Shining a light on volunteer coordinator Macy!

This National Volunteer Week we’re shining a light on volunteer coordinator Macy!

Macy is one of four coordinators that facilitate the smooth running of our volunteer programme – and with a roster of 168 part-time volunteers this is no small feat!

She started her volunteering journey with us in 2015 as part of our Tuatara Club programme for teens. Here, she was able to learn about the Zoo and how to engage with visitors of varying ages. Macy was drawn to the Zoo due to her passion for conservation and says, “What I most enjoyed learning about was New Zealand native species, the threats they face in the wild, and how Auckland Zoo plays a part in their conservation efforts. This culminated in learning how to prepare behavioural enrichment for kea!”

As a coordinator there are so many things that happen in a single day, and this really keeps her on her toes. This can include training new volunteers, organising an ‘animal watch’ (this is when our volunteers will keep an eye on an individual animal or species on behalf of our keepers – and report back their findings) or dropping off herbs and weeds to different animal teams. This keeps her fit as she laps the Zoo several times in one day!

This year, she’s coming full circle with helping to coordinating our new intake of Tuatara Club volunteers and says, “I’m getting to see the programme from a whole new perspective. Working alongside these teens, who are just so passionate about conservation is a treat!”

If you spot Macy at the Zoo, you may see her with not one but two radios! This is because our volunteers have their own special channel they communicate on, in addition to our general zoo radio channel. In this way, she can keep her ear out for everything that’s going on in the Zoo, but as she explains “It also means I have very heavy pants!”

Auckland Zoo is very lucky to have such a vibrant volunteering programme – and passionate coordinators like Macy to facilitate it. “I am constantly in awe of all the volunteers at the Zoo, they each have such different professions, interests and backgrounds, but all come together with a common passion for wildlife. It is such a joy to know, and coordinate, them all. Our volunteers are always revving to get out and start their days, which makes my work a breeze!”, explains Macy.

If you spot one of our incredible volunteers – or volunteers within any organisation in Aotearoa New Zealand this National Volunteer Week - be sure to spread the love!