Becoming a volunteer at the Two Oceans Aquarium

By Bronwyn Cinnamon / 20 January 2012

Bronwyn Cinnamon and her fiancé

Two Oceans Aquarium volunteers Bronwyn Cinnamon and her fiancé have always loved the ocean and the outdoors, and joining the volunteer programme at the Aquarium was their logical next step. Bronwyn tells us of her experience at the Aquarium.

I was so nervous on my first day at the Aquarium, but this work has become so important as we can have a positive and enriching effect on the world.

There’s such energy at the Aquarium, and the volunteers seemed so happy to work long hours with very little sleep – particularly on Friday nights when we had so much to cram in before our Saturday assessment.

Studying and training for our work at the Aquarium took over our lives. In the car, on walks, we were always reading, discussing, learning. If only we had known that much of the task of building ourselves into a dream team that could help educate, create smiles and generate an interest in our oceans was there already, subconsciously.

A particularly treasured memory is the day we went to the beach to put our new knowledge into practice – there were three little girls playing at the tidal pool, and the youngest was intrigued by what she learnt from her “clever big sister”, as she called me.

The 2011 volunteer class

The weeks flew by, strong friendships were built and the day of the final assessment came and went – and we could finally go out and start volunteering.

But that excitement was tempered by such sadness at having to say goodbye.

I cannot thank the following Aquarium staff enough: deputy head of education Bianca Engel; PA to the head of education Katja Rockstroch; and senior educator Xavier Zylstra.

Stay in touch: For daily Aquarium updates, follow us on Twitter (@2OceansAquarium) and become a fan on Facebook.

Comments

Brian Arnold
24/01/2012 #

I want to do this so much but I don’t know if I am old enough I am in Grade 8 turning 14 am I allowed to help
Bianca Engel
18/04/2012 #

Thanks for this lovely blog Bronwyn. It was our pleasure. Each time we meet amazing people like yourselves who are prepared to share there new found knowledge by volunteering. Welcome to the Two Oceans family
Bianca Engel
18/04/2012 #

@ Brian Unfortunately the volunteer programme starts from 18 years and older. We do however have a Young Biologist Volunteer programme for Grade 10 students (16yrs old). Check out Young Biologist Course on the website for more information.
cailin
14/05/2012 #

Thank you very much for this wonderful, lovely,exiting and encouraging blog Bronwyn, love the name by the way.I really want to become a marine biologist. I am in grade 8 and im turning 13 in may am I allowed to help or volunteer?
Katja Rockstroh
16/05/2012 #

Hi Brian and Cailin, we actually have a programme coming up during the Winter Holidays for grade 8&9 learners. It will be a free programme, which means that you need to apply for it. You can e-mail me for more details!
Katja Rockstroh
16/05/2012 #

And my e-mail address is .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)!