A zest for the zoo
Retired professor who loves ‘hanging out with the animals’ and aiding guests is one of many people giving time, effort to Assiniboine Park Conservancy
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/05/2023 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Chris Trott doesn’t need meditation to find inner peace; he just heads to the zoo.
Trott volunteers at the Assiniboine Park Zoo six hours each week. While most of that time is spent interacting with guests, there are times — especially in the winter — when no one is around and he just about has the place to himself.
“I just really enjoy hanging out with the animals. I can spend that time watching the animals and observing them,” he says. “My wife said to me she’s always happy when I go to the zoo, because I come back happy, calm and relatively peaceful.”
BROOK JONES / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Chris Trott is one of the 700 people who volunteer with the Assiniboine Park Conservancy year-round, filling a variety of roles at the park and zoo.
Trott is one of the 700 people who volunteer with the Assiniboine Park Conservancy year-round, filling a variety of roles at the park and zoo.
The 66-year-old River Heights resident got involved last year, around the same time he retired from his roles as warden of St. John’s College and Indigenous studies professor at the University of Manitoba.
“One of the things I wanted to do in retirement was some interesting and engaging volunteer work of various kinds,” he says. “I’ve always loved the zoo.”
As a zoo ambassador, Trott helps ensure guests enjoy their visits.
Volunteer opportunities
The following is a list of volunteer opportunities for Winnipeg and surrounding areas. For more information about these listings, please contact the organization directly. Volunteer Manitoba does not place volunteers with organizations but can assist you in finding an opportunity. To learn more about its programs and services, go to www.volunteermanitoba.ca or call 204-477-5180.
The following is a list of volunteer opportunities for Winnipeg and surrounding areas. For more information about these listings, please contact the organization directly. Volunteer Manitoba does not place volunteers with organizations but can assist you in finding an opportunity. To learn more about its programs and services, go to www.volunteermanitoba.ca or call 204-477-5180.
Volunteer Manitoba needs two or three people to join its board of directors. People with previous board experience in a governance role; experience in fundraising, donor recruitment or marketing and promotions; or a connection to community non-profit organizations are preferred. Members are expected to attend monthly meetings, which are held virtually in the evening. For more information, go to http://wfp.to/0Dj or email executive director Ashley Seymour at ashley.seymour@volunteermanitoba.ca. The deadline is June 1.
The International Reggae Afro Latin Music & Arts Festival needs volunteers for various roles such as setup, helping with vendors and providing event information to attendees. Volunteers of all skill levels are encouraged to apply online at http://wfp.to/0Dy by June 10.
CancerCare Manitoba needs ambassadors. The volunteers will provide a friendly, visible presence in the agency’s entrance. They will welcome and help with directing patients and families to various treatment areas, and provide direction to areas in Health Sciences Centre. The volunteers will assist with visitor traffic. Other responsibilities might include sharing information to promote education sessions and resources, and clerical tasks. Call volunteer services at 204-787-2121 by June 30.
Concordia Hospital needs volunteers for its courtyard gardening team. Volunteers will work outside from May through September. Volunteers — under staff supervision — prepare flower beds, plant, weed, water, prune and deadhead. Volunteers must be able to work in hot weather, stoop and bend. The commitment is one or two shifts per week, between the hours of 9 a.m. and noon. Previous experience is an asset. Call Melanie at 204-661-7292 by June 30.
The West Central Women’s Resource Centre needs to fill two or three board positions. This spring, the centre will open a facility that includes 16 affordable housing units to help women-identified, non-binary individuals — and their loved ones — traumatized by family violence make a fresh start. Email wcwrcboardinterest@gmail.com by May 30.
The Children’s Rehabilitation Foundation needs volunteers for the Cruisin’ to Change Lives fundraising walk. Various roles are available, including route marshals, food service, welcome crew, parking assistants, setup and tear down. Email monique@crf.mb.ca or call 204-258-6703 by June 1.
The Assiniboine Park Conservancy needs adult volunteers for a variety of roles, including ambassadors who greet and welcome visitors as they explore the zoo, the Leaf and elsewhere in the park. Teen ages 14 to 18 are also needed as education tour guides for the Zoo Camp Crew, working with children ages six to 12. Go to http://wfp.to/0p3 by June 15.
The Costume Museum of Canada, formerly known as the Dugald Costume Museum, needs new board members. The board is dedicated to the preservation and celebration of Canadian fashion, culture and history. People with experience in promotion, fundraising, accounting and grant application are desired. Members must attend monthly board meetings and participate in fundraising events and exhibit preparation. Phone 204-989-0072 or email Barb Howie at costumemuseumcanada@gmail.com by July 30.
The Canadian Red Cross needs volunteers. When disaster strikes, you can help, and the Red Cross can show you how. Go to http://wfp.to/0pE, email volunteer@redcross.ca or call 1-844-818-2155.
That can mean anything from helping a lost child find their guardian, to assisting someone who is feeling ill on a hot day, to telling people where the bathrooms are and where they can find the animals they really want to see.
“I take it a little bit further — well, we all do — and we try to greet people, find out where they’re from, talk to the kids and ask them what their favourite animal is,” Trott says.
He recalls working at the kangaroo habitat last summer and telling the children they had to hop three times and say “G’day, mate” in order to meet the kangaroos.
Many children and parents started hopping around, except for one woman who told Trott in a broad Australian accent, “I’m bloody well not about to do that. I’m from Melbourne and I’ve seen too many kangaroos in my life.”
“It’s really interesting just to talk to the people, find out where they’re from and why they’re there,” says Trott, who has met people from around the world. “People are there to have a good time, they’re there to have fun, so you’re generally not dealing with unhappy customers.”
In addition to volunteering at the zoo, Trott is involved at his church, St. Paul’s Anglican in Fort Garry, and he volunteers occasionally at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.
Trott’s volunteerism is an outgrowth of the nearly 40 years he spent as a university professor and administrator, which had him interacting with all sorts of people.
“I’m very comfortable and used to getting out there and dealing with the public and talking to people,” he says. “I’m also a born educator. I love teaching. Nothing thrills me more — and this happens all the time — than seeing little light bulbs go on as you tell a child something.”
Trott has found his niche at the zoo, says Shaun Leonoff, manager of volunteer resources.
“He is just a very upbeat, outgoing gentleman,” she says. “He’s a storyteller. He loves talking to people, he loves animals and he loves connecting people to the animals.”
Leonoff is looking for more people to volunteer at the zoo, park and at the Leaf. There are a variety of roles available for people who are 14 or older.
Visit assiniboinepark.ca/volunteer for details.
“We really hope (people) come out and give it a try,” Leonoff says.
If you know a special volunteer, please contact aaron.epp@gmail.com.
Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. Read more about Aaron.
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