Last post for my internship

Hello again,

I've kind of been putting off writing my last post. Between moving back up to Unity and cleaning out my apartment I've been really busy. My last week consisted of working with a group of 2nd-3rd graders learning about forest animals for Zoo camp. Quite a few of them were repeat campers from the beginning of the summer, and then there were a few new kids. I ended up doing a few activities and an animal talk. One of the activities I did was an activity we did at the Project WILD workshop at the school. That activity was Oh Deer! where the kids learn about populations and carrying capacity (but of course they just see it as a game). Then I also taught them about the layers of the trees by showing them tree cookies and just explaining it to them how seasons and disasters can change how the cookies look. Zoo camp consisted of a lot of walks through the Zoo looking for tree/forest animals, that is when it wasn't raining.

My favorite thing that I did this week for camp was my animal talk on the birds of the forest. I brought out the Broad Winged Hawk, Barred Owl, and the Turkey Vulture for the students to see. I think they liked the Turkey Vulture the most being that not many people get to see him out. Of course childish giggles ensued with Turkey because of his constant pooping. It was funny though, one of the kids honestly asked if the Turkey Vulture would be able to pick me up and fly away! I don't know where they get some of these things, even though he is a pretty big bird.

On my last day I was able to go and say goodbye to all of the animals and people I worked with over the summer. I was sad when I had to give over my keys, because that’s when I really knew it was over. I feel like I grew this summer though. I got to experience so many things that I probably would have never done if I hadn't done my internship. I mean how often can you say that you got to walk around the zoo with a bird on your arm, or that you caught a baby Alligator out of a tub. I took it on myself to do tasks the best I could and with the at most care. I was able to work both by myself and in groups, with young groups and mixed age groups. After this summer I can honestly say I feel much better than I used to about giving public presentations. I still get the jitters, but not nearly as bad. And that in itself with help me further my career.

I came into my internship wanting to work with larger exhibit animals, and I'm coming out wanting to work with either Birds of Prey or Snakes in more of the education aspect. Just being able to handle the animals every day and being able to tell people about an animal they normally wouldn't see is just amazing!

Well hopefully everyone enjoyed reading about my adventures at the Salisbury Zoo, and hopefully I will have more experiences to write about next summer.
-Heather