The docent program at the Lincoln Park Zoo is ending October 31. Docents will be replaced with 2 volunteer positions called ambassadors: student ambassadors to work with school groups and guest services ambassadors for working carts. These volunteer positions work exclusively for the education department so any job duty that is not education, i.e. animal handling, animal watches and behavioral studies are being eliminated. New volunteer positions may be created to handle these duties. If new volunteer positions are created, they would fall under collections. Exhibit interpretations are being eliminated. I am a Sunday docent and do not work with school groups so I would be applying and interviewing for a guest ambassador position. When I arrive at the zoo, I would be handed my schedule for the 3 hours of carts I would have to do during my 4 hour shift (we would get 1 hour for lunch). I currently try to do a cart whenever I come to the zoo (I didn't take a cart out today because I wanted to spend more time with my beloved great apes as the docent program winds down) because we were asked to make carts a priority last year. I'm not sure how I feel about 3 hours of carts. For those of you who are docents, do you see a shift away from docents to ambassadors? For those of you who are not docents, have docents added to your zoo experience?
No - Lincoln Park seems to be an isolated instance. Thankfully for us, but bad for those of you there. I don't know what in the world the zoo is thinking - why would they shaft people who are VOLUNTEERING their time to help their organization? I know the article said several docents signed a protest letter to zoo administration. I would suggest you try to get a statement from AZAD (Association of Zoo and Aquarium Docents) condemning the move. If this goes through, I would imagine many Lincoln Park docents will leave for greener pastures at nearby Brookfield Zoo (which by the way is hosting the 2010 AZAD convention).
I did a brief google and learned the Oakland Zoo has 3 volunteer ambassador programs. When the volunteer has gone thru all 3, they become a docent. I also learned a previous director at the Topeka Zoo terminated their docent program because it was under the auspices of their zoological society and not under the zoo. He was claiming AZA regs required the docent program be under the zoo. The mayor terminated him after 2 years and the next director reinstated the docent program. We were told that the change to guest services ambassador was OK for AZAD because it was still an education volunteer. Some of the docents have already started inquiring into other institutions like the Shedd, the Field and Peggy Notebeart. I'm still up in the air about it. The education dept has a lot of good ideas but no funding. Our carts are old, the biomaterials are old and they are seeking grants for new carts. Standing at a cart is not like standing in a crowd of visitors in front of an exhibit and answering questions or pointing out things to observe. Arizona, are we the only 2 docents at this board?
At some zoos there is no difference at some there is. It just depends what name they want to use. For example, the Phoenix Zoo does not use the term docent, but calls all of them volunteers, even though they perform traditional docent roles. The San Diego Zoo, which only started their first docent program this summer at Elephant Odyssey, calls theirs "volunteer interpreters," which is of course the definition of what a docent is. I guess they figure they don't want to have to explain to people what "docent" means, a question I get asked by visitors somewhat regularly. But I think some zoos do have two categories, "docents" being those who teach the public and "volunteers" being those who perform other duties (directing people, making enrichment items, etc). At our zoo, (Reid Park Zoo) we use the term docent for all volunteers, and we get a choice of what we want to do: small animal handling, patrolling the grounds, interpretive exhibit stations, helping out in the comissary, reading stories or doing slide shows, etc. AZAD, the Association of Zoo & Aquarium Docents, is open to all varieties of volunteers from any zoo, wildlife park, aquarium or nature center.
