Volunteer Spotlight! Deanna Geiger
Many thanks to Deanna and her more than 500 volunteer hours of service at Bear Hollow Wildlife Trail!
Deanna started volunteering in August of 2007 and has provided many hours of hard animal care work at the zoo since then. An Athens, GA native, Deanna has been going to the zoo since she was a little girl and has fond memories of seeing the animals there. Like many children, Deanna always dreamed of working with animals in some capacity and a couple of years ago after some big life changes, she took the first step to make that a reality. Deanna has worked as a bookkeeper in the past and is exploring new job options right now. Deanna finds her work with the animals therapeutic and a great stress-reliever. Deanna spends anywhere from 4-7 hours at the zoo every Tuesday on various types of caretaking for animals including: the bears, red-tail hawks, oppossum, turkey, deer and more . She prepares their food, cleans their areas, monitors their health and notes any abnormal behavior. As part of her animal care duties, she fills out daily reports which the zoo coordinator reads to ensure that the animals are comfortable and healthy. As the seasons change, so do the animals and Deanna takes particular note of how the animals are responding to these changes, and how they can be stressful for the animal. Deanna is amazed by the animals and finds that even as an adult, she has retained her ‘sense of wonder’ by being around the creatures. She would not profess to liking any particular animal more than another, but did say that she is not so interested in the snakes. She finds volunteering at the zoo a great way to give back. She especially enjoys interacting with zoo patrons and loves it when people and especially kids, watch her do her work and follow her from animal to animal. Deanna likes answering their questions and telling them about the animals. Berkeley Boone, Zoo Coordinator, stated that “Deanna has been an asset to the Zoo’s volunteer program, she is passionate about providing the best possible care to the animals and continuously enthusiastic about working with the animals.”
Volunteer Pathways Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 118 Athens, GA
205 Old Commerce Road Athens, GA 30607 www.volunteernaturallyathens.com or Current Resident
Chili Cook-off Friday Dec. 4th 6-8pm Memorial Park, Be there! Friends and family welcome! 4