We鈥檙e celebrating the extraordinary service of a special group of volunteers who鈥檝e been with the Zoo for 50+ years! These dedicated docents have seen it all鈥攆rom pith helmets to polar bears to pandas for the 鈥�84 Olympics鈥攁nd they鈥檙e sharing the memories and moments that have made it all worthwhile to them for five decades.
Together, these six superstars have given over 50,000 hours of their time and expertise to the Zoo, at a value of over $1.3 million. Individually, they each have their own stories about what led them to volunteer in the first place and what keeps them coming back.聽
The newest of the old guard, Madeline Taft, began her Zoo journey in 1975. After spending 10 years in social work, Taft was ready a for a change and became inspired by a neighbor who was taking classes to become a docent at the L.A. Zoo. She鈥檇 loved animals since her childhood in New York, where she frequented the city鈥檚 then-five zoos and the animal carousel at Prospect Park. But she hit a snag. 鈥淚 couldn’t get into the 鈥�74 class,鈥� she remembers, 鈥渂ecause it had already started, and they were very strict. You have to start from the beginning. So I waited a year.鈥�
Taft recalls that the goal of the extensive, UCLA-accredited class was 鈥渢o be totally immersed. We wanted complete knowledge of the Zoo, so if a guest asked [any] question, you could answer it. We didn’t want to have one person knowing all about one animal but nothing about another animal,鈥� she says.
Taxonomy and biology were important back then, and so was the ability to 鈥渨ear a pith helmet and not look ridiculous,鈥� Taft remembers, laughing. In fact, according to the Preview Passport brochure given to guests on the Zoo鈥檚 opening, the volunteers were 鈥渧ery attractive ladies in special uniforms.鈥� Uniforms that even included white gloves and heels until the 鈥�70s. 鈥淎s far as I remember, there were no men back then [they joined the ranks in the early 鈥�80s]. It was more of a women’s society,鈥� Taft says.
Even with accredited training and the support of other women, Taft remembers being nervous her first day on the job. She was comfortable speaking in public and meeting new people, but a particular group had her 鈥渟cared to death,鈥� she jokes. 鈥淪ome of these six-year-olds know so much!鈥澛�
One of the women Taft became lifelong friends with is Sarah Berman, a docent emeritus who began at the very beginning. 鈥淚 think I am the only one left of the first official docent class,鈥� Berman says.鈥�淚 graduated in 1967.鈥�
Back then, docents were recruited from the Junior League and all education classes were taught outside in the old amphitheater. Curriculum building was a huge part of the early work, with docents doing painstaking research and filling notebooks with content for the Zoo鈥檚 constantly growing and diversifying youth audiences. Over 50 years later, docents engage with kids and adults alike, and part of their work is to help guests interpret the deluge of information that is so readily available online.
Berman and other docents emeriti Kilbee Brittain, Yvonne Dodd, and Jennifer McIntosh have one thing in common beyond their over 50 years of service: Despite not being able to tour or be active at the Zoo, they have never stopped being docents. Berman explains, saying, 鈥淚 took all the classes online, took the test each year, and attended all the required鈥痬eetings. Whenever I talked to other volunteer groups, I always mentioned my beloved Zoo and the influence it had on my life.鈥�
Taft agrees. 鈥淎fter 50 years, it’s part of my mind, my identity. People, when they come up to me, my friends don’t ask me how I am, they say 鈥楬ow’s the Zoo?鈥欌��
It is a lifestyle that Carole Stepp also knows. Since 1970 she has volunteered at the Zoo for a total of 14,465 hours鈥攎ore than any other docent in the 50+ years club. And she鈥檚 still active! Stepp serves in Enrichment, creating and maintaining food and novelties that keep animals healthy, busy, and sharp. The need for practiced hands and huge hearts is one thing that will never change at the Zoo.
The look of the Zoo over the years has certainly transformed. Taft has witnessed the evolution of a very young Zoo into one that has grown into itself, literally. 鈥淭here was very little foliage, so there was no place to hide from the sun. The exhibits themselves were all concrete,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here wasn’t a grassy place.鈥�
There were some memorable animals, however. Taft describes the 鈥�84 Olympics in Los Angeles as an exciting time for the Zoo, which welcomed all kinds of new guests, including pandas. To prepare, Mayor Tom Bradley assigned hundreds of City workers to the Zoo and cleared the way for the new GLAZA-funded China Pavilion to be built in just six weeks. According to a 1984 issue of our own Zoo View magazine, the majority of the Zoo’s pathways were resurfaced, new fences were installed, the parking lot was resurfaced, and new landscaping was completed as part of the project.
鈥淎nd nothing ever got done so fast and so perfect,鈥� Taft says of the cooperation and efforts at the time. 鈥淎nd people just lined up there all day.鈥� Taft made sure to get stationed in front of the pandas, where all the action was. 鈥淵ou get excited about it,鈥� she explains about new life at the Zoo.
Still, she insists she doesn鈥檛 have one favorite animal. 鈥淧eople ask me that, and you know, I really don’t. Every one.鈥� Mostly it鈥檚 the people that have kept her serving at the Zoo for all these years. 鈥淪ome people say the animals. It is the animals, yes, but it’s the friendships that I’ve made and still have after all these years.鈥�
Representing volunteers and docents is one of the great pleasures of Taft鈥檚 service to the Zoo. She became Docent Chair in 1997, earning a seat on GLAZA鈥檚 board of trustees. Instead of rotating off the board after her two-year term as Docent Chair (as was the custom), Taft remained to this day. 鈥淭hey asked me if I’d like to stay on the board, and I said, 鈥極h yes!鈥� I really fell in love with being on that side of things. I stand with the docents and give them a voice and try to do my best to advocate for them.鈥�
Like most of the volunteers and docents at the Zoo, Taft has taken on many roles over more than 50 years of service. She was Chair of the Day, Vice Chair, and then Chair. 鈥淎nd then I was the head of review for the new docents coming up.鈥� It鈥檚 an attitude that keeps the volunteer program going over time: pitching in wherever needed.
All of these superstar volunteers understand what Berman says of a life of service. 鈥淲hatever happens in the future, the Docent program taught me one important thing: Be flexible.鈥