give freely of their time and talents to assist the regular staff in making the Flatts Inlet facility one of Bermuda's top attractions.

Whether it's burping a baby parrot, bottle feeding a newborn seal, scrubbing a tortoise, or explaining the finer points of a ringtailed lemur to an interested visitor, Bermuda Zoological Society volunteers can do it all! They also stuff envelopes, lick stamps, do filing and research, clean and maintain exhibits, create posters, act as tour and nature trail guides, dream up fund-raisers and tag marine turtles, in addition to assist visiting scientists and conducting telephone campaigns.

Indeed, the Bermuda Zoological Society (BZS) offers a host of opportunities to people from all walks of life who share a common bond: a desire to advance the aims of the Aquarium, Museum and Zoo, and appreciation of the environment-at-large.

Chartered in 1978, the Society's mission, officially speaking, is "to enhance and support the developmental, educational and research aspects of the Aquarium, Museum and Zoo.'' This it does entirely with the help of volunteers, whose contributions are indispensable. In the past year alone, they have clocked up approximately 10,000 hours.

"One of the things about volunteering is that it provides an opportunity to be trained and learn something new. There is also the good feeling that comes from contributing something to the community -- for children, for families, the environment, endangered species and tourism,'' Aquarium curator, Mr.

Richard Winchell, noted.

Indeed, there are many facets to the BZS volunteer programme, which Mrs.

Jacqueline Horsfield co-ordinates: Education, Nature Encounters, Interpretive Tour Guides, Museum, Administration and Communications among them.

Whenever possible, Mrs. Horsfield tries to match volunteers with the area which particularly appeals to them, and training -- where necessary -- is provided.

The result is a smooth, cohesive operation, where volunteers are like one big, happy family.

Mr. Jonathon Burkin is a case in point. With the official title of Zoo representative, he started out as a volunteer doing a variety of tasks at the zoo, and liked it so much that he is now in the process of making it his career.

"I am presently taking a London City and Guilds animal management course sponsored by the BZS volunteer programme,'' he said.

Among the things Mr. Burkin is responsible for as BZS representative are: day to day maintenance of exhibits, feeding the animals, preparing diets, constructing exhibits, and working with the animals -- who sometimes become friends.

"George the parrot will come up and sit on my shoulder and steal my hat, while Sally the tortoise sticks her neck out to be scratched. It's great!'' he enthused.

Less glamorous, but equally important, behind-the-scenes responsibilities in his bailiwick are filing and research, and he must also arrange volunteer tour guides for Thursday and Saturday afternoons.

Mrs. Mandy Brinkley is another enthusiastic volunteer who never dreamed she would learn so many interesting things during the short time she has been associated with the programme.

She likes to feed the fish and help regular staff maintain the big tanks.

"Fish do have personalities, they are all different,'' she assured. "In fact, you can feed a lot of them -- like Martha the puffer fish. It's very interesting and you learn so much,'' she said.

Nor will she ever forget bottle-feeding the Aquarium's new baby seal.

"I even had to burp her!'' Mrs. Brinkley noted.

The volunteer has also turned her hand to scrubbing turtles, as well as weighing and measuring them.

Mrs. Carol Roy is responsible for keeping the 3000-plus membership up to date on Society doings via `Shorelines', a regular newsletter. Volunteers like Mrs.

Pat Joaquin, Administration representative, assist her with editorial content, graphics, taking photographs, and mailings.

Mrs. Penny Harvey is the BZS executive committee representative, and distributes flyers to hotels and guest houses.

Mrs. Bobbii Cartwright, is the Aquarium and Staff representative. She is also a part-time aquarist.

Apart from their regular duties, BZS volunteers also come up with a variety of imaginative and fund-raising activities.

Nature walks, snorkelling tours, and the ever-popular Zoo Doo -- a fun day for all the family -- are just some of them.

Education comes under the umbrella of volunteer Mrs. Mary Draycott who, among other things, helps dream up all sorts of hands-on activities, including whale watches and snorkelling tours, for all ages.

A special night of music, dinner and dancing is planned for the end of this month at the Aquarium, and a Hallow'een Party including children's tours of appropriately decorated Leamington Caves on October 30 and 31, and a special costumed dinner party for adults on October 30, are just some of the imaginative ways volunteers raise money for the Aquarium, Museum and Zoo.

The highly popular Alaskan wildlife photographer Flip Nicklin will return in November to give a talk and conduct a special volunteers' workshop on nature photography.

While everything is ticking over nicely, Mrs. Horsfield and her executive team must now gear up to cope with the expansion of the Aquarium, Museum and Zoo.

"The development plan for the zoo means the number of species in it will be doubled,'' she explained. "With all the new species coming in, volunteers will spend a lot of time in the library reading about them so that we can give them the best possible care when they arrive.'' The co-ordinator said that more volunteers would also be needed in every area because the Society was dedicated to not only creating even greater interest in the facility, but also making each person's visit more meaningful.

"Over the next two or three years we need to increase volunteer hours from 10,000 to almost 32,000, so we have got to make our programme more exciting and vital in order to attract more volunteers,'' Mrs. Horsfield said.

A major campaign to boost BZS membership will begin in November, involving many volunteers to work the telephones.

"They won't need any training or special skills, but we will need a large number of people to work over a period of weeks,'' Mrs. Horsfield said.

As for the projected army of volunteers required, the co-ordinator stressed that she was anxious to appeal to all ages -- from young students willing to help out on weekends and during school holidays, to retirees and those precluded from getting jobs in Bermuda.

Zoo volunteers needed While the amount of time a volunteer could give was not mandated, the Society felt a minimum of 50 hours per year was ideal.

"While we are grateful for any help we get, we do require a regular commitment,'' Mrs. Horsfield noted.

People with special expertise or interests, as well as those with no skills but a willingness to help, would be welcomed equally -- as would people with ideas for fund-raisers who were willing to organise such events themselves.

"I like people to come in and chat about volunteer opportunities first,'' Mrs. Horsfield explained. "I try to find out what their interests are so that I can slot them in to an area where they can either use their skills or learn new ones. We aim to keep people happy.'' For further information on becoming a volunteer, contact Mrs. Horsfield at 293-2727 ext. 30.

BERMUDA ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY -- The management committee members (left to right) Mrs. Carol Roy, Mrs. Mary Draycott, Mrs. Penny Harvey, Mr. Jonathon Burkin, Mrs. Jacqueline Horsfield and Mrs. Mandy Brinkley are part of the volunteer workforce which helps make the Aquarium, Museum & Zoo one of the Island's premier attractions.

SCRATCHING THE SURFACE -- Sally the Galapagos tortoise loves having her neck scratched, and Bermuda Zoological Society volunteer Miss Carol Ann Terceira is happy to oblige. Meanwhile, another BZS volunteer, Jonathon Burkin, gives her