Docent Newsletter

March 2026 Meeting Notes 

Present: 8 docents & 4 staff

Jamie Nichols – Assistant Director

• Budget - $325,000 needed for essential items – requested and waiting for approval.

• The Zoo Foundation will be having its first official meeting this week.  Update will come at next docent meeting.

• The recent snowstorm took 18 trees down.  Millers Tree Service cleared all the pathways and hauled the bamboo and trees away.  The zoo was closed for 7 days to clean and clear debris.

• NEWS FLASH – WE ARE GETTING A COATI ! We are breaking ground in the Spring for a new Coati Habitat.  We are receiving him/her from another zoo that will be closing its doors end of March.   It will be in quarantine until we have a suitable temporary habitat. 

• Service Learning meeting on Thursday, March 12, 2026.  Good turnout.

Kelly Colbert - Education Curator

• Jaime has been promoted to Assistant Director. A replacement for her position is now being interviewed. Positions open for interview include:

Guest Services Manager

Program Coordinator – responsible for Education assistance and programs

Marketing Coordinator – will report to Kelly and Jaime

• Education has cleared the space where the Guinea Pigs used to reside for a computer. Stations to house the new positions and for use by PT staff and docents.

• Stormy, our retired Chinchilla, passed away last week.  Necropsy results showed growths in liver and uterus, internal cancer and fluid around her heart.  She will be buried at Parkinson Cemetery for animals.

• Akila, our new short-tailed hawk is out of quarantine and Michelle and Kelsey are working with her on commands. 

• Two new additions soon – Harris's Hawk and Toads.

• Kelly will be attending the AZA conference in Georgia on the 21-27.

• Our first Conservation Day celebrating Ocelots will be held this Saturday, March 14.  Terri Esposito and Eloise Remski will be presenting a day of biofacts, presentations, crafts, games and raffle!!!  The next celebration is May 2 on Monarch Butterflies – 6 docents are needed to help Sharon present.

• Amphibian week is May 3-9 – volunteers needed.

• Docents are needed for all of our upcoming events – please go to the docent website to check out the events and contact Addison or Michelle to sign up. 

Addison – AmeriCorps Representative/Michelle Angell – Educator

• Please go to the Docent Website for a list of all of our upcoming events. Docents are needed as we kick off the Spring and Summer Events.

 Garden Club – Sue Hughes

• Sue needs help taking Boxwoods out – the herb garden clean-up day is scheduled for March 21st and will be coordinated with the Service Learning Day.

 Next Docent Meeting: Monday, April 6th @ 9:30

February 2026 Meeting Notes 

Present: 8 docents & 4 staff

Chuck Eicholz — Director
- the complete job description has been created for a guest services manager. We will hopefully start getting some candidates. We also have two animal care positions. A part-time marketing position will also be hired.
  - The public forum, held on January 28, drew about 12 people. The floor was opened after a short presentation. Some of those present were impressed with the Peccaries.  There were questions about parking. We can’t grow if we don’t know what we are doing wrong. We will probably be having another forum in Midsummer.
  - The survey is now on the website. 18 people have taken the survey. Some commented that they liked the animals, others said that they don’t come to the zoo because of the Zoo‘s reputation. A follow up question has been added so concerns can be addressed.
  - We will be going to the city council on February 2 to discuss the budget. Land and grounds budget has been the same for the last 15 years. It costs a lot more money to take care of the facility, so hopefully we can come up with a little more money. A priority is to get Kelly and other employee positions moved to the city budget.
  - We hope to get approval from the state for the foundation by next week. We have hired a lawyer, Regina, who has rewritten our by-laws, etc. to reflect what a true foundation should be.
  - There was a deceased goose found outside the gate of the zoo. The goose appeared to be healthy, so it was tested for avian influenza, and was found to be positive. The recommendation by the state was to use PPE precautions. We have available PPE, so please use it. Please remember to wash your hands. If you have pets at home, do the same.
  - There has been a little breeding activity in the rainforest. The spectacled owls are sitting next to each other. The kookaburras appear to like each other.
  - We have been waiting for better weather to transport any animals. If animals are coming from close by, it isn’t a problem. But animals coming from a distance must wait until the weather is better to transport safely.

Kelly Colbert - Education Curator
  - Our short-tailed hawk is still in quarantine. She is being treated for tapeworms, which we think she already had when she came to us.

- Avian influenza update: Birds are still going out on programs. You can go into the aviary, but must wear booties and if you are in close contact, use a mask.
  - Just a reminder that if you are feeling sick, please do not interact with the ferrets as they are susceptible to the common cold.
  - Valentines are still available for sale.  Those purchased for mail delivery will be available until February 6. Valentines can be purchased for pickup until the end of the following week. You can pick from our education, animals, Cricket (bearded dragon), and Stormy(chinchilla) or you can choose Dale, (ocelot) Bowie,(male red wolf) Ripley,(spider monkey) or the flamingos. We have sold over 400 so far. Heather and Michelle will be putting address labels on the ones that will be mailed on February 9 at 10:30. Please consider helping out.
  - The Birdwatch, scheduled for February 14 will now be online rather than on-site, due to the presence of avian influenza close to the zoo.
  - The Better Living Expo will be on Saturday, February 21 from 9 AM to 6 PM and Sunday, February 22 from 10 AM to 4 PM at the Civic Center. If you can come and help that weekend, even for a little while, we would absolutely love it. Heather and guest services will be selling merchandise. We will be there with our bio facts and will be bringing out animals. It’s a lot of fun and a great thing to go to.  It’s inside so it will be warm. Cara suggested docents should stand in front of the table or have a chair at the side of the table, so they can better engage with the public.
  - Our next Conservation Day will be about the ocelot on March 14. Eloise and Terri have already started working on ideas. If you’re interested in helping with any of the conservation days, please let Addison know. These conservation days will be some of the really great things we can do at the zoo that are free for our guests.
  - The Easter Jeep Hop will be on March 28. There will be jeeps located throughout the zoo. About 50 jeeps will be able to be displayed within the Zoo. We will be bringing out a few animals and may have a craft. Docents could also have a bake sale if interested.
  - Earth Day at the zoo will be on April 18. We will have some educational presentations, games, and crafts. Please consider helping. If interested, you could also have a docent bake sale at this event.
  - The Zoo Stampede 5K will be on May 2, which is the same day as Monarch day.
  - Addison will be sending an email listing all of the 2026 zoo events.
  - I am super excited about a new immersive program that we can bring to elementary schools. I have received formal approval to apply for a grant, which is really exciting. This program will be an auditorium style program and is basically a pre-recorded tour through the Zoo. There will be an educator at the school that will answer questions from the students. The tour will stop at specific animals getting a little more hands-on in-depth conversation. If the interest is about a specific animal or group, such as reptiles, the tour can be customized. At first, the program will be for Worcester and Somerset counties. The cost of transportation is too much for the schools to handle so this is a way to introduce the students to the zoo. The auditorium style will make it possible for all third-grade students to be present at the same time. The first program will be free. If the schools like the program, they could book additional programs for a small fee. The grant would cover building and making the entire program, cover new bio facts to bring to the programs, cover the technology to film, and cover staffing to make all of the content and create flyers and pamphlets, etc. We would eventually like to expand the program to Dorchester County and Easton. We could also possibly be able to include parts of Virginia in Delaware. It’s a great opportunity and I am super excited.

