Join us for a training session for our new volunteer position, Animal Ambassador Caretakers, led by Amy Thomas at the Case Nature Center at Cool Spring Preserve!

PVAS Host: Amy Thomas

Free and open to the public. This program is for adults. Registration is required and limited to 10 participants.

PVMN Continuing Education Credit Eligible

This engaging session is designed to help you feel confident and prepared in your role caring for our resident Animal Ambassadors. Structured training activities will last no more than two hours, but we’ve set aside three hours total to allow plenty of time for questions, hands-on exploration of the space and supplies, and anything else you need to get comfortable. 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, and may even have opportunities to engage the public at events like Turtle Time. 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 be arranged to fit within the Caretaker’s schedule.

• 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.

Read our pricing structure & policies.

About Amy:

Amy is a PVAS Program Specialist. She first worked for PVAS starting in 2012 as a camp counselor for three summers and then as camp director in 2015. In her role as a Program Specialist, she oversees Nature in the Neighborhood, school programs (other than 4th Grade Watershed), Turtle Time, and Forest Storytime.

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.