For the love of animals

After 43-year career at the zoo, retiree returns to lend a hand

Volunteers
By: AV Kitching Posted: 6:00 AM CDT Monday, Mar. 16, 2026

Armed with a zoology degree from the University of Manitoba, Janice Martin started work at Assiniboine Park Zoo in 1980 and never looked back.

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Armed with a zoology degree from the University of Manitoba, Janice Martin started work at Assiniboine Park Zoo in 1980 and never looked back.

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Armed with a zoology degree from the University of Manitoba, Janice Martin started work at Assiniboine Park Zoo in 1980 and never looked back.

She spent 43 years in various roles at the zoo until she retired in 2023. Retirement, however, was just a long lunch break for Martin. After four months away, she was back as a dedicated volunteer.

“I first started in Aunt Sally’s Farm in the summer of 1976 before going into university in the fall. Right after I graduated, there was an opening at the zoo. It was the perfect opportunity and I grabbed it. I worked my way through different areas over the years, first as a zookeeper, then a supervisor and finally as a curator for 10 years before I retired,” Martin, 68, says.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS
Janice Martin says volunteering at the zoo has been a rewarding way to spend some of her retirement, providing her an opportunity to carry out work she wasn’t able to do as an employee.

She volunteers approximately three times a week. For two of those days, she supports the zoo’s enrichment program by creating items to engage and stimulate natural animal behaviour.

She and the other volunteers are currently making paper-mâché Easter eggs. The eggs will have openings that can be filled with hay, mealworms, fruit or vegetables, and will be placed in different parts of the zoo. Animals will have to rotate the egg to find and eat the food.

Martin also creates interpretive activities for zoo visitors.

“It can be something simple like a volunteer walking around carrying a bag of animal fur, asking visitors if they’ve even touched llama fur. Or it can be a fun activity, like when we collected poop from some of the animals and asked visitors to match the poop to the animal. Kids generally love that topic. It’s really fun for a child, but parents not so much,” she explains.

When the weather warms up, Martin will head outdoors to photograph wildlife for the zoo’s biodiversity monitoring program. The pictures will be uploaded into the iNaturalist app and automatically added to a database. As of September 2024, volunteers have uploaded more than 4,000 records of wildlife and identified more than 600 species in the park and zoo.

Volunteer opportunities

The following is a list of volunteer opportunities for Winnipeg and surrounding areas. For more information about these listings, contact the organization directly. Volunteer Manitoba does not place volunteers with organizations but can help people find opportunities. To learn more about its programs and services, go to wfp.to/volunteers or call 204-477-5180.

Share your love of volunteering! As Volunteer Manitoba’s community engagement ambassador, you will become the face of Volunteer Manitoba at community events, career fairs and volunteer fairs from April 1 to June 30. Your responsibilities will include working at an information booth interacting with event attendees in various locations across Winnipeg. This position allows you to talk with hundreds of people about the benefits of volunteering. Shifts are daytime, Monday to Friday. Apply by email: kamillah.elgiadaa@volunteermanitoba.ca. Deadline is March 18.

The Good Neighbours Active Living Centre is looking for friendly café prep helpers. Duties include making sandwiches, serving soup and coffee and maintaining kitchen cleanliness. Volunteers receive a free lunch and will be trained if inexperienced. Open to individuals as well as groups, the position requires daytime hours, as the café operates Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Apply in person or online at gnalc.ca. Deadline is May 1.

The Extra Life Winnipeg Guild seeks a skilled volunteer WordPress website manager to help refresh and modernize their existing site. This is a remote position. The volunteer will work with their team to update the website while maintaining existing content and ensuring the site remains easy to maintain (by either this volunteer on an ongoing basis, if desired, or by the Extra Life Winnipeg team). Interested applicants must submit a portfolio or examples of your work with your application. Apply online at gnalc.ca or extralifeguildwinnipeg@gmail.com. Deadline is March 31.

