Blog: The Benefits of being a Zoo Educator

James Coleman, on being a Zoo Education Manager, volunteering for BIAZA, and seizing opportunities for networking and development:

I am James Coleman the Zoo education manager at Flamingo Land and I have been in the zoo sector for 10 years teaching people about wildlife and conservation. For the past year now I have also been volunteering for BIAZA as the regional coordinator in the northern region for conservation education. My responsibilities are to organise three regional meetings throughout the year at various zoos in the North to share ideas, presentations, resources, issues and also act as liaison with BIAZA themselves and the committee.

The role includes being part of the Conservation Education Committee where we meet regularly virtually several times a year and in person to discuss guidelines, policies, conferences, recent news and events. This is predominantly made up of heads of education from various zoos, aquariums, animal colleges and museums.

Networking has always been a passion of mine and this role has allowed me to work with practically every zoo education department in the country. It’s great to share ideas, learn from others, help others and it’s a huge boost knowing that other places may have the same issues and you’re not alone. So you can work together to find solutions too.

It's been late in my career that I have started attending conferences and now I wish I had gone to more. It has inspired me to host my own which is the Conservation Education Conference at Flamingo Land on the 5th to the 7th of November.

I always recommend any colleagues in the industry try and join committees/volunteer for BIAZA as well whenever they get the chance when relevant roles become available. I plan to try and join more in the future once the conference is finished.

The benefits of volunteering for BIAZA means you always get to visit other zoos, aquariums and other types of members which is always fun. With zoo education being so broad and diverse the opportunity to learn new techniques, activities, and teaching styles is extremely helpful to fulfil our guests’ needs and meet the policy guidelines in unique ways. It can also be reassuring to know that some of your own ideas and methods are inspiring others.

Through regional meetings and conferences I have been able to network with great people and also create new friendships. I always feel re-energised and re-inspired when I get the opportunity to host meetings or attend conferences.

My favourite aspects of being Zoo Education Manager is recruiting and training new staff and giving people their first opportunity to work at a zoo with our seasonal ranger role. As I run both the formal and informal side of education I do love teaching organised groups as well as the feeds and talks, guided tours, walkthroughs and so on.

I’ve been at Flamingo Land for 8 years now progressing from a Seasonal Education Assistant to Education Officer and now Education Manager. Meeting up with fellow Education Managers through BIAZA provides a huge amount of support and a great chance to discuss management techniques, new projects and organisational skills.

I know people can be put off by the aspect of volunteering for another organisation whilst having a busy job themselves. However I would say that that this volunteer position has really allowed me to enhance my own career, learn a lot, and pass on skills as well.

James Coleman, Zoo Education Manager and BIAZA Regional Education Coordinator (as a Conservation Education Committee Member), Flamingo Land.

All blogs reflect the views of their author and are not necessarily a reflection of BIAZA's positions