Michelle Angell – Educator

 - We are applying for a grant to work on our pollinator gardens. The grant could be up to $3000. The plan is to build brand new pollinator gardens. If you would like to help with the planning that would be fantastic.

Cara Rozaieski - Docent
 - Would it be possible to put a link to the docent website for future meeting minutes? This would help familiarize docents with the website.
  - Two people are reviewing the questions for the docent survey. Once that is completed, it could be put on the Docent website.

Next Docent Meeting: Monday, March 2nd @ 9:30

 December 2025 Meeting Notes

Present: 7 docents & 5 staff

Chuck Eicholz — Director

• We are hoping by weekend that the Zoo Commission will finally become the Salisbury Zoological Foundation, which will benefit us greatly as far as funding our numerous projects.

• There will be a public forum scheduled sometime in January regarding the Strategic Plan for the Zoo. The public’s opinion is required, and the forum will be held outside of the Zoo. Anyone can attend and are welcome to voice their opinion. We did have a survey this past summer and some of that information will be presented. Hopefully, there will be a good turnout, and we can get everyone in agreement to formalize the 3–5-year strategic plan.

• We are in the final stages of the plan for the Coati habitat which will now be called Expedition Ecuador. We cannot acquire any Coati as the only 2 that could be found were in Texas and the cost was 7k each. We do not have the funds for that, so we are now considering other possibilities.

• Wild Vibes was a tremendous success. We doubled our attendance from last year. Everyone I talked to from the vendors or the bands or the guests absolutely loved it. Everyone who came in early stayed until close to the end. We are hoping that this event will get even bigger and better next year.

• We are currently working on getting quotes for a new website, which is needed.

• Our next big event is Rockin’ Around the Zoo which we are expanding this year. We appreciate anyone who can come to the events and help.

• We will formally have approval to be a separate city department at a presentation where Chuck will be sworn in as the Director. We are currently interviewing for the new position of Assistant Director, and all of the candidates (so far) are extremely qualified.

Luke Krider — Collections Curator

• As announced earlier we recently lost Chayne. She passed away naturally due to her decline with having renal disease, kidney disease, and arthritis. We also lost one of our flamingos who passed (again) due to age-related conditions. We now have 10 all male, flamingos.

• We have a new male spectacle owl, named Bosque who is now in quarantine. He was recommended to breed with Luna which is extremely exciting as she would become the oldest spectacle owl on record to have babies.

• A male and female Green Aracari have just arrived and are currently at the hospital. We are excited to welcome Clint and Natasha. The Aracari are a smaller version of a Toucan.

• Our 5 female Peccaries are on their way. The two from LA are Adzuki Bean and Jellybean and are 8 and 10 years old. The 3 girls from Indiana are younger, all about 1 year old. They are Wilma, Fern and Angie.

• We are also acquiring an Australian Wonga Pigeon named Willie (as in Willie Wonga)

• The renovations of the rainforest and the other new habitats are going great.

• We are looking to have Docents become involved in Animal Care along with Diet Prep. There will be a sign-up sheet for anyone interested and there will also be training for those who want to be involved.

Kelly Colbert — Education Curator 

• This weekend we have Zoothing Lights, which is on Saturday. That is same as Rocking Around the Zoo, but it’s a smaller sensory friendly version. On Sunday, we have the Christmas parade, so we will also be participating in that, like we did last year. The theme is Cowboy Country. It is the theme for the whole parade, not just us. We will be decorating the float. The parade starts at 1:00 and we will be meeting earlier at the Zoo around 11:30/12:00 to decorate. We will drive over to the starting point at the Civic Center at 12:15. Anyone who is participating can meet us at the Zoo or at the Civic Center.

• The following weekend is Rockin’ Around the Zoo on Saturday the 13th and then again, the next weekend on the 19th and the 20th. We will need Docents to help with these events.

• We will wrap up the year with Zoo Year’s Eve on 12/31 from 10:30 to 12:30. Again, Docent help is always appreciated.

• Have the list from Luke of all the animal holidays for next year that we plan to celebrate what we're calling our conservation days. Those will be the holidays that will be celebrated here at the zoo that will do something specific for different animals that we have here. For example, we have National Bison Day that will do something for, as well as Amphibian Week. Would love to see some of our Docents getting involved in planning these events.

Addison Andrews — AmeriCorps Representative

• Sent out an email outlining all the upcoming events. Please let him know which events you will be available to help with.
  
  

Terri Esposito — Social Committee

• Terri is now heading up this committee and has decided that we will not assign one person each month to provide refreshments at the meetings. Instead, anyone who wants to bring something is welcome to do so. Also, Terri is looking for suggestions for fundraisers that we would like the Docents to get involved with. You can email Terri at ttbone511@aol.com.

Sue Hughes — Garden Committee

• Sue noted that the Service-Learning Day was successful but also had several suggestions for the staff.

Eloise Remski  — Newsletter, Historical Scrapbook

• Please submit any zoo articles you may come across to Eloise. These can be left in the blue divider box in the Ed Center.

Next Docent Meeting:  Monday, January 5th @ 9:30

October 2025 Meeting Notes

Present: 9 docents & 4 staff

Chuck Eicholz — Director

• Our Zoo is in a perpetual state of construction with all the renovations that are happening Zoo wide. We are seeking to obtain several new animal species to populate a newly designed habitat that previously housed the alligator. We envision this to a rainforest type exhibit and will hopefully house a breeding pair of Saki Monkeys, “wannabe” Toucans, & Red Foot Tortoise. The habitat will include upper and lower levels for premium viewing, and we hope to complete this project by next summer. In conjunction with this is a plan to create a habitat for tropical birds in the Sloth area.

•  We are moving forward with our Peccary habitat which will have a new gate and concrete section with a window for a look-out into the yard. We will have 3 female Peccaries arriving from LA this Fall (all breeding age) with a male joining them in the Spring. The area should be ready next week, and we believe they can quarantine on habitat rather than in the hospital.

•  The meetings for the Science Center are going well and the renderings for the building look impressive. We have secured 500k from the city and we believe the state will match, or even better that amount. Our state delegation luncheon went very well and there is high interest in this project. We hope to break ground in one year with actual construction to take another year.