WELARC assists newcomers in accessing language classes and is currently seeking board members. The board is tasked with overseeing the overall policy and direction of WELARC, with the ability to delegate day-to-day operations to suitable staff or committees. They must adhere to the duty of diligence, acting in the best interests of the organization and its members; the duty of loyalty, prioritizing the organization’s interests; and the duty of obedience, operating within the organization’s policies. Volunteers should possess a blend of strategic, interpersonal and operational skills. The role offers flexible, remote volunteering opportunities for those aged 31-54. Apply by email: ltummillo@welarc.net. Deadline is April 30.

The Valley Gardens Community Centre is looking for Mini Soccer coaches for the TimBits program. Duties include setting up equipment, creating drills, monitoring players and providing tailored guidance. Before May, coaches can train and must complete a grassroots coaching course and a Respect in Sport online course. Required skills include organization and teamwork; experience is welcomed but not necessary, as training is provided. This role offers leadership and community service experience for those 16 and over. Evening and weekend availability is needed, with required police and child abuse registry checks reimbursed. Apply by email: vgcc@shaw.ca. Deadline is April 20.

Winnipeg Fine Art Fair seeks volunteers for its Art Show April 10-12 at Red River Exhibition Place. Team leaders, raffle tickets, rovers and wrappers are required. Support Manitoba artists at this exciting event! Please email winnipegfineartfair@gmail.com. Deadline is March 28.

KidSport Manitoba is seeking to create a pool of volunteers to support community outreach and fundraising efforts throughout the year. Volunteers represent KidSport at local events, assist with event logistics and help raise awareness and funds to support access to sport for Manitoba children. There are opportunities for all ages with a wide variety of times and locations available. Apply online: wfp.to/ic9. Deadline is April 15.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Winnipeg needs mentors for its in-school mentoring program, which provides youth with a role model and a friend to talk to and share the experiences of growing up within school grounds. Mentors meet with mentees for one hour weekly, engaging in activities like games or crafts at school. Participants are referred by staff. Mentors must be at least 18, co-operative with staff, pass criminal and vulnerable persons record checks and adhere to the confidentiality agreement. Commitment is one hour weekly during the school year, September to June, for at least one year. Apply online: wfp.to/ic3. Deadline is Dec. 31.

Challenger Baseball Manitoba seeks volunteer baseball buddies. They will provide on-field support to children, youth and adults with physical and/or cognitive disabilities. No baseball experience is needed — just patience and a willingness to have fun and be supportive. Hours are Saturdays at 10 a.m. from May to June. Email: challengerMBbuddies@gmail.com by May 2.

The Canadian Red Cross needs volunteers. The Red Cross can show you how to help when disaster strikes. Apply at wfp.to/0pE, volunteer@redcross.ca or 1-844-818-2155.

Not many people will choose to return to the same workplace when they retire, but Martin says she finds it satisfying.

“For me it’s the ultimate way to do this. It’s fun and I still have time to enjoy my retirement. As a volunteer, I can contribute in different ways. I get to watch nestlings emerge from nest boxes that our conservation department has set up within the park and record what I’m seeing. I never got to do that working in the zoo. You need a volunteer who has hours of time to be able to stand and watch what’s going on.”

Martin’s work has inspired her travels. She’s been to Uganda to meet gorillas, caught sight of a critically endangered freshwater manatee on the Amazon River in Peru, seen squirrel monkeys in the wild in Costa Rica and flown to Borneo, where she met orangutans.

“So many animals are in trouble. They are endangered. Visiting and seeing the realities of what some of these animals are facing, you realize you are not the only one who knows these animals are in danger. I used to be very discouraged about the fate of animals, but now that I’ve travelled a bit, I understand that people and communities are working very hard to ensure the survival of these animals,” she says.

The Assiniboine Park Conservancy is looking to fill a number of volunteer roles in preparation for the busy summer season. Anyone aged 14 or older can apply for a variety of opportunities. All volunteers receive cross-training to support roles at the zoo, The Leaf and the park.

Adult volunteers must put in a minimum of 60 hours per year, while teens must agree to work a minimum of 40 hours annually. The application deadline for this season is May 31. Visit assiniboinepark.ca/volunteer for more information.

If you know a special volunteer please contact av.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

AV Kitching
Reporter

AV Kitching is an arts and life writer at the Free Press. She has been a journalist for more than two decades and has worked across three continents writing about people, travel, food, and fashion. Read more about AV.

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AV Kitching
Reporter