I assume those people in the red shirts are the new "volunteer interpreters" (what San Diego calls their docents - I guess they had to be different). The opening of EO also marks the first time that San Diego has had docents. As I understand it, they are starting at EO only, but will eventually expand to the rest of the Zoo and the Wild Animal Park.
As a docent myself, all I have to say is it's about time! This is the one area where San Diego is way behind almost every other zoo in the country.
The only "volunteers" they had previously (and there weren't many) had a very minimal role. Basically, all they were allowed to do was hand out maps and give directions. They were not educators, like docents. The EO volunteer program is entirely new and is the first true docent-type volunteer program they have ever had. This is directly from the president's message in their monthly magazine a few issues back.