•  Our visit to the AZA convention in Tampa was great. We gained valuable insights from the strategic planning seminar. The AZA CEO fully supports our endeavors and wants our Zoo to succeed. We are a prime example for small Zoos. We met an AZA inspector (Don), who lives locally and is open to touring our Zoo and giving us feedback as we work towards our accreditation goal. The city is embracing all our efforts and the state delegates expressed absolute support. i.e. Mary Beth Carozza was very impressed and is committed to telling our story with an emphasize on ‘Education & Family.’ We will be meeting with Jake Day soon and will try for a meeting with Gov Wes Moore.

•  The Zoo will be closed next Monday to Wednesday for pathway paving. They will be grading all areas as best as possible to avoid puddling and/or flooding.

•  We're making some updates to our Admin Building to add an office for our soon-to-be-hired new Admin.

Kelly Colbert - Education Curator

• Katelyn has left and is now working as an Animal Care Tech for our Zoo. We have hired a new Ed Tech, Kelsey, and she will be starting with us on Oct 20th.

• We are asking Docents to help with our Halloween Happening events as much as possible.  Due to the paving project taking place next week we will only have 2 days prior to the first Halloween happening to get ready. We appreciate anyone who can show up on the 16 th and 17 th to help us prepare. The sponsor, Gateway, that we’ve previously had for Halloween has backed out and we are extremely excited to announce that our new sponsor is ‘The Metal Shop’. They will be bringing a gigantic MONSTER truck into our Zoo for both events. The truck will be located at Osprey Landing (the new beach area) and we will have the open floor plan as we did last year. The stage at the Holly Circle will host the dancers and there will be music at the new pavilion. All the games will be in the activity zone, and we will have animal presentations throughout the day. Our Docents will again have their Bake Sale in front of the Morgan Center on both dates.

•  Our ambassador mammals are now residing in Ed Holding with the exception of Hogan and Stormy who will remain in the Ed Bldg. Our Guina Pig, Eloise, is leaving us to live in her new home as a pet.

•  We are in the process of acquiring three new Ambassador Birds. A Short-Tailed Hawk, named AKeela; a Red Shouldered Hawk, a male juvenile from Fl who is not named yet; and a Harris Hawk named Bud, a 12 year old male who is flight trained. And we are also looking to acquire a small owl.  We are looking to expand our amphibian collection by adding spotted toads who are native to California and North Mexico.  We have acquired 3 new spotted turtles- 2 females and a male, but we actually need to separate the male who is quite horny (lol).

•  The AZA convention had a discussion on non-conventional roles for Docents, and they were very impressed to learn about the involvement our Docents have with the Herb Garden (kudos to Sue Hughes). We would like to present opportunities for our Docents to help with other non-conventional roles such as logging and scanning a backlog of records that we have amassed. We would also like to start involving Docents in SAFE (Saving Animals Fron Extinction) by hosting programs to fundraise for specific animals. Especially those that we have at our Zoo, such as Bison, Ocelot, Red Wolves…etc.

Addison – AmeriCorps Representative

• Our Halloween Happening events are very important, and we are asking all Docents to help out. One highlight is the Docent Bake Sale. Please donate baked goods (homemade or store bought) and bring them day of or drop off days before. Please note if any baked goods contain nuts. All items are $1.00 each so please package accordingly. Barbara suggested we make “Popcorn Hands” and all agreed this is perfect for Halloween. Docents will be preparing these on each Friday before the events if anyone would like to help.

Michelle – Ed Dept

• Lorraine Bozman is our Docent of the Month for September. Lorraine is an extremely dedicated Docent and is so very appreciated. Thank you, Lorraine!

• Please contact Addison or Michelle if interested in helping with our upcoming events.

Salisbury Zoological Foundation: Still known as the Zoo Commission while transitioning and we hope it will come to fruition by year-end. Participation is welcome to anyone who wants to be involved with the foundation or the sub-committees.

Social Committee: Peggy Duke recently announced that she is retiring from the Docent program at the end of October and she will be dearly missed. Terri Esposito has volunteered to take Peggy’s place as head of the Social Committee. Please contact Terri going forward by emailing her at ttbone511@aol.com.

Garden Committee: Sue Hughes – we may have a bit of fall cleanup in the herb garden and also dividing some perennials, but most of the work will take place in the Spring.

Animal Tales: This program will begin again in the Spring. The committee members are Terri Esposito, Cara Rozaieski, Karen Rebman and Eloise Remski. Any Docents who are interested in helping with this program next year are welcome!

Newsletter, Historical Scrapbook: Please submit any zoo articles you may come across to Eloise Remski.

Next Docent Meeting: Monday, November 3rd @ 9:30

August 2025 Meeting Notes

Monthly Docent Meeting -- August 11, 2025

Attendees: Chuck, Kelly, Addison, 13 docents!

We are getting two Peccari’s. They look like a cross between a boar and a pig. They were born in March or April of this year. He said they do a lot of squealing. There are two species of this animal. We are acquiring NON-TUSKED.

The Axoloti are here. They look similar to Salamanders.

The box turtles, gopher tortoise, both Bearded dragons and both snakes are now upstairs in Morgan Center.

Flamingo habitat has a new look. The bamboo is down and it is being cleaned up.

Coati construction has been halted due to misquotes from contractors

Kelly update

Reptiles moved to Morgan except Tortellini.

Moo Shoo, Crickets brother, has been released from Vet. The only issue is he will have to be in a separate habitat than his sister because he is filled with pinworms. Though it is not transmittable to humans, it is within species so handlers need to wear gloves so as not to cross contaminate!

Addison has been hired by the City of Salisbury. His new position will begin the new year. They will be looking to fill the Americorps position but at this time nothing is finalized.

Harmony has resigned and they are working on getting Michelle transitioned to her position.

NOTHING is set in stone yet so TBD.

Addison update

Five Zoo2U programs have been cancelled. Communication issues were given as a reason.

Third Friday will go unattended this month due to need to have full crews at Wicomico County Fair.

Animal Tales update

Karen said they had 43 kids in attendance and 28 parents!! Cara’s Ukelele skills are paying off!!!

Garden Club

Sue said Zoo Crew did a great job with cleanup. The bricks are done and look amazing.

Social Committee

Peggy has September, October, November Docent breakfasts covered. We believe December will be PotLuck meeting.

The End

June 2025 Meeting Notes

Present: 13 docents & 4 staff

Chuck Eicholz — Director

• To start, many thanks to all the Docents for their volunteering efforts and participation.

• Our mock AZA inspection was fairly successful.  We do need to work on certain things. We recently visited Brandywine Zoo, a 4.5 acre property who got their AZA accreditation 5 years ago and our Zoo is doing comparatively very well. They host a Sip & Stroll akin to our Wild Vibes which is our big fundraising event (this Fall) that we hope to grow even bigger.

• The Coati building construction plans were available to review.  The cost estimate should be complete within a few weeks and we are hoping to break ground in a few months.

• The docs needed for the new Bear exhibit are all in place and our ground breaking should occur in 1-2 years.

