My first day

I was unnecessarily nervous before going along, but there was no need to be. I just wanted to make a good impression and to make the most of the day.

First job
There were lots of rules to read and remember, which I will need to recap on. I started off by raking straw in the sheep enclosure, with a volunteer called Sam. The three sheep were quite docile - 2 from Iceland, one from the Shetlands or somewhere. They eyed us warily (one had horns, so I kept an eye on it, whilst raking!) Sam said they wouldn't approach us. He was doing his Duke of Edinburgh volunteering and seemed to enjoy the exercise and being with the animals. He was very kind and showed me where everything was and told me how to do things.

Raking was fine, although it was one of those jobs where you know the straw will be back over the field the next day! But it felt nice to be making it look clean and cared for, for both the sheep and the public. And it is always satisfying to be able to see that you have completed a task well.

The sheep are by the entrance, so we could see lots of people coming in, for Mothers Day. The sun came out and I got quite warm in my specially provided overalls, which I really liked - all-in-one dark green - they made me feel the part.

Scooping
Once we had raked and bagged up the straw (before the wind blew it everywhere), Adam, our supervisor, said "good job", which was great (because you don't always get praise at work!) - and then asked us to scoop up the sheep poop in both halves of their pen. We did this with little shovels - a spade with a very short handle. It was quite an inoffensive job to do, and it was nice to be out in the fresh air hearing the public enjoying the animals.

An hour for lunch, which was great, because we needed time to wash our hands, take overalls on and off, and eat. I had a little look round at the other animals - lemurs were out, otters were busy and there is a new tamarind monkey section. They are tiny.

Afternoon

After lunch, Sam had gone home, so I was on poop-scooping duty with the beautiful sitatunga. I was very excited to go in with them, as they are my favourite. They are supposed to be inquisitive, and the male one did come over to look at me - but he didn't get closer than 12 feet and they are all so nervy, they ran away when I went closer. By this stage I was getting too warm, so I must remember not to wear so many layers next week - it's not easy to strip off when you have the overalls on top of everything.

One member of the public asked me where the meerkats were - I suddenly realised how a uniform/overalls makes you officially look the part and that people were expecting me to look and act like a true member of staff. Thankfully my many trips to the place meant I could tell her straight away how to get to the meerkats, and not look like a bumbling idiot. It felt great to be able to help her. I think I felt at ease doing the smiley staff bit, from having done this at university events so often.

Once I'd done the sitatunga, and struggled with the padlock - aware I could not let the animals escape on my first day! - I went to find Adam to ask him to check the enclosure was shut properly. He was in with the snakes, behind the scenes, with a volunteer called Alex. Whilst Adam went to check the sitatunga, Alex showed me the corn snakes. They were very pretty, but I am not sure how much I like snakes. Their movement is a bit weird. Alex was moving corn snakes from a kind of holding area to separate plastic boxes, and he explained that he had to feed them separately or that they would fight. He put in a dead mouse for one, and it leapt forward to eat it. I wasn't too freaked out by the dead mouse; it just looked dead.

Adam had asked me what animals I would prefer to work with, which was great, because I didn't realise I would have any choice. I explained I would probably prefer not to have a look at the spiders, but that I would be happy to learn about all the other creatures. I might even look at the spiders if I am feeling brave. After all, I want to learn as much as I can about as many animals as I can whilst I am there, and they do have a wide range.

Afterwards
At 4pm it was home time and as I walked through the nature centre, I realised everyone had left - I had not noticed them leaving at all! It was a really good first day and at one point I had just realised it "felt right" and that it was lovely to be in the air, with the animals nearby, and with people who cared about them. I felt tired aftewards, and in the days following, my shovel arm has been sore - but I'm hoping that with regular exercise, I will toughen up and not notice! Sunday is nearly here again already...!