A volunteer from The Deep has been honoured for their outstanding contribution in a special new award. The ‘Zoo and Aquarium Hero’ award has been conferred to a select few individuals who have made a special contribution to zoos and aquariums.
Jan Leak has made an incredible difference to The Deep. With her years of professional experience as a phlebotomist, data recording was second nature to Jan, her precision and accuracy in data input and analysis made for meticulous record keeping.
Jan assisted the aquarist team in crunching the numbers for dive logs, recording temperature and humidity logs for reptiles, amphibians and terrestrial inverts, multiple-parameter recording of water test results for aquatic displays and inputting diver target feed logs. The team were very grateful for Jan’s in keeping everything comprehensively up to date and complete. Jan also saw the importance of inspiring the next generation, often helping out the Education team deliver ‘behind the scenes’ tours of quarantine to work placement students.
Katy Duke CEO of The Deep said: “This nomination from The Deep, and in particular the Aquarist Team, would like to acknowledge and thank Jan for her work, commitment and friendship over many, many years. We wish her well in her next adventures”.
In this round of awardees Jan received the award along with just 14 other volunteers across the UK and Ireland. They join existing Heroes, including fundraisers who supported zoos over the pandemic and TV stars Aaron, Tyler and Cam Whitnall – hosts of CBBC’s One Zoo three.
Dr Jo Judge, CEO of BIAZA said: “We were blown away by the dedication and innovative work of our winning Zoo and Aquarium Heroes. These volunteers are giving up their time to help the zoo communities’ mission in protecting nature and creating a better world. Whether that is consistently caring for some of the world’s most wonderful animals or sharing their passion for nature on social media.”
“The natural world is in crisis. It is a world that needs heroes more than ever before. We are so pleased to celebrate their achievements today.”
It is hoped the Zoo and Aquarium Heroes will continue to share their passion of the animal world and keep inspiring others to make a difference.