• The service gate is currently broken and we need to enter manually until it is fixed. We are also working on all garbage disposal to be located outside of the Zoo

• We had many volunteer students who helped with our spring cleanup and they did a great job. They wiped out our pollinator garden as the plan is to plant only native species, which Hannah has been working on.  We are also getting advise and help from Bayside landscaping for this effort. 

• The approval for our budget should take place this week and we will be moving forward with the plans that this will cover. The upstairs Morgan Center is just about completed and the plan is to turn downstairs into office space.

• There are now TV screen info booths throughout the Zoo that we call “Tiki Huts”.  These will have up-to-date information about the Zoo, the Exhibits and current Events

• We are a long way off from a new website but Kelly and Jamie are doing a great job with updating it and with taking care of all social media platforms

Luke Krider — Collections Curator

• Once our Coati habitat is complete we are hoping to participate in a breeding program.

• We are happy to report that Chaska is thriving in her new habitat.

• Our female Anaconda is leaving for a Zoo in San Antonio.

• Our two new Rheas who are 9 mos old are doing very well. They are very sweet and funny.

• We will have a male Spectacle Owl arriving to hopefully breed with Luna. If successful we can possibly raise a chick as an ambassador animal.

• Bayou our Sloth is in poor health.  She is in renal failure is having quality of life assessments on a weekly basis. She is still on exhibit and is thin, anemic but active. We may have to consider a hospice type situation soon. We will eventually look to bringing in more Sloths.

• Hannah recently got published due to her new & innovative techniques for animal healthcare such as better blood draw and injection procedures

Kelly Colbert - Education Curator

·         Margo, our Red Winged Hawk is having health issues. She has an enlarged liver and arthritis.  She was put on meds and doing better but then stopped eating.  She’s doing ok, eating some and we are doing all we can to maintain her health.

·         Our 2 new Chinchillas, Phineas and Ferb are 11 & 6 month old little boys. They are very sweet and super fast (compared to Stormy).  It will be about 1 to 2 months before they are ready to go out for programs.

·         Our new Ferrets have arrived! The two brothers, Gadget & Gizmo are still in quarantine but they will be amazing and friendly program animals.   

·         Crickets brother, MooShu, our new Bearded Dragon should be in our Ed Center by July 

·         We are looking to acquire new birds and more animals to fit into our new space

·         The upstairs Morgan Center looks great and will be a perfect space for our reptiles as it is about twice as big.  We will be monitoring the temp for a week or two before the actual move in date.  The Biofacts and our Ed mammals will be moving into the old space with the exception of Hogan and Stormy who will remain in the Ed Center 

·         Our summer intern program has begun.  We have 7 candidates this year who are all wonderful young people excited about this learning experience.

·         So many upcoming events! 

o   On June 9th take a ride to Burnish Beer Company for dinner and drink from 4 to 9pm. 20% of all proceeds and 50% of their featured brew go to our Zoo!

o   On June 13th, “Bunk with the Beasts” is happening at our Zoo.  Docents are needed to help out with this fun event from 4-10pm

o   On June 26th, Brew River will be hosting “Brew @ the ZOO” and some of our Zoo staff members will be bartending at the outdoor deck bar. More proceeds going to our Zoo!

o   “Behind the Wild; tours with the experts” and “Wild Nights” will take place 3x in June  (6th, 20th, 27th). Chuck, Luke and Tamika will be presenting talks and tours as we explore opening our Zoo to later hours for fundraising opportunities.  Docents can also volunteer for these events.   

·         The Coati Café will not be opening until the health license can be renewed.  This may take awhile so in the meantime, we are exploring bringing in food trucks.

·         We have a few staff shortages this summer, so we are currently hiring 2 new part time Ed staff who may be starting next week.

·         The July Summer Camp Programs will be happening at Wor-Wic Community College. Katelyn will be heading these up and will welcome any Docent participation. We have scheduled 2 sessions for 3rd/4th graders and 2 sessions for 5th/7th graders.  This is offsite (at the college) with the exception of Thursdays when the kids have a field trip at the Zoo

·         The August Camp for 13-17 year olds is exciting as these kids will be working with our animal staff.

·         Zoo Crew starts next week which is our junior volunteer program for 14-16 year olds.  Michelle will be heading up this program which consists of two 4 week sessions. There are 8 kids in the 1st session and 7 in the 2nd who were chosen out of 30 applicants.  They will be busy with projects, research and even animal care on Wednesdays,  Thursdays and every other Monday.    

Addison – AmeriCorps Representative

• Davin Jensen is our Docent of the Month for April. Davin is a fairly new Docent but is already incredibly dedicated and involved. Many thanks to Davin!

• Cara Rozaieski is our Docent of the Month for May. Cara is incredibly talented and has brought our story time “Animal Tales” to a whole new level with her creative ideas and musical abilities. Many thanks to Cara!

• Our Docent program is so important to the Zoo and it cannot be stressed enough how needed our volunteers are.  Please consider helping out during this very busy time of year.

• Our “Artifact Adventures” program is going very well and is popular with our guests. This month the Saturday dates are June 14th and 28th.  Please consider helping out with this program as well as our upcoming events such as Wild Nights at the Zoo and Burnish Beer Fundraiser 

• Addison will be visiting Anahi, our Ocelot who now resides at the Buffalo Zoo and has recently had a cub.

Salisbury Zoological Foundation: Still known as the Zoo Commission, now has 2 new members who will be critical to our transitioning and our fundraising efforts as they have incredible experience in the area. We will be meeting with a lawyer soon to go over the bylaws, etc. and hope the foundation will be in place by Fall. Participation is welcome to anyone who wants to be involved.

Social Committee:  Peggy did not attend the meeting but please let Peggy know of any need to send a card by emailing her at peggyduke03@msn.com  

Garden Committee: Sue Hughes – our Earth Day event was very successful. The sun catchers that John created (and donated) raised $75. Sue suggested future plant sales as a fundraiser, possible monthly.  Sue will be sending out a calendar to committee members as a way to sign up for gardening help and maintenance.      

Animal Tales: Addison – 43 people attended our last event which was lots of fun and very successful.  This program takes place 2x a month and any Docents who are interested to help out with this program should contact Addison or Eloise

Newsletter, Historical Scrapbook: Please submit any zoo articles you may come across to Eloise Remski.

Next Docent Meeting:

Monday, July 7th @ 9:30

April 2025 Meeting Notes

Present: 21 docents & 4 staff

Chuck Eicholz — Director

•  The Ed Center pavilion should be complete by Friday

• The new diet prep kitchen in Animal Services should be ready for our use next week.

• The mural at the Coati Café looks amazing. There is more to come on the walls at the gift shop as well as Coati silhouettes by the cafe. 

• Our website now has a new look with a bamboo background and some exciting updates

• The Zoo will be extremely busy with many upcoming events and programs and we appreciate any help that our Docents can offer

• Our budget hasn’t been cut and will remain the same as last year. The new Zoo Commission is meeting today and will review all the paperwork and legalities that are needed to form the Salisbury Zoological Foundation. The primary purpose of the foundation is to raise money for the Zoo.

