Thank goodness for strong fences!

January is National Thank You Month! We wanted to take this time to thank some of our amazing volunteers. Over the week we will be highlighting four volunteers who help out here at the zoo on a weekly basis.

Anne Willie –

Anne is one of our fantastic volunteers in the Horticulture Department!  Anne is a great asset to the Zoo team and has helped with a variety of tasks.  I know I can always find Anne out and about on Zoo grounds!  Thank YOU Anne for all your hard work and dedication to the Zoo! 

- Megan Hudak, Volunteer Services Manager 

What’s your favorite part of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZ)? 

I love the interaction with the guests. The kids are so much fun and so excited when they see the animals. Working with the crew from Hort is so great, they are a great group of people

How long have you been a volunteer?

Since the end of March, 2011 

What are some of the activities that you’ve gotten to help with? 

Since I am assigned to Horticulture I have pulled what seems like a "mountain" of weeds but it's just job security because they keep on coming!! I helped with the Electric Safari lights including helping with Santa one evening, carved many pumpkins for Halloween, planting trees and flowers, working at the Plant Sale in the spring

Do you have any funny/good stories about your volunteering experiences? 

We do get a lot of fun questions and suggestions from the guests - Why not just spray the weeds rather than pulling them or what kind of weed is that?

I was pulling weeds by the Mountain Lion when a guest asked if the cats made me nervous - My response was "no not really" until I looked up and the cat was right above me - thank goodness for strong fences.