A DAY AS A KEEPER BY KIM POPLASS

At 1pm we went to the reptile house. I held the bearded dragon and a rush of braveness came over me and I held a cockroach which my little boy stroked ~ my second fear beaten!

I met Craig another Senior Head Keeper and we went to feed the wallabies. Craig gave the talk and I handed out wallaby pellets to the public so they could feed them. Next up, the Meerkats where I met up with Natasha a keeper and went into the Meerkat enclosure. I scattered food around while Natasha did the talk. It was amazing!

Then it was pets corner time and I held a Guinea Pig for the public to stroke. I watched Fern feed the Otters before heading back to the penguin pool where Jake and Tara were working really hard cleaning out the penguin enclosure before feeding them at 3.30pm and the visitors also got the opportunity to feed the penguins.

After that it was time to say Thank You and Goodbye. It was such a fantastic day and a great opportunity. A life changing moment for me. I have decided I'm going to study animal care next year and also do a few hours a week volunteering at the Park.

The staff work really hard and are amazing at what they do. It isn't about the time with the animals its about spending lots of time cleaning the enclosures to make it a nice environment for the animals and for the people who visit.

I would like to say a huge thank you to Tara for taking the time to work with me on her day off. Also a big thank you to Craig, Jake, Natasha and Fern for making me feel welcome. I can see the Park being a huge success for many years to come!