• The architectural design for the Coati Café should be complete within 2 weeks and we are hoping that the construction drawing will be ready to go out for bid by mid-May. If this all falls into place we should be able to begin construction by mid summer.  

• The Beacon Study which outlines the economic impact throughout the City, County and State will now include our Zoo. The visit to DC and the Maryland Congress was very impressive and included 120 representatives covering 60 institutions

• Our timeline for applying for AZA accreditation is 2026. It is an extremely long process and may take up to 2 years.  We have been working with our coach Steve and our mock inspection will take place on May 5th  

• We are getting quotes to repair the roof for the aviary and we want a well insulated solid roof.

• The Morgan Center has been emptied and will soon house our ambassador reptiles

• Our Zoo will be hosting the “Easter Jeep Hop” on April 13th from 1-4. This is a huge, fun event in which our Zoo will get 50% of the proceeds. The Jeeps will be decorated for Easter and it will mirror a trunk or treat event.  Oakridge Baptist Church volunteers will be arriving the same morning for a Zoo clean-up and Docents are welcome to join in and help.

• We will be hosting a retirement party for Chaska on Thursday April 24th at 5:30 for all Zoo personnel and volunteers. Maryland State reps are invited as well and we will have food trucks and refreshments. There will be an event for the public on the following Saturday

Luke Krider — Collections Curator

•  Our capybara Faith had to be euthanized due to her having advanced cancer. She will be cremated and her remains will be at the local pet cemetery.  They will also have a memorial brick placed in the garden area of the cemetery.  We will eventually acquire capybaras but will need to construct a new habitat.

• We have 2 new Rheas in the habitat and we will be acquiring some Central South American Peccaries for that same space

• We have a new male Kookaburra named Percy

• Luna has been recommended for breeding so we will be brining in a male for her

• Our current bear encounter is well received and has been going well. The encounter is for the public on Fridays and Saturdays and costs $50.

• Mina is now on exhibit in the Eagle habitat  

Kelly Colbert - Education Curator  (absent but Addison did the update)

 ·         The clean-up of the Morgan Center is complete

·         Our 2 new Chinchillas are here named Phineas and Ferb

·         We will soon have another Bearded Dragon who is Crickets brother

·         We are looking to acquire ferrets and are contacting rescue sites. Candee volunteered to help with that

·         Kelly will be visiting the Nashville Zoo this month and will have a chance to see Pinocchio

Addison – AmeriCorps Representative

• Guy Ferro is our Docent of the Month. Guy has been incredibly helpful with our Ed programs.  Many thanks to Guy for his hard work and dedication.

• Our “Artifact Adventures” program is going very well and is popular with our guests. Docents are welcome to help out with this program. The next date is Saturday April 19th at 10am and 1pm.

• “Animal Tales” is set to begin in May and we welcome any Docents who would like to be involved.  The program takes place on Tuesdays 2x a month from May to August.  

• The Docents will be hosting a Bake Sale at the Jeep Hop event on April 13th and also at the Earth Day event on April 26th.  Docents are asked to donate baked goods which can be homemade or purchased.  Each item costs $1.00 so they need to be packaged accordingly (for example 2 large cookies or 4/5 small cookies in 1 pkg for $1).  Please do not make or buy any items that contain nuts or that could possibly melt. You can bring the goods the day of the event or please leave in the Ed Center kitchen the day before and let someone know.

• KWEE (Kindergarten Watershed Environmental Education) starts Tuesday 4/8 and runs throughout the month.  Docents who would like to be involved should contact the Ed Center for more info and specific training

• Addison is currently working on writing a Bio-facts policy for the Ed Dept

Salisbury Zoological Foundation: Chuck will provide any new updates at our next meeting 

Social Committee:  Peggy Duke – anyone willing to provide meeting refreshments for 2025 please sign up. Also let Peggy know of any need to send a card by emailing her at peggyduke03@msn.com   Peggy informed us that MPT (Maryland Public Television) is airing a program highlighting the Chesapeake Bay from April 20th–26th   I have attached the flier to this email

Garden Committee: Sue Hughes – we will meet at 11am on April 22 and to decide on plantings. Sue suggested that we sell cuttings at the Easter Jeep Hop and Earth Day events. She also suggested that anyone interested in buying herbs should purchase at the Parkside High greenhouses  

Animal Tales: Addison – the committee is up and running with planning the story books and activities for the entire 4 month program.  Docents who want to volunteer to help out  with this program should contact Addison or Eloise

Newsletter, Historical Scrapbook: Please submit any zoo articles you may come across to Eloise Remski.

Next Docent Meeting:

Saturday, May 10th @ 9:30

It’s a Docent Potluck Meeting so bring your favorite brunch item

February 2025

No meeting held.

December 2024 Meeting Notes

SALISBURY ZOO DOCENT COMMITTEE

DECEMBER 7, 2024

MEETING SYNOPSIS

Present: 13 docents and 2 staff

November minutes: Approved                               December Synopsis by: Cara Rozaieski

Director’s Report - Chuck Eicholz

Animals/Exhibits:

·         Red tail hawk structure completed. Furniture, etc. going in this week. Should be on exhibit by end of the week.

·         Crane exhibit getting a facelift – pruning, new fence (strong, in river), netting that’s similar to what’s in eagle and hawk (easier to see through) and is higher.

·         Coati exhibit is in DID’s hands. 90% of construction design completed. Vendor ready. Hope to start in January and be open by fall.

·         Ocelot holding getting a facelift, with real walls instead of Styrofoam, which will be easier to clean. Dale, our new young, trained, interactive ocelot will be coming soon.

·         Spider monkeys Sadie and Ripley are in quarantine for 30 days.

·         Road runner to leave quarantine shortly. Will go in burrowing owl exhibit.

·         Flamingos to gain 4 new birds on Monday from Philadelphia. Were quarantined there, so no need to do that here.

·         Rheas – getting 2 more in December.

·         Kookaburra - trying to get another one.

·         Bear exhibit design is on track. Probably 2 years before breaking ground. February is release date for construction plans. May apply for AZA with or without exhibit in plan.

Events/Programs/Services:

·         Sensory-friendly holiday event is tonight. Some of the lights will stay up permanently for other events.

·         Wild Vibes made money. About 140 people. Attendees said they want to do it again and signed up. Next time, will be throughout whole zoo. Maryland Zoo has done similar event for 10 years and generates a third of their income. Alcohol is a big draw.

·         Hops on the River is in preliminary discussion of possibly moving here.

·         By Friday, all 2025 events (and rain dates) will be on the calendar. Working on being more proactive with events.

·         Beginning in Spring, Behind the Scenes Tours will be run by Guest Services and Ed. Past 3 years, have been doing them Thursday at 2pm. Those days and times will be expanding so more people can do the tours and increase revenue. The money will go to the AAZK chapter and the zoo.

