Internship Provides Insight into Importance of Conservation Teamwork
Julia Somers, an intern with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, worked at the Oregon Zoo Education Center the summer by engaging the public on conservation. Julia is a senior at Lewis & Clark College, studying biology with a focus on evolution.
It’s was a busy summer here at the Oregon Zoo! I got a real taste of what the Oregon Zoo and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s zoo partnership is like.
My time here showed me the importance of partnership in conservation work. With a focus on saving species, and 1.7 million visitors annually, it’s easy to see why the zoo is such a great partner for reaching a broad audience.
Every Thursday and Friday, I was stationed in the Nature Exploration Station, a new building housing an insect zoo and informational displays about local species and conservation projects in place to protect them. Here, I spoke with zoo visitors of all ages, using education tool kits to teach about wildlife such as condors, beavers, migratory birds, bald eagles, cougars, and aquatic invasive species. Talking to the public led to some very memorable, fun, and meaningful engagements. It was incredibly rewarding to see the light-bulb moments and the inspiration to make change.
Another part of my internship was creating some educational material of my own. My three education tool kits focused on backyard wildlife habitats, and wildlife Crime Scene Investigation (CSI). The backyard habitat kit gets visitors excited about what they can do to help wildlife in their backyard, and reinforces that anyone can help wildlife, no matter where they live. The two CSI kits are centered on spotted cats and reptiles that are commonly illegally trafficked.Â
The zoo runs a 6th grade camp that walks students through an investigation of someone selling illegal wildlife. These kits were used to teach campers to identify wildlife products, just as a special agent would in the field. The kits dive into why we protect wildlife, which laws protect wildlife, and how special agents can use pattern morphology to identify different species in the field.
