Event Date: December 11, 2010

There is something to be said for early morning workouts. Starting your day off exerting some energy generally leads to a more productive, fulfilling day.

Today was no exception. Yes, we were volunteering at the Sacramento Zoo today, but little did we know that this would become one of the more physically strenuous volunteer events of this 20 Causes, 20 Days project.

We met at 8:30am out in front of the Zoo, and it was still brisk and foggy. Not being a morning person as it is, I was still wiping the sleep from my eyes as I pulled into the parking lot.

I hopped out of the car and was greeted by the smiling faces of Lea and Lauren, two friends of mine who I hadn’t seen in a while. They seemed eager and excited to be joining me today, and I fed off their energy which helped me wake up a bit more.

Becky and Cynthia also emerged from the fog, and we also met with Tiffany and Jerame, who would be our photographers on this day.

We all headed over to the main entrance of the zoo, where volunteer coordinator Valorie Schneider was waiting for us.

Her big smile helped warm me up on this chilly morning. She told us what our tasks would be on this day: we’d be clearing out a big section of the grounds of the ivy that had been overgrown there for years. They would be making that area into a garden where they would grow food to feed to the animals at the zoo.

Valorie introduced us to Tony and Darlene, who were part of the maintenance crew. He took us over to the shed where we picked up our rakes, shovels, gloves, and wheelbarrows.

We made it to the area, which was a triangular shaped area between the big cats and the primates that probably had an estimated square footage of about 100’ by 100’.

Most of the ivy had already been removed by an AmeriCorps group, but there was still quite a bit. The area was also covered in leaves, which we would also have to rake up today.

By this time, our final volunteer Elizabeth had arrived, and we all got to work. Cynthia, Becky, and Elizabeth grabbed rakes and began on the far side, while Lea, Lauren, and I tackled the ivy.

This is where the workout began. If you’ve ever pulled ivy, you know it’s a pretty strenuous task. Within about 10 minutes, sweat was dripping from my brow.

I was working hard. Every few minutes, I would take a quick break to wipe the sweat, catch my breath and observe my surroundings.

The lions were busy putting on a show for us. The Gibbons were making friends with Lea and Lauren. Today was the Holiday Magic day for the Zoo, so a lot of kids were there early. It was a great feeling of peace and serenity. I felt an extra sense of satisfaction knowing that our hard work today would ultimately benefit the amazing animals residing here at the zoo.

Valorie came by and said we could take a break for a special treat. As today was Holiday Magic, this was the day that the primates would receive their Christmas gifts – which were trees and stockings filled with delicious goodies. We headed over to the chimpanzee pen, and they were going nuts on the Christmas trees. There was spinach, onions, carrots, melons, squash, and many other vegetables.

Based on the way they tore into the goodies, it was truly a treat. It was cool to observe the smiling faces on everyone watching this display. It touched everyone, from young kids to senior citizens.

After watching the chimpanzees for a bit, we meandered over to the orangutan habitat, where we were fortunate enough to see the same thing. Once they were let out into the outside area, they raced each other all the way up to the top of their tree structure for the stockings stuffed with more goodies.

Everyone watching enjoyed this special treat, and I think the orangutans did too, as they put on a show and seemed to show off their goodies to the crowd of about 100 people who were sharing this experience.

The volunteers and I headed back to our area, because we still had a lot of work left to do. We got back into our tasks with aplomb. Tony and Darlene came by and seemed impressed that we’d gotten so much done.

Lea, Lauren, and I had pulled up all the rest of the ivy by this time, and the size of the pile showed us how much there really was. We went over and helped Becky, Elizabeth, and Cynthia finish up the leaves. We were dirty and it was great!

In a similar twist I used to apply on the baseball diamond, I used to always say “It’s not a good day at the yard without a little bloodshed,” meaning that you haven’t really worked hard if you don’t have blisters or some nicks.

Well, this was particularly true today. Elizabeth had a couple cuts on her arms and I had two gnarly blisters on my thumbs from raking. All of us were dirty already sore from exerting so much energy.

Despite these minor ailments, we all had a great time.

Cynthia said “I loved volunteering at the zoo and Saturday was such a great day to be there as the animals received their Christmas gifts. What fun!! But in terms of the project we were working on, I talked to quite a few of the zoo docents (the people in the yellow jackets) and they loved that the area we were working in had been cleared of trees and ivy. I guess it had started to look real messy and they loved the idea that plants that provide food and treats to the animals were going to be planted there.”

Becky added “We were given the heads up that we may get dirty, so I was expecting to be doing grounds clean-up or trash pick up. It ended up being a very physical task that we were assigned, and it was great. I can’t think of any other reason that I would wake up at dawn to rake leaves and pull ivy, and I so appreciated the exercise! Boy could I feel it the next day! I’m sure were we all sore, but it was just a good reminder of the hard work we put in. Also, listening to the deep roar of the lions and the siren-like sounds of the primates was really entertaining while we were working!”

Lauren said “Although landscaping isn’t my favorite activity, it was nice to see the difference our volunteering made, I can’t wait to go back in the spring when they’ve planted that area.”

It was a fun day, and special thanks to Valorie, Tony, and Darlene for having us out there. I recommend you check out the Sacramento Zoo on a couple levels.

Valorie said that the winter months are the best for seeing the animals, because their busy times (summer months) are too hot for most of the animals so they stay inside.

There are always volunteer opportunities available and they need help! They range from more active opportunities like what we helped with today, to various events and other long term opportunities. Please take some time to help them, and enjoy the chorus of wild animal noises as they encourage you on while volunteering! Volunteer information is below.

We had a great time today. What a great way to start out a Saturday, with a little dirty manual labor volunteer work to get the blood flowing, all for a great cause. I urge you to check it out for yourself. It’ll be well worth it!

Sacramento Zoo
Volunteer Information
Valorie Schneider
(916) 808-7444

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