Friends of the Elephant Seal announced new docent training
– Friends of the Elephant Seal (FES) is recruiting new docents (guides) to help visitors understand the fascinating life history of the northern elephant seals at the Piedras Blancas rookery in San Simeon, California. FES is a cooperating association with the California State Parks and our docents are California State Park volunteers.
FES is offering a Fall 2023 training class to prepare new docents to meet the public as informal educators and wildlife interpreters. The application deadline is Monday, August 21, 2023.
Piedras Blancas is the largest mainland rookery for these amazing animals. Elephant seals visit the beach twice annually: once to give birth and breed, and again to molt and grow a new coat. The rest of the year they migrate long distances, diving deep to avoid predators and find food.
Volunteering as an FES docent is one of the Central Coast’s best opportunities for outdoor public service. FES provides professional-quality training and extensive reference materials about the seals and other coastal wildlife. Docents-in-training are able to get started with confidence given the support of our mentoring program.
Scientific researchers continue to make new discoveries about elephant seals’ life on land and at sea. FES docents are among the first to learn about new research findings. The six-week training program includes independent study assignments and virtual online training sessions that begin in September. Three in-person outdoor mentoring sessions will be scheduled individually between October 2 and October 20, 2023. The final training session is scheduled for Saturday, October 21, 2023, in Morro Bay.
Docents must be able to serve three or four, 3-hour shifts a month, scheduled at-will, either in the morning or afternoon. The best reward for docent service is the opportunity to meet curious visitors from around the world, and to help them gain an appreciation of this unique species and its critical ocean habitat.
If you’d like to help visitors understand and enjoy the amazing wildlife and habitat along the Central California Coast, please apply to become a docent by the August 21 deadline. An online application is available at https://elephantseal.org/become-a-docent/. Questions? Call 805-924-1628. Must be 18 or older and available to serve in San Simeon, California.
Comments