·         At some point, docents will be in front of exhibits discussing the animals, further enhancing the visitor experience.

·         Marketing for the zoo is now handled by the City’s communications department. Nadine from ABCD was hired. Ultimately, she’ll probably be dedicated to handling only zoo communications. She’s a great graphic artist.

Staffing:

·         Lindsay Malloy is leaving.

·         Curations Curator position has 2 good candidates. Doing 3rd interviews. Will be overseeing animal care and education husbandry. First time this will be joined.

·         A new organizational chart will be completed within the next 3 months once all key players are in place and will be shared at a meeting. Staff contacts on the website will be updated. An animal welfare section will be added for the public to anonymously report any concerns they have about zoo animals. Anonymous reports can’t be responded to. If it’s a major issue, a public announcement will be made.

·         There’s a new process for maintenance requests. Requests will go through senior staff and Chuck will approve.

Funding/Partnerships/Improvements:

·         Animal Services Building being gutted and redone. Using part of $350,000 from the City for AZA-related improvements, mostly for upgrades to things that don’t create excitement for fundraising, as well as the coati exhibit.

·         City council members and mayor visited and are very much on board with supporting the zoo.

·         Kid’s Science Center – May partner with zoo and use their $500,000 funding to build a new Ed Center. It might be a “bank barn”, with the top housing the science center and the bottom housing the Ed Center and holding. There would be no separate aviary. Meetings will begin in January to explore this possible partnership.

·         A mini golf course will be going where the picnic tables are at the west gate. Zoo will get 25% of sales.

·         The addition of Science Center and mini golf would make the zoo and park a major tourist attraction, which will allow zoo to get state money.

·         Charging admission to the zoo will probably happen, but not for at least the next 5 years. IDEAS: For generating revenue include having a $1 donation spot on city taxes, estate planning, a holiday Giving Tree, Departmental Christmas trees for sale to public (bids).          Zoo got $3,500 on Giving Tuesday. The Zoo Commission will become a Foundation next year, which will allow it to fundraise.

·         Zoo has been zinged for not practicing the conservation message we preach. A move toward remedying this is the 3 waterless urinals in the public men’s rest room.

Landscaping:

·         Inland Bays Garden Center in Frankford, DE is largest distributor in area of native plants. Coming Tuesday to see how zoo could replace non-native plants with native ones. There is money in the budget for landscaping.

·         There have been some comments from the public about how unkempt the garden areas look. Looking to have additional volunteers (in addition to docents) keep the beds in shape.

·         MD Naturalist Society is a small group that wants to build. Also looking for a place to meet. May partner with them.

·         A Horticulturist is in the budget in 2 years.

·         Plan to create a volunteer corps with local businesses wherein people can volunteer for single events such as garden bed cleaning. Service dates might be twice monthly. IDEAS:  Possible incentives/rewards include free zoo membership, t-shirt, tour for # of hours worked.

AZA Accreditation:

·         2025 standards – accreditation team meeting every other week and going through standards section by section to develop plans to meet them. Plan to apply in 2026.

Education/AmeriCorps Report – Addison Andrews

Events (DOCENTS: Sign up whenever possible):

·         Sensory-friendly holiday event is tonight.

·         Salisbury parade is tomorrow.

·         Rockin’ Around the Zoo is the 14th, 20th, and 21st.

·         Zoo Year’s Eve is the 30th.

·         Docent banquet is the 17th. Approximately 40 people will attend. Registration is closed.

·         LEAF is over. There were some scheduling issues, which made it a stressful experience.

Docents:

·         Docent of the Month: Karen Rebman, who helped when a LEAF group showed up on the wrong day. She saw the issue and said “How can I help?”. Thanks also to Cara and Candee, who helped on another LEAF day when the outside volunteers didn’t show up on time.

·         Pauletta Riley has resigned as a docent. Addison will take over as lead for Story Time and Continuing Ed. He will appreciate docent help on both.

Animals/Programs/Services:

·         Aviary is tarped and much warmer now.

·         Spoke with someone at the Philadelphia Zoo. Their docent and ed programs merged in recent years. He encouraged Addison to get out of the office more, so next year, more programs will be held on weekend when Addison and the public are more available.

·         Docent training dates for the next 7-12 months are tentatively set.

·         Programs will probably be held the weekends before and after trainings. February is National Bird Feeding Month and there will be 2 programs around that. He’s designing all of these and needs help. Programs will be free and often.

·         Hours are completed through November. He can show the list to anyone who’s interested. List will be put in the binder. Will try to get hours out more regularly. Docents can claim mileage for trips to and from zoo on taxes (probably have to itemize). ADDISON will send form to everyone.

·         Katelyn has created a new time sheets. More info on the that later.

·         Plans to hold Lunch and Learns once a month, beginning February. Kelly will do one about her recent conference. Zoo technicians may do presentations on exhibit animals.

·         Next field trip may be to the Delmarva Discovery Center. National Aquarium might be another trip.

Zoo Commission – Chuck

·         Vote on 12/17 to become a foundation. Will present commission dissolution request to Council and Mayor in January.

·         Will run more events such as Wild Vibes.

·         7 members. Not all the same people from Commission; some new. City Council representative no longer a member, although they are welcome to attend. Chuck will become a voting member. CHUCK will share names of Foundation members.

·         Will be committees for events and education.

·         Discussion about the Foundation buying out the City for the zoo, but probably no way that could be afforded.

Garden Committee – Sue Hughes

·         4 people cleaned herb garden in November (Sue, Cara, Sharon, and Barb) Took pictures to ID plants in spring.

·         Would be nice to ID all the plants throughout zoo.

New business – Theresa Souder and Terri Esposito

·         Everyone should have received an initial email concerning nominations for docent leadership. Another will go out with more guidance. Voting will happen in the January meeting.

·         Changing name from “board” because board meetings are open to the public – ours are not. Also, it was decided that having by-laws is unnecessary since the docent program is part of the zoo, not a separate entity.

·         Karen distributed yarn turtles that Pauletta made.

Next meeting – January 6, 2025, 9:30am

October 2024 Minutes

The September meeting minutes were approved - 10/07/2024

Chuck Eicholz — Director

 The 3 Day AZA Conference in Calgary that Chuck attended was a great experience. He

was able to give a presentation on our new Andean Bear Exhibit which went very well.

Over 50 different directors attended. There were many questions and positive

comments about our Zoo and AZA acknowledged our presence and extended their

support. We now have new alliances with other state and county zoos which will prove

valuable as we strive for AZA accreditation.

 The Salisbury Zoo Commission will soon be known as the Salisbury Zoological

Foundation and will be a true non-profit organization which will benefit us as we seek

donations. This will enable us to request money without going through the city.

 At a recent Salisbury City banquet our zoo was awarded with the title “The Best Place

to Bring Children”

 The continuation of the Bear Project was recently in question due to a 200% increase in

design fees. This is currently unrealistic and we are working to reach a more reasonable

number. The construction plans are on target to go out for bid in early December which

will bring us to a ground breaking next summer. The build should take 14-19 months.

