Interested in donating some of your spare time to help out at the zoo? You will meet new people as well as learning new skills in the care of animals! We will provide all the necessary training for your volunteer role, all we expect from you is that you arrive with a smile and a willingness to work hard.
Types of activities you might take part in while you are volunteering:
Things to consider:
We hope you can attend once a month to get to know the zoo and feel part of the team. Our volunteers must be 16 years+. Volunteers are mostly needed at weekends and during school holidays. All volunteers are required to carry out a DBS check prior to starting their volunteering which we will pay for. Unfortunately, we cannot pay travel expenses.
Thinking of working with animals? Are you currently studying an animal related course or studying towards getting on a veterinary or animal university course and want to gain some valuable work experience? We offer a range of placements for anyone 16 years or over.
Please note we no longer accept placements from anyone under 16.
All students offered a placement must be able to provide their own steel toe capped boots and dark blue overalls.
While on placement you will be helping the keepers look after the animals, cleaning, maintaining the grounds, looking after our guests and given tasks for you to complete as part of a team or sometimes on your own.
Please note all applicants are required to complete a DBS check that we pay for. Once you have applied we will send you out the forms and how to complete the DBS process.
Placements are on a first come first serve basis and are limited to one student placement per week.
If you wish to apply for an internship you must be aged 18 years or over, they are best suited for those taking a gap year between further education and higher education, sandwich placements or those who have already graduated from university or college, preferably having studied a relevant subject.
Please note the following: All internships are voluntary and unpaid. Candidates would need to make their own accommodation and travel arrangements. All of our internships offers a voluntary practical work placement with one of our keepers for a minimum period of four weeks, working full-time from 8.30am to 4.30pm daily, including weekends, with a regular day off each week. Internships have rolling start dates throughout the year.
What you will get up to while on your Internship: Interns will shadow our keepers for the first four weeks, ensuring you gain basic knowledge of the zoo, our animals and how we do things. There is an option to complete a ‘zooploma’ booklet that covers all the basic keeper husbandry tasks that you will complete over those first weeks to show the areas you have worked in.
After the initial 4-week period, we will review your performance and look at what you would like to concentrate on in more depth for the rest of the internship period.
Areas that you can focus on include: ZIMS –online animal recording, nutrition and diet formulation, enclosure design, animal training, legislation, education, event management, presenting, enrichment, procurement, marketing, hosting, customer services and research. Other areas will be considered on an individual basis.
Uniform: You will need to purchase your own uniform - dark blue overalls and steel toe capped boots. All piercings must be removed, hair tied back and fingernails should be short and round whilst you are on your internship. If the internship is for a long period then you can purchase a branded uniform.
