Join us to learn how to be a volunteer Animal Ambassador Caretaker!

PVAS Host: Amy Thomas

Free and open to the public. This program is generally for adults, although teenagers 14 years and older may attend but muct be accompanied by adults on all future volunteer shifts. Pre-registration is required and limited to 10 participants.

PVMN Continuing Education Credit Eligible

Are you interested in helping care for the Case Nature Center’s resident Animal Ambassadors, which include four turtles, a snake, and Hissing Cockroaches?

As an Animal Ambassador Caretaker, you’ll help feed and enrich the lives of our educational animals, support basic housekeeping in collaboration with PVAS staff and AmeriCorps members. This training is a great way to deepen your connection with wildlife and conservation through meaningful volunteer service. Animal Ambassadors are fed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The times of day are flexible and can include evenings. Friday shifts can be done on Saturdays to fit within the caretaker’s schedule.

Structured training activities will last no more than two hours, to allow plenty of time for questions, hands-on exploration of the space and supplies, and anything else you need to get comfortable.

• Walking Distance: This volunteer position involves walking around the downstairs of the Case Nature Center, moving objects like bins that contain water. We will be learning through hands-on practice during an actual Animal Ambassador feeding.
• Restroom: Indoor, flushing restrooms are available.
• Parking/Where to Meet: Meet inside the Case Nature Center.
• What to Bring: No special supplies are required, but there is a chance you may have some “turtle water” splashed on your clothes, so keep this in mind as you dress!

Register Here!

Registration will remain open until the start of the program.

If the required minimum # of people do not register by 4 pm the evening prior, the program will be cancelled.

Read our pricing structure & policies.

About our Host: Amy is our Lead Teacher and Naturalist. She first worked for PVAS starting in 2012 as a camp counselor for three summers and then as camp director in 2015.

While studying at Towson University, Amy interned with the National Aquarium and Irvine Nature Center and worked for the University’s Office of Sustainability as a Compost Educator. Amy was also very involved in her university’s Outdoor Adventure program where she worked as an Outdoor Trip Leader, Kayak Clinic Instructor, Challenge Course Facilitator and Climbing Gym Supervisor. After earning her BA in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Informal Environmental Education in 2015, she served as a Chesapeake Conservation Corps member, working as a naturalist at Meadowside Nature Center in Rockville, Maryland. Most recently, Amy worked as a field instructor at the Mountain Institute at Spruce Knob, West Virginia, where she led students on backpacking trips and taught Watershed Education programs.

In her free time, Amy enjoys backpacking, biking, rock climbing, kayaking and cross-country skiing.”