 A strategic plan for the entire zoo should be ready by Dec 1 st . This will include a

conservation plan and will highlight all exhibits as fully interactive. We hope to partner

with the Greater Delmarva Autistic Society and become a fully inclusive safe haven.

We will be one of the few zoos to offer this and it should help with our AZA

accreditation.

 Plans for the new coati and monkey exhibits are in place using city funds and should complete by next summer.

 The Ed Center stage demolition is scheduled for Nov 4 th and the upper structure should

be done by Nov 9 th targeting the completion of our new pavilion by Dec 1 st. Also we

have a new stage located at the Holly Center.

 We are still in search of a new maintenance person.

 Adrienne will be leaving us and we are looking to hire a General Curator.

 Kudos to our Senior Staff ~ they are a great team!

 We will have new standards in place across the board.

 Anahi has left to join a breeding program in Texas and a new ocelot named Dale will be

joining us in December.

 We are adding a rainforest exhibit with front view panels where the gator building is

and it will house our sloth Bayou as well as many other animals.

 The sloth exhibit will become a Tropical Bird Exhibit.

 The coati and ocelot exhibits (also with viewing panels) will be side by side with a path

in between and the coati breeding program will start once this is complete.

 Rosie is doing well and will be back on exhibit soon.

 Zoe needs a special “shoe” for her hoof issue and we are working to ensure she gets that

soon.

 We have a scheduled presentation to the state delegation on Oct 24 th to request

additional funding. The state is looking to invest in Eastern Shore Tourism so this is

very positive for us.

Kelly Colbert - Education Curator

 Our new guinea pig “Eloise” is arriving on Oct 8 th

 We now know that our bearded dragon “Cricket” is a girl and she is doing great! She

will be ready to go out for Ed programs very soon.

 We have sad news as we recently found that our corn snake “Skittles” has cancer. He

was being treated and was thought to be in remission but now has a mass that is 3x the

original size. He is still ok and has weekly quality of life assessments which will

continue until his health is in serious decline.

 Our ball python “Lucy” is doing well but will remain onsite due to her age and health.

 Merlin has somehow cracked his beak. He is ok and is being monitored.

 Harmony has been promoted to Assistant Ed Tech and will continue to work with

Katelyn. They make a fantastic team!

 Laurel has been hired part time and is a great addition to our Ed Team

 Halloween Happening is upon us and we need all the help we can get. Please sign up to

help on both event dates if possible and also donate items to both bake sales. We will

also need help on both Fridays prior to the events for zoo cleanup and preparation from

1-3pm. This year all our games will be along the Tropical Trail instead of throughout

the Zoo and we will also have unmanned games and activities at the Holly Circle area ~

and the Dancers will be utilizing our new stage! Also, our guests will have free access

to everything instead of the one way path to avoid bottlenecking. The zoo is closed to

the public for both days and the guests will have wristbands and check off cards for

games and candy. We are adding a photo booth this year and are asking anyone who can

donate pumpkins or hay bales to please do so.

 Kelly will be attending an AZA conference in Baltimore next month specifically

focused on ambassador animals and will also visit the Maryland Zoo.

 “Dweasel”, one of our spider monkeys died of his injuries after a fight with his brother.

 Wormwood is still in the hospital as he needs constant supervision.

 We hope to acquire a spotted turtle from the Humane Society very soon. Spotted turtles

are semi-aquatic and endangered.

 We will be getting a new snake hopefully by the end of October. This snake is a 4 foot

Everglades Rat Snake named Papaya currently belonging to Harmony. Once there is

space for quarantine, Papaya will join us.

 We are considering acquiring ferrets as ambassador animals.

 There is much discussion about the Ed Center renovation and/or building, part of which

is partnering with the city and adding a Children’s Museum on our premises.

 There is a plan for additional parking on the west side of the zoo (which will eventually

become the Zoo’s main entrance)

Addison – AmeriCorps Representative

 Sandy Neitzel is our docent of the month for September and her certificate & gift are

pending. Many thanks to Sandy for her very impressive knowledge and support.

 The Salisbury Folk Fest was very successful and we raised $700.

 We cannot stress enough as to how much help we will need for the Halloween

Happening events. Please consider signing up as well as donating to the bake sales.

There are many tasks to choose from such as candy tables, games, gate greeters and Ed

presentations. All docents should arrive at the West Gate at 10am (or earlier) to help

with setup. The event itself is from 12-4 and all are welcome to help afterwards for

cleanup. Lunch will be provided for all and wear a costume if you’d like!

 Jamie is our Developmental Supervisor and is responsible for guest services and

revenue generating events. She and Kelly work hand in hand coordinating these events.

 We have a new event coming up on Nov 9 th from 1-5pm called “Wild Vibes”. The

musical theme is Jazz and we’ll have many vendors attending and we’ll be offering

beer, wine and mead. The Zoo will be closed to the public the entire day.

 We are planning Two “Rockin’ Around the Zoo” events in December. One for

members only and one for the public.

 Peggy Duke suggested a Valentine’s Day event which prompted a discussion on how

suggestions are always welcome. Our Master Strategic Planning Survey is a good tool

for suggestions to become realities.

Zoo Commission: Karen Lutz noted that the commission is in the throws of being

revamped due to changes between the city and the new foundation.

Social Committee: No cards were sent out this month. Peggy thanked Eloise for the

refreshments and noted that Pauletta will provide for the Nov meeting. Please let Peggy

know of any need to send a card by emailing her at peggyduke03@msn.com

Garden Committee: Sue Hughes noted that the herb garden is being maintained well. She

also spoke with Jamie regarding funds that the Herb Society has and it was decided that the

Zoo Commission will oversee the funds which will be designated only to the Garden

Committee. We will also be selling herb sprigs at both Halloween events.

Story Time: Pauletta stated that we had 9 story time events this year. The attendance

totaled 586. Many thanks to all who participated and helped make it a success.

Historical Scrapbook: Please submit any zoo articles you may have or come across to

Eloise Remski. Please submit any Docent program history information to the board to help

with the upcoming 50 th anniversary celebration. Sue Hughes has suggested that we meet

with SU and have our scrapbooks digitally archived. We hope to set up a meeting with them

soon.

Docent Hours: Addison and Katelyn are working together to continually update the hours.

Next Docent Meeting:

November 4 th @ 9:30

August 2024 Minutes

The July meeting minutes were approved - 7/29/2024

(August meeting held early due to camps next week)

Chuck Eicholz — Director

· This year the Docent program is celebrating their 50th Anniversary! A formal announcement will follow once a plan is materialized to celebrate this milestone. The Zoo believes in and values all of our volunteers.

· The bear project is currently on hold due to design and city procurement issues. The cost has increased by 300k and negotiations need to take place to determine a plan of action. All parties are willing to agree to a happy medium and we are hoping to come to a resolution by the end of August/ early September.

