Washington volunteer clinches top zoo job
A Washington volunteer has flown the nest and landed a top aviculture job at an internationally-renowned conservation charity.
Rebecca Meikle, who began volunteering alongside captive animal manager Owen Joiner at the age of 15, fought of tough competition to become the new soft bill keeper at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Jersey.
Also known as Jersey Zoo, the site is home to some of the most threatened animal species on the planet and 20-year-old Becca is in charge of bird species including orioles, mockingbirds, tanagers, euphonias and namaqua doves (i.e. those with a soft food diet).
Her interest in wildlife began at an early age and was first sparked by her grandad Brian, with whom she kept a number of pigeons as pets.
She came to WWT Washington while on work experience from Heworth Grange School and soon fell in love with the world of wildfowl and wetlands.
She said: “Those first two weeks spent alongside Owen were an inspiration – even pond cleaning didn’t put me off! – and after spending regular time here I knew that I wanted to pursue aviculture as a career.”
Following her official placement, Becca continued to volunteer for Owen and soon became a weekend staple.
Come rain or shine, she would be ready to help with whatever tasks were thrown at her; including helping to hand-rear baby Chilean flamingos and covering a 3-month period when Owen was working in Madagascar as part of WWT’s mission to save the Madagascar pochard.
He said: “She was a very shy and quiet young lady with an obvious instinct for bird care.
“Within a couple of years she was doing feed rounds, managing the incubator room in my absence and generally being my right-hand man.
“She’ll be a huge miss but we’re all so incredibly proud of her.”
More recently, Becca began working with schoolchildren, families and other groups as a paid member of WWT Washington’s learning team; leading activities such as den-building, pond dipping and mini-beast hunting.
This added invaluable practical experience to her CV and helped prepare her for the visitor-facing aspects of her role at Durrell.
She added: “I’ve learnt so much along the way at WWT Washington; not just about aviculture but about people too, and my confidence has soared.
“My new role at Jersey Zoo is a dream job and was attainable and possible thanks to the opportunities I received at WWT Washington.
“I would highly recommend WWT as an excellent place to gain experience for a future career in the world of conservation – it’s a brilliant place to get started.”
Rebecca is the latest in a line of dedicated volunteers who began their journey at WWT Washington and used its nurturing environment as a career springboard – the most eminent alumni being WWT’s very own head of conservation breeding, Nigel Jarrett!
Find out more about volunteering for WWT Washington and see the latest volunteer vacancies.
