BIAZA Newsletter | Winter 2017 | Issue 13

AQUARIUMWORKING GROUP BIRDWOR WORKING GROUP REPTILE AND AMPHIBI GROUP TERRESTRIAL INVERTEBRATE FIELD PROGRAMMES COMMITTEE ENVIR CHANGE GROUP NATIVE SPECIES WORKI &

Learning & Volunteering Committee (LVC)

materials that we know will work for members. The guidelines and the list of our champions can be found on the BIAZA website on the VMWG page. Living Collections Committee (LCC) The Committee has been busy refreshing the BIAZA training certification scheme and updating the certification documents with additional guidance for event organisers. If you are interested in running a training event and applying for BIAZA certification then download the proposal form and guidance notes from the Events page on the BIAZA website, or contact the office for more information (conservation@biaza.org.uk). By Collette Gibbings, ZSL London Zoo A great example of a new training event was the first UK jellyfish conference, held in August 2016 at ZSL London Zoo. Together with James Robson (Senior Curator of SEA LIFE London Aquarium) I organised this event, aiming to bring together jellyfish enthusiasts from around the UK. The first day of the conference consisted of talks by aquarists discussing their own experiences, providing insight into their work with jellyfish, including institutional husbandry techniques and rarely kept species. This was followed by a tour of the jellyfish facilities within the BUGS department at ZSL to discuss set-ups and husbandry. The second day consisted of an open session, in which we chose major topics we all wanted to cover and then split them into hour-long sessions. Topics such as methods for strobilation of jellyfish polyps, husbandry of specific species, kreisel designs, and jellyfish husbandry techniques were all covered. Excitingly, the conference also saw the creation of the Jellyfish Working Group (JWG), coordinated by The Deep’s Tom Rowe, Sarah Fletcher from Birmingham SEA LIFE, and myself, working under the AqWG. The goal of the group is to provide husbandry guidelines for a range of jellyfish species kept in the UK and act as a coordinating group for the exchange of information, animals and husbandry expertise. The JWG will be looking for people to run projects on various subjects, so Photo: Claire Ingram, ZSEA Aquarium Working Group (AqWG)

Volunteer Managers’ Working Group (VMWG)

By Claire Ingram, ZSEA and Chair VMWG Previously known as the Volunteer Coordinators Forum we have been renamed to better reflect our status as a working group under the LVC. In October the VMWG had a great two-day annual conference at Bristol Zoo. Sessions this year focused on building personal resilience, having difficult conversations, and safeguarding. This hugely productive meeting had two major outcomes. Firstly, we have decided to appoint regional volunteer champions: experienced volunteer managers able to offer support and advice to collections in their region. They will also be looking to integrate volunteer managers into the regional education meetings whether in shared or parallel sessions. Secondly, I presented the first complete draft of the BIAZA Volunteer Management Best Practice Guidelines. This collaborative document is intended as an introduction to the basics of volunteer management, including how to avoid potential risks associated with poorly run volunteer programmes. Volunteers contribute hugely to the success of many BIAZA collections so it is vital that they are taken care of in a professional and progressive manner. Whilst not exhaustive, volunteer management can become complicated and this comprehensive guide will be a living document to assist in leading members to successfully work with their volunteers. It will also be supported by example documentation from member collections, helping to create a comprehensive resource of

Photo: Collete Gibbings ZSL

8 www.biaza.org.uk