Item - 2021.ZB14.9

The Board of Management of the Toronto Zoo received the report (January 27, 2021) from the Manager, Learning and Engagement, Toronto Zoo for information.

The purpose of this report is to review and update the Board of Management on the activities of the Volunteering and Engagement Unit for the year 2020. The volunteer team regularly consists of Year-Round Volunteers, Summer Volunteers, Volunteer Hosts, Wildlife Health Centre Volunteers, and Zoo Ambassador Student Volunteers. In 2020 however, our Volunteer roster consisted of Year-Round Volunteers only, due to reduced volunteer opportunities and safety concerns as a result of pandemic restrictions. All volunteers support the Zoo's educational programs by interacting with guests, helping to raise public awareness and involvement in conservation, interpreting the zoogeographic and ecological relationships of the animal and plant kingdoms, and enhancing the experience of each Toronto Zoo guest with whom they come in contact. In 2020, a team of 277 Year-Round Volunteers donated 17,856 hours of their time to the Toronto Zoo reaching an estimated 395,331 people.