The Sweep is for me to check all the ID signs in the zoo around the grounds and in the various animal houses. I am looking for missing, faded or damaged signs that need replacing, noting what signs have slipped in their holders and need re-sticking and giving any a clean that are grubby. It is also a chance, after a period of absence, for me to see if any changes have been made in the animal sections - like new arrivals or moves to other enclosures. And just to get myself back 'in touch' with the zoo - seeing familiar animals again and saying hi to folks that work around the zoo.
It was a sunny, if slightly chilly day; a lovely one to walk around and be reminded what a lovely environment it is to work in. The yellow, golden and orange leaves of a few trees glowing in the low weaker sun of Autumn, but a lot have already lost most of their leaves. We have many beautiful tree specimens in our grounds as the zoo has always been a Zoological Garden as well as for animals. At this time of year as the colours ripen on the leaves before they fall, the grounds harbour areas of Autumnal glory. because I have been away for most of the Autumn I have missed the best of the colour and just the remnants remain.
The large stump from the old tulip tree (a grand sentinel that once grew near the Top Terrace) was now removed completely. During the summer I had noticed it was now very rotten, the tree having been felled some years ago, and each time I had passed by, another chunk had been kicked off by kids (or even adults) doing what comes naturally when presented with a decaying tree. We just can't help poking and proding.. our curious and investigative natures brought to the fore. After it had been felled it had become an 'exhibit' with a pane of glass mounted over the cut section marking out the yearly rings of growth with notable events that happened during its lifetime. Decking had been laid around it mainly for the large 'bouncy slide' that sat nearby during the summer months. I was sad to see it now gone forever, the last vestige of it levelled to the ground and covered with decking - it had been a favourite tree of mine, a beautiful grand old friend that was often missed in its glory because not many look up to see its impressive towering canopy. But the sad day came when it was discovered it was no longer safe... strong wings in several successive winters brought down large branches and boughs... the tree was old and now in the natural scheme of things, shedding some of its weight. But in the zoo with people walking around, it was deemed unsafe and the grand old tree was carefully dissected where she stood and was soon reduced to just a large stump. A sapling tulip tree has since been planted not too far away but it has over a hundred years of growth before it matches the grandeur of its predecessor.
The dinosaur exhibits were being removed today, so there was no dinosaurs calling across the grounds... they remained ominously silent as I walked by each of them. But the beauty of the bird calls were now uninterrupted, as is Kamal sending out one of his long roaring calls. "Aaarooon. Aaaroon"; followed by the 'chuffs' that seem to be expelling all the air in his body until he has none left. I counted 28 chuffs before he ran out of wind.
Further around the zoo I went through the Seal and Penguin Coast exhibit, a few signs cleaned but otherwise ok. Going through the underwater section as I was in one of the perspex tunnels I could see a diver slide into the water. In all the years this exhibit has been open I have never seen the divers in to clean the perspex windows and tunnels. So I waited..... another diver jumped in and after donning their flippers they bobbed across the surface until they were over the areas they had to clean. One diver submerged right over the tunnel I was in and I realise it was Jonny... he waved before applying his suction cup contraption to the surface of the tunnel and started work on cleaning the algae off. I left him to it and carried on on the last leg of my sweep.
I finished just before lunchtime and went through my notes listing signs I needed to print and other points that needed action by others like, maintenance, Phil or the animal sections; sending emails to those that needed them. After lunch I discovered that I could not print anything because one of the ink cartridges was out in the printer and our replacement supplies had not yet been delivered.
Later in the afternoon Phil and I went out with a large wheelbarrow to remove the signs that were with the dinosaurs and swap over some interpretation boards in the Monkey Jungle exhibit as some animals had been swapped around. Surprisingly all the signs had survived the duration of the Dinosaur stay very well.. the only damage to one was caused by the guys who were dismantling the exhibit! A quick call on the radio from Phil to those in charge of the contractors removing the dinosaurs ensured that the other signs were left alone for us to deal with.
The last job of the day was swapping the interp boards over, by which time it was almost dark and there were very few folks left wandering the zoo. Back in the studio Phil gave me the forms for my appraisal which should be in the next couple of days.
No comments:
Post a Comment