Letter to the Chicago Tribune Mary Schmich left a voicemail to interview me for the August 30 Chicago Tribune article, and I didn't get the voicemail in time to meet her deadline. I'm not a current docent, and it's better she heard from those who are. That said, I sent the following letter to the Chicago Tribune and to Schmich. As soon as I get some energy (had surgery recently), I'll also be writing something for my blog. To the editor: As a former Lincoln Park Zoo docent during the 1990s (I was 29 when I joined the program), I read "Zoo docents fading from landscape" by Mary Schmich (August 30, 2009) with interest. During my docent service, I received laudatory letters from donors, ovations after animal presentations, and kudos for tours; helped develop a popular "Escape to the Tropics" weekend during the winter; talked to families who delighted in both the interaction and the information; participated in numerous revenue-generating programs such as family workshops; and delivered in countless other ways on what was one of the four prongs of the zoo's mission: Education. And I was one of more than 200 people of various ages and professional backgrounds, including not only retirees, but working teachers, college instructors, lawyers, nurses, dietitians, executives, Ph.D.s, and so on, doing the same—all on a volunteer basis. To paraphrase the Peace Corps slogan, "It was the best job I ever loved." I left it with regret for personal reasons. According to a zoo document quoted by Schmich, "the antiquated volunteer utilization model . . . does not enhance the zoo's strategic initiatives and often does not set up volunteers for success." Neither "strategic initiatives" nor "success" is defined. I admit I felt successful when, for example, families paying to attend workshops requested me as their tour guide and when I could persuade children—and their parents—to overcome their fear of snakes to touch one and find out that reptiles are animals, just like us. It's hard to believe that the docent program, and docent-guest interactions like these, didn't benefit millions of zoo visitors during the docent program's nearly 40-year history. Surely the education mission and the visitor experience remain important to Lincoln Park Zoo. To find out how to enhance its strategic initiatives, Lincoln Park Zoo might consider redesigning the docent program with help from its sister institutions. For example, Prospect Park Zoo (Brooklyn, New York) "is welcoming applications for its Docent Program . . . Docents lead group tours, interpret exhibits, present biofacts and other touchables at Discovery Stations, assist in our interactive Discovery Center, work at zoo special events, and teach visitors how to interact with alpacas and sheep at our barn area. Docents who successfully complete Live Animal Handling Training are also eligible to present short Live Animal Encounters to the public, teaching children and families about animals from the Zoo’s collection of education animals." According to the Saint Louis Zoo, "Our docents are volunteer Zoo educators who are dedicated to teaching schoolchildren and the general public about wildlife, ecosystems and conservation. In sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm about our Zoo animals, they help increase our visitors’ caring attitude toward nature. Docents are critical to the successful operation of the Zoo’s Education Department and the greater zoological community." Closer to home, "Brookfield Zoo docents will host the next National Association of Zoo & Aquarium Docents (AZAD: Association of Zoo and Aquarium Docents) Conference September 7–12, 2010." (The 1993 national AZAD conference was hosted by Lincoln Park Zoo docents.) These, and many other zoos and aquariums with thriving, successful docent programs, can provide the kind of guidance that Lincoln Park Zoo isn't able to obtain from a consultant focused purely on business. Renowned primatologist and herpetologist Russell A. Mittermeier Ph.D., the president of Conservation International and the only working field biologist to head a major international environmental organization, says, "The dedication and efforts of docents are a major contribution to the education of society. Their volunteer services are exerting a real impact, particularly on this country's young people who show a growing interest in natural history and conservation." This fits in perfectly with the Obama administration's nationwide service initiative (Welcome to Serve.gov). During this severe economic downtown, when Lincoln Park Zoo has had to slash budget and staff, it seems counterintuitive to squeeze volunteers and downsize volunteer programs. And it would be deeply regrettable if Lincoln Park Zoo were to dismiss as an "antiquated model" one that so many zoos and aquariums, and environmental leaders such as Mittermeier, have embraced as essential to conservation education and human appreciation for our fellow earth travelers. Sincerely, Diane Schirf
Hi Diane, your letter is beautifully written. I hope the Trib publishes it, too. I sent a copy of it to some of my fellow docents to help keep their spirits up. Thank you!
Thanks! It doesn't look like it will be. I'll probably post it on my blog later this week and possibly write something further.
I saw your letter at LPZ's facebook! Great! I wanted to add that the ending of the docent program came totally out of the blue. The zoo recently bought us new shirts (in the past, we purchased them ourselves), new photo ID cards and gave us new professionally printed flash cards on most of the species we have. I'm still up in the air about reapplying. I am part of the Behavioral Enrichment group and may just continue doing that. We make papier mache pinatas for the keepers. A part of me is looking forward to more free time on the weekends.
And in other news, Kevin Bell has been named chair of AZA, where he "will guide efforts to expand education, conservation and care in 217 AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums throughout the country." I hope "expanding education" doesn't mean eliminating more docent programs.
The education department at Reid Park Zoo is outstanding. After having them (all great people) share turns working with docents, we recently hired a full-time docent coordinator - someone who has worked at our zoo for over 20 years! He sends us weekly emails with updates about EVERYTHING that went on with the animals that week and conducts daily morning docent meetings. Whenever a new keeper is hired, he emails us a photo of them with their name. Plus we are encouraged to do basically whatever WE want to do - if you feel like strolling the grounds, fine. If you want to take out a small outreach animal, fine. If you want to do an info station at one of the exhibits, fine. If any of you Lincoln Park folks feel like moving to Tucson, we will make you feel very welcome!