· The planning of the new Ed Center is in the hands of the Dept of Infrastructure who will be running the project for the Zoo. The exact location has not been decided yet but we are leaning towards expanding on higher ground and adding on to the existing building. The plan will still include an open meeting room along with proper space for the ambassador animals (which will be open to the public).

· The Coati exhibit quotes are in works and due to the donation of all materials the cost will be significantly lower (45k vs. 75k). Both the new Ed Center and the Coati exhibit should be in operation by next summer.

· Three important meetings (Facility, Animal Collection and Finance) will take place to create a clear cut plan for the ‘new’ Zoo and we have the full support of our Salisbury community.

· A few incidents occurred last week in the Deer yard. On Monday, Zoey caught her head in a hay feeder and actually dislodged it from the structure. She was running around with it stuck on her head before we were able to get to her. She was injured but is currently in the hospital healing. Then on Tuesday, Rosie suddenly gave birth which surprised everyone because we were not aware that she was pregnant! Her baby girl, Lily is in the hospital growing and getting stronger everyday. No formal announcement will be made until Lily is on exhibit.

· The Hawk exhibit is in works with the help of the Field Ops Dept and will be located next to the Eagle exhibit utilizing a section of the Deer yard.

· Our goats, Bert & Ernie have gained a significant amount of weight and are now on a restricted diet and an exercise program.

· The negative reinforcement (Hot Wire) fence was installed around the Bison exhibit and is operational.

· We are still in the interview process for a new maintenance person and hope to hire soon.

Kelly Colbert - Education Curator

· The new kitchen in the Ed Center is complete and looks beautiful. We are in the process of redoing the Ed space and next up is the exterior painting which will be a teal blue with navy trim (we’ll also add signage outside of the bldg). Sometime later this month we will paint the interior and we welcome any volunteer help.

· Harmony is our new part time hire with set hours (30 per week) and this position will eventually be full time.

· We have created a new Docent area on the back wall of the Ed Center with a monthly event calendar and a task board. Terri & Eloise will help with updating the information on a weekly basis and will send to all Docents. This plan will help with communication and make it easier for Docents to arrive at the Zoo and decide on a task.

· There will be new cubbies installed in the kitchen for Docents to place their belongings.

· Thanks to all who help with the history of the Docent program as we prepare our celebration. We plan on revamping the tribute ‘tree’ and creating a plaque to honor our Docents who have completed 5000 hours or 15 years of service. This will be placed outdoors by the Morgan Center for all to see.

· Jamie has been promoted to Development Supervisor and is in charge of all revenue generated projects such as Halloween Happening, Bunk with the Beasts, and new events such as Breakfast with the Bears and Zoovie nights. All events will continue to be announced thru the Ed Center for Docent involvement.

· We are beginning new school campaigns to help raise money for the Zoo which will involve kids to “adopt animal care”. A class would sponsor one exhibit animal and one ambassador animal and raise money for their care. The program will roll out in September, begin in October and end in the Spring. It will involve elementary schools in all local counties and will not only generate funds but will educate the children about animal care.

· Jess will be joining us today for a continuing education session on animal training. We hope to feature a different session with an Animal Care Tech after each monthly meeting.

Addison – AmeriCorp Representative

· Lorraine Bozman is our docent of the month for July and her gift certificate will be determined. Many thanks to Lorraine for all her hard work and dedication!

· We have completed the task of organizing the biofacts and now have a binder which includes fact sheets and reference numbers to easily identify the items. Each biofact also has a fact card attached to it to help with presenting the biofacts to the public. Fact sheets and biofact locations will also cross reference with the discovery boxes.

· REMINDER about our Cape May Zoo visit on August 29th. Anyone who is interested should speak with Addison or Kelly.

Zoo Commission: Karen Lutz reported that the commission will be going through changes with the city notably the name change - “Salisbury Zoological Foundation”

Social Committee: Peggy Duke reported that no cards were sent out again. Please let her know of any need to send a card by emailing her at peggyduke03@msn.com

Peggy also thanked Bridget Foster for providing the refreshments today.

Story Time: The July story times were very successful. Karen Rebman reported that last week there were 55 attendees for the Lynx story time

Historical Scrapbook: Please submit any zoo articles you may have or come across to Eloise Remski. Please submit any Docent program history information to the board to help with the upcoming 50th anniversary celebration.

Docent Hours: Addison will have the hours for 2024 up to date by the end of this week and will report any Docent milestones

Herb Garden Committee: The newly formed committee met last week and Sue Hughes will hold a short meeting after each monthly Docent meeting for quick updates.

New Business: A new position has been added to the Board – “Docent at Large” and was accepted by Lorraine Bozman (the by-laws will be revised to reflect this addition to the Board)

Next Docent Meeting:

September 9th @ 9:30

June 13, 2024 Memo

· This meeting was deemed necessary by the Docent Board due to many docents voicing concerns that aren’t always heard. We feel that the purpose of the Docent Board is to help address any concerns or issues that need to be presented to the Ed Staff and that a sit down which enables all to speak is well worth the time and effort.

The Board (Theresa, Terri & Eloise) and 12 docents attended the meeting at the Ed Center and many issues were discussed.

· Communication between the Docents and the Ed Staff seems to top the list. New docents expressed that they feel a bit helpless and that direction as to what they can actually do and help with is lacking. To this end we suggested that we implement a daily task board so that any docent who wants to come to the Zoo for “general help” on any day will have the option to select a task listed on the board and sign up.

· Docents also want to learn more and it was suggested that our veteran docents schedule times when they will be available for newbies to shadow them during roving hours (or other tasks). This will help not only for newbies to feel confidant about roving and speaking to the public about the zoo, but will also encourage camaraderie between docents. Our vets were excited about helping out with this. We also were happy that the Ed Center is currently working on compiling cards that explain each exhibit and animal so we have the info at hand when roving or giving a tour. These will be available at the Ed Center to sign out when using (along with a radio!)

· There is concern about the docent hours regarding who is recording them and how they are being recorded and also reported. This will be addressed with the Ed Staff and we will report the outcome.

· Many Docents voiced concern over the condition of the discovery boxes and how they are being kept and organized. After the meeting I discussed this with Kelly to find out that the boxes are currently being “renovated” by the Zoo Crew and will be new and improved soon. The goal is to ensure that each box will be updated, much more user friendly and easier for docents to present to the public.

Most of what was discussed fell into the categories of “Scheduling”, “Communication”, Organization” and “Leadership”. The Docent Board is meeting this Tuesday to discuss the outcome of the meeting, narrow down the issues to prioritize what will best serve the concerns of the Docents and present all to the Ed Staff.

Everyone expressed that this docent meeting was definitely needed so going forward we plan on continuing with them. A follow-up meeting to this one will be scheduled after we go over all the concerns with the Ed Staff and can fully report the outcome.

Thanks to all who attended and also to those that could not attend but expressed interest.