by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
Imagine sitting in an office and outside the window is Ramona, a cheetah looking in and watching every little move. For Brooke Eldridge, volunteer program coordinator at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, that scenario is business as usual.
Eldridge began working at the zoo in August and cannot imagine spending her days anywhere else.
“At the zoo, we are one big happy family,” she said. “People want to (volunteer), because it is the zoo and it is different from other volunteer programs.”
The Jacksonville Zoo is different from other zoos because it is owned by the city and it is a nonprofit organization. The zoo relies on its volunteers to run the everyday activities.
The job Eldridge has taken on is very important, because she oversees every volunteer who steps foot into the zoo. Right now she has 952 active volunteers — that means all 952 have volunteered within the last three months.
“We have had a good turnout of volunteers,” she said. “We have volunteers daily and we have some regulars, too.”
Eldridge said there is one group that comes in every Tuesday and a group of ladies comes every Saturday to cut bamboo for the food. On Fridays Eldridge works with many home-schooled children who come in and volunteer.
“As long as we have our regulars, it is pretty good,” she said. “I love to keep the same volunteers because they are already trained, reliable and dependable.”
Some of the other volunteer opportunities include volunteers for birthday parties, sleepovers, camps, guides, special events and keeper assistants.
Since Eldridge began working, there are a few areas where she would like to see improvement. She would like to train people at a young age so they can learn and begin volunteering sooner. She also is working with the marketing department to get more events planned for the zoo, with perhaps one major event per month. Right now the zoo’s largest fundraiser is Spooktacular — about 250 volunteers participated to help make it possible.
Volunteers are working every day, whether for a special event or as a tour guide or a keeper’s assistant, but there is training and work to do before becoming a volunteer.
The guides have to go through a training process to learn about each animal in the zoo — where the animals came from, their names, ages and more. During the summer there are 50 volunteers a day working as guides and in the camps. Eldridge said that before anyone can go through training, they have to fill out an application, complete orientation and interview with her. The first set of training is for non-animal contact and then those who wish to work with the animals go through another step of training.
The zoo is open seven days a week, and that’s the main reason the zoo relies so heavily on volunteers, Eldridge said.
“People have a chance to work with exotic animals,” she said. “And they are giving back to the community as well.”
Recently the zoo broke ground on Kid Zone, which Eldridge said will be a big opportunity for volunteers when it opens. After that is complete the zoo will begin construction on Asia: a three-part expansion and that will add animals such as pandas and tigers. Right now the zoo has bears, koalas, kangaroos, zebras, wolves, anteaters, cheetahs, jaguars and many kinds of birds, snakes and other reptiles, just to name a few. Recently the Range of the Jaguar exhibit at the zoo won the top exhibit national award from the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.
Although Eldridge loves being around the animals and looks forward to seeing Ramona in her office window every day, she has never worked in a zoo before. She received her bachelor of arts in communications from Mercer University in Georgia and worked as a volunteer coordinator for the Okefenokee Area Development Authority. Eldridge helped coordinate Swampfest, a three-day festival for six counties in Georgia.
Eldridge said she is looking forward to getting more training with the animals to help with her job.
“I absolutely love it,” said Eldridge of her job. “The zoo has potential for growth, because Jacksonville is growing, too.”