Over the weekend, the team said a fond farewell to Keeper Jennie, who has retired after a number of years working with us.
Jennie originally worked in the shop and office for a few years when we first opened. She then returned to Stonham as a Keeper at Jennies Ark, but was also working with us. When we merged with Jennie’s Ark in 2019, we offered Jennie the position of Keeper, where she was able to put her prior experience to good use looking after our Meerkat mob, Red Squirrels, Ferrets, small rodents and more recently Silver Foxes and Invertebrates.
Jennie has not only been caring for our collection of captive mammals over the years, but has been instrumental in our partnership with Suffolk Prickles Hedgehog Rescue, taking care of the Hedgehogs placed in our care before their release.
She has also taken responsibility for much of the gardening around site, and through her additional role as fundraiser, she has managed to acquire some beautiful plants from generous donators and well-wishers to brighten up the Sanctuary for visitors.
We couldn’t let Jennie leave quietly, so on Saturday she was invited to help fly some of the birds in both displays. Boris, Rio and Auckland all flew beautifully between the falconers, giving the audience a few free haircuts along the way.
In the afternoon display, with a full house of visitors, Jennie was called to the front by Falconer Rob, who announced her retirement and gave her a special role to play in our popular Food Chain Game! With young volunteers from the audience taking up the parts of Barn Owl, Shrew, Spider, Grasshopper and the remaining audience, including staff being the crucial Wild Grasses, Jennie was given the role of the…Bunny Rabbit!
After a final check and feed for the hedgehogs, Jennie was summoned to the shop, where the whole team were waiting with a bag of goodies for her to enjoy at her leisure. But a couple needed a bit of a photo shoot, so Education Officer Susan invited Jennie for one last Meerkat encounter, including her unique mug made by Falconer Izzy and the only sort of Meerkat anyone would want to take home with them!
We’re sure that visitors will miss her Meerkat talks, that were always full of enthusiasm and fun facts.
Sadly absent from the occasion. the Trustees of the Charity were nevertheless full of gratitude for the varied and valuable services Jennie has provided during her time with us, which also included some thoughtful insights into her work, and always on hand for a bit of counselling garnered from her many years of experience when needed. The Trustees wish Jennie the very best in her retirement, though of course hope to have the opportunity to catch up with her on what we hope will be frequent future visits to say hello.