute I spend with them [is rewarding], but actually I think the most rewarding has been having friends and family visit the Aquarium, where I was able to guide them around, talk to them and share this new knowledge and watch their faces and reactions when they really suddenly understand and 'see' the animals and plants for the first time.”
Our next volunteer training programme is set to start late January 2017. Applications are now open and close on 14 November 2016. Follow this link to apply: https://www.volgistics.com/ex/portal.dll/ap?ap=1874404381
- There is a R100 registration fee on the first day of the course, should you be accepted.
- Interested parties must be 18 years or older in order to apply.
Aviwe’s advice for any new applicants? “They should prepare themselves for an exciting experience, meeting visitors from all around the world and for the very helpful Aquarium staff.”
Tracy says: “Don't hesitate, do it! If I had known, I would have done it years ago. Plus these are by far the nicest bunch of people I have ever had the pleasure of spending my days with… Well, after the turtles, that is.”
