More About Aquarium Volunteering

I've been looking on some aquarium websites and found that Blue Reef doesn't appear to offer volunteering, sadly. However, Sea Life Scarborough does. So does The Deep, an amazing aquarium in Hull I visited in the winter last year. The problem with The Deep is that a) Hull is a quite a few hours' drive from where I live and b) you have to be in Year 10 or over. I'm only in Year 8 right now. The other option is, of course, Sea Life Centre. I can't find anything about it on their website, but I know you can volunteer because the seal trainer said. I've also seen volunteers at the sealion enclosure at FlamingoLand, but that's also quite far away to travel to every day. I'll think about it.

Aquarium Volunteering and the Story So Far

I'm thinking of volunteering at an aquarium next year in order to get some experience working with marine mammals. At the moment, I'm thinking of either Blue Reef Aquarium in South Shields, or the Sea Life Centre at Scarborough, both of which hold seals. I know you can volunteer at Sea Life, (I was talking to one of the seal trainers there on my last visit about a month ago) but I don't know about Blue Reef. Blue Reef would be of course much nearer than Scarborough, which is about an hour and a half away from home. And as I would be volunteering in the summer holidays, I might be going to the aquarium quite a few times a week so it can't really be far away. I'll think about it...

In other news is the story so far. Obviously, I started this blog, what, an hour ago perhaps? Either way, I thought I'd share my story. Basically, it started at Barcelona Zoo in Spain in 2005, when I was five years old. I saw the dolphins swimming around through the underwater viewing glass and instantly fell in love with them. And, after seeing a performance of the dolphin show, I decided that I wanted to be a dolphin trainer. In 2008, I visited Florida and went to SeaWorld, Aquatica and Discovery Cove. While here, I saw belugas, killer whales, psuedorcas and Commerson's dolphins. I then also swam with dolphins and interacted with the Commerson's dolphins at Aquatica. This was where my love for dolphins just grew and grew and grew. Since then, I have seen and interacted with lots more marine mammals, and I learned the general qualifications and skills you need to be a dolphin trainer. Now, it's just a matter of getting them all them skills and qualifications. I already have some: I'm a confident swimmer, I have a scuba certificate, I have prior experience working with animals... and I'm working on a lifeguard course, part of which includes CPR training. So if I work hard enough, I will hopefully one day fulfill my dream of working with dolphins or killer whales (or any other cetacean).

Lastly, here are some photos of marine mammal interactions that I've decided to share with you all:

Me and the Commerson's dolphins

Interacting with seals at Sea Life Scarborough

More interacting

This one's so cute

He's gone right upside-down!

Welcome to 'Just Me And The Dolphins'

Hello and welcome to 'Just Me And The Dolphins'. This is my second blog, (you can find my first here) which is all about me working towards my dream of becoming a dolphin or killer whale trainer at SeaWorld Orlando or Marineland Antibes. I'll be posting about all thing related to that, whether it's volunteering at an aquarium, interacting with a marine mammal, or even something small like training the dog or having a swimming lesson. Every little think like this will help me become a dolphin/killer whale trainer. Hope you enjoy the blog, because there's lots of exciting stuff that's going to be happening here. :) Bye for now!