Adult Volunteer Program

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Adult Volunteer Program

(Must be at least 18 years of age and not currently a high school student)

Basic Requirements:

Year-round Application Process

Click here for an online application

1. Submit an online application and pay the $10 application fee online with a credit or debit card.
2. After your application submission, you will receive a response email. Please follow the directions provided within the email to schedule your orientation.
3. An orientation must be completed before you may become an official volunteer. Orientations are offered year-round.

What to Bring to Your Orientation:

1. $35 for the volunteer orientation and training fee (check or exact change only). This payment will help fund your background check, orientation packet, and continuous training courses.
2. Upon completion of your orientation, you will receive one FREE official volunteer t-shirt. If you would like to purchase more t-shirts, please bring $10 for each additional purchase (check or exact change only).
3. Your driver’s license for your background check. Background checks will take one week to complete following your orientation.
4. Your love for the Zoo and a big smile!

Adult Volunteer Opportunities

Adult volunteers are not required to choose a category once they begin volunteering. Adult volunteers are welcome to volunteer within as many of the categories listed below as you would like.

Docent – After completing a roughly 50 hour training course, our docents are fully trained on the animals and activities at the Birmingham Zoo, and are highly sought after for some of the most entertaining and demanding tasks. Docents who become animal handlers are also able to handle live animals at events held off of Zoo grounds.

Education – Assist with summer and school break camps, year-round classes, animal programs, and much more as you educate and entertain some of the tens of thousands of students who visit the Zoo annually.

Animal Husbandry – Work side-by-side with zookeepers maintaining exhibits, or preparing diets for many of the roughly 800 animals that call the Birmingham Zoo their home. Some of the areas available to adults include, the African Savanna, Bird Department, Animal Nutrition Center, and Barn Crew. Teens may earn the right to volunteer on the Barn Crew.

Animal Handlers – You will have the opportunity to become a certified handler on animals that may include chinchillas, macaws, armadillos, and even a young alligator. Animal handlers are taught how to use animal knowledge learned through training, and the animals themselves, to provide our visitors with an experience that only the Birmingham Zoo could offer.

Interpretation – From the giraffe feeding experience, to the lorikeet and butterfly aviaries, the Zoo has a number of ways for you to share your love of animals and wildlife conservation with the public. Volunteers also provide guided tours of the areas that house our large cats, primates, and native wildlife. We even have a large collection of biofacts (pelts, skulls, horns, etc.) that are perfect for giving our visitors a unique hands-on experience.

Special Events – Boo at the Zoo, ZooLight Safari, and Party for the Planet are just a few of the incredibly fun special events at the Birmingham Zoo. Volunteers assist with planning, managing, and staffing the many aspects of the special events that occur throughout the year.


Operations – The Zoo needs YOU to help run our gift shop, with our birthday parties, and to greet the approximately 500,000 visitors that walk through our gates each year.