Reg Sims is a 12-year Assiniboine Park volunteer whose reputation precedes him.

Wherever he goes within the Park, volunteers, staff members, and regular visitors who recognize him wave hello or ask him how he’s doing. He’s the kind of warm and welcoming person you hope to see during your visit to the Park because of his deep gratitude and appreciation for the community, and in turn, they are grateful for him.

His first connection with the Park goes beyond from when he started volunteering in 2014 – but from when he was a young boy. A St. James native, him and his friends would bike over the Assiniboine River Park Bridge and visit the Zoo often. His wife Jayne also used to frequent the Park with her friends as a kid, and when they got together and started a family, they all came back as a familial unit.

“For almost 50 years on my dad’s side of the family, we would host our annual family reunion at the Park. No one had a big enough yard for 100 plus people, so we started coming here every fourth Monday in June. We still do it to this day, but it’s not as big as it used to be, since I was the second youngest of the cousins. It’s down to 40-50 people, but we still meet.”

It was the perfect fit: with Reg’s lifelong connection to the Park and his 36-year career in agriculture with the federal government, after both he and his wife retired from their careers, they volunteered together.

“After I retired, we made it through the summer, but then in the fall, she said, “One of us has to find something to do or one of us isn’t making it through the winter.”

They were looking for a different volunteer opportunity, connecting with nature, community and purpose, and found it all within an ad for volunteering at the Park. “My wife loves the Zoo, and I’m more of a plant guy, so it works out really well for us.”

And he’s definitely a plant guy – in his over 2400 completed volunteer hours, 300 of them are with Horticulture, with over 110 of those completed at The Leaf. Reg says when the Park was starting to build The Leaf, he volunteered for as much as he could, starting with the donor events and becoming a garden ambassador when the Gardens at The Leaf opened. Now, he enjoys doing plant tours and our Sustainability at The Leaf tours.

His biggest chunk of time spent volunteering at the Park, however (over 800 hours!), was from either learning or training volunteers so they can provide the perfect experience for our visitors.

“Back when Jayne and I started volunteering, there were about 40 volunteers, as it was just the Zoo and the Park back then. (For context, the Park currently has around 600 year-round volunteers.) The manager at the time wanted to build a stronger customer service module for volunteers, and since I had worked in customer service myself, three volunteers and I put together an orientation training module for new volunteers that we still use today.”

For Reg, he sees the interactions of volunteers with guests as a responsibility that he does not take lightly:

“We have a fairly large responsibility to our visitors to help shape their experience at the Park and make it just a little more exceptional than just coming in and walking around. We help people connect to nature. Education doesn’t just happen within the classroom – it takes place outside and in small groups and there’s lots of opportunity to share within those spaces about conservation, sustainability, and even renewing your appreciation for the outdoors.”

One way Reg encourages new volunteers to deliver an exceptional visitor experience is by sharing information through a storytelling lens. “You can tell a guest that a polar bear weighs x pounds that day, but they don’t care, and they won’t remember. But they will remember a story. I shared a story once with a family and then awhile later, that same family found me and said, “Remember you told my kid a story about Storm the polar bear? He talked about the story you shared with him for a week!” Those kinds of things matter to our guests, and it helps keep them coming back.” 

When asked for a particular story or highlight in his 12 years of volunteering, Reg doesn’t share a specific moment, but a feeling he aims to provide every time he puts on his volunteer lanyard.

“You’ll be talking with a guest and asking them questions, and soon enough, you start to have a conversation and share something they didn’t know before. They’ll be looking at you, and suddenly, you’ll see a little glimmer of light go on in their eyes, seeing them learn something they didn’t know before or thought of. It doesn’t happen every day, but when it does, it’s very special. It reminds me that during my day, I didn’t just lie around and do nothing – I had a purpose and contributed to something, and it feels good to do.”

When it comes to encouraging people to apply to become a volunteer at the Park, Reg can come up with a multitude of reasons why people should join.

“There’s the obvious things like giving back to the community and flexible scheduling, but I think volunteering here can benefit your own satisfaction on life. I’ve talked to people who don’t have as many friends as they’d like or want to learn new skills. There’s so much people can learn and you can come and give as much as you want and get that back tenfold. It’s just the nature of how this place works.”

Although Reg has volunteered for a variety of different places, he speaks highly of the volunteering team here at the Park.

“There are so many positions available at the Park and not just ambassador-style positions that I do. If you’re not comfortable talking to strangers, there’s still a million positions available for you. This volunteer program is all about teamwork with everyone at the Park. We all work together to get things accomplished and it builds a family. There are several folks here who feel like the volunteering team is their family. That mentality builds a camaraderie we need as a team for a project or special event. I know there are many great places to volunteer, but I can’t think of one that would be more rewarding than here.”

Volunteer applications are now open! Discover how you can get involved by visiting assiniboinepark.ca/volunteer.