“I love it!” Linda Bissett exclaims when asked about why she volunteers for Science North. This transplanted Torontonian has been volunteering to care for the animals in the Northern Ecosystem for almost 10 years. When asked why she chose to volunteer at Science North, she explains that she’s always enjoyed talking to people about animals, and encouraging them to try to see things from the animal’s perspective. “I like to get them thinking about the natural world and how humans affect it.”  It’s not surprising that Linda volunteers with animals. She graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in animal behaviour and worked as an animal control officer in Markham.  Linda’s favourite animal inhabitant is Drifter, the beaver.  Her love of beavers comes from raising several beaver kits at home. As a matter of fact, her most memorable experience at Science North is a toss-up between raising beavers and meeting Jane Goodall in 2002. Somehow, I think Jane would approve…

Ian Plummer’s fascination with the mining industry began early on in his life. One of his first memories is of watching ponies pull carts out of the coal mines that both his grandfathers worked at in his home town of Warwickshire, England. Ian went on to have a successful career as a mine safety inspector. His work took him from Brit Coal in England to Inco in Thompson, Manitoba to Indonesia, and of course, to Sudbury where he (understandably) found his way to Dynamic Earth and realised that it was the perfect place to share his knowledge of mining with the public. For the past 5 years, Ian has been a Dynamic Earth volunteer, and a guide for the Path of Discovery. The Path of Discovery brings visitors on a bus tour of CVRD Inco’s operations. Ian finds that leading the tours is a lot of fun – “…especially when the group is engaged and asks lots of questions.”  Ultimately, the opportunity that Dynamic Earth provides him to educate the public about the importance of mining in their daily lives is very fulfilling. “We wouldn’t have much of a civilization without it.”

Sudbury native and Lasalle Secondary School student, Matt Rayan, has been coming to Science North on school field trips for most of his life. His favourite part of the science centre is the 4th floor because “It’s fun to find out how things work.” Matt has been volunteering mostly in the FedNor CyberZone and LEGO® MindStorms lab and finds a correlation between his volunteer work and his academic work. “Volunteering here gives me the opportunity to learn new skills and teach children and adults about technology.”  Matt’s definitely been bitten by the volunteer bug. He rhymed off 8 other organizations that he works with – and somehow he still has time to devote to his band, “Dollar Tip.”  Matt will be heading off to university next fall where he plans to study computer programming.  When asked about his most memorable experience during his past year of volunteering at Science North, he pauses and then says, “Every day’s a fun day at Science North!” 

Unfortunately, I can’t write about all of Science North’s 75 volunteers, but their contributions are no less important. Next time you’re visiting the science centre and Dynamic Earth, and you see a volunteer, please take a moment to thank them for all their great work. (Hint: you can distinguish volunteers from other blue coats by their pale-blue coats.)  Thank you to all our volunteers, and Happy International Volunteer Day!

If you’re interested in volunteer opportunities with Science North, please click here for more information or contact Carey Roy at 522-3701 ext. 291 or roy@sciencenorth.ca.