Almost Everything You Ever Needed to Know About the Okapi

Although today was just another day in the office, we were planning for our trip this week, so it was something special. We are going to the Big Thicket this week, and camping out for 3 days while helping them with their conservation efforts. The Big Thicket is a national preserve that has a copious amount of different ecosystems that are all over Texas and a bunch of intelligent researchers and ecologists that work to keep the Big Thicket what it is.

We're going there, of course, to learn, but our other goal is to help them attack invasive species and repair some of their bridges. It should be fun, and it's camping, so it'll be even more exciting. Technically it's fairly nice camping, we're staying inside and there are plenty of comforts for us to experience, but either way, we're in the middle of no-where. Either way, I'll know more tomorrow, but we talked about what we needed to bring and what we were to expect. Plus we're doing our first projects tomorrow, so we have to prepare for that.

Speaking of preparing for that. My partner and I were almost unprepared today, but it worked out to our advantage, I think ours is the most unique project of the five. We ended up making a poster board for the Okapi and I'm trusting him to have his end of the project done because I have a three page outline on my half. Overachiever much? But anyway, most of my day was filled with trying to get this project done, which took longer than expected. Especially since none of the printers wanted to work with us. It turned out that I had to finish part of it at home because my computer wasn't compatible with his software, so it all worked out, but it was an ordeal. Plus I got to know him better, and learned again, not to judge a book by it's cover. I respect him more now than I did before, and I think that helps our group function better, so maybe being paired with him was a good thing.

Let's talk some more about the Okapi before I forget. The conservation project that is ongoing for them is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is in a region called the Ituri forest that is known to be one of the most biologically diverse places on earth. The Okapi is the flagship species of the country and is even the national symbol, but until John Lukas founded the Okapi Conservation Project on the Refuge, there was no sanctuary for them. Basically, the Project works to keep Okapi's safe from bushmeat trade and loss of habitat. Some of the techniques farmers use, such as slash and burn farming, is bad for the forest, and the Project offers other opportunities like agro-farming, which basically puts legumes, or a type of fungi in the forest after burning it to help it grow back faster than average. And somehow, that seems to work. Their alternative to bushmeat is to grow(/domesticate?) a type of rat that can be used as protein for the native families in the region. And besides all of the alternatives that the Project offers, they try to educate the public about conservation and work with tribes to develop healthier ways to live. They also serve them by offering them a hospital to come to when they are sick, and the hospital has actually been very successful in the past year. And besides all they do to help the community change, they have guards out who will enforce their rules, and arrest people who are illegally mining, lumbering, killing endangered animals, etc. And they are very successful as well. All in all, the Okapi Conservation Project basically does everything they can to help the community while promoting conservation of endangered species in the region. And nevertheless, the Okapi are only "near threatened" and not endangered yet.

One of the other cool things about the Okapi Project is that they have "Okapi Ambassadors," Okapi's who were bred in captivity, and used to being handled and seen by humans, who are in zoos all across the country who help promote conservation and education about the animal. There are three at the Houston Zoo and they receive the best care that they can. They even have enrichment, which makes them reach for their food with their impressively long tongues, just so it feels more like they are trying to get their food instead of everything being handed to them. These Okapi's usually come from White Oak Conservation Center in Florida, which works to captive breed several endangered species and is the most successful at the Okapi. They also conduct research on the captive Okapi and learn more about their behaviors and body adaptations.

Speaking of research, in the DRC, they are trying to research the Okapi in the wild by tracking some of their scat, but they have only just started research on it, and hope that it will be successful. But previously, they had a male who was in captivity for most of his life, was bred until he was basically retired and then released back into the wild. He was tracked for a while, and seemed to find home near a river somewhere, when they either lost his signal or took it off of him. Either way, research was discontinued on him because it was fairly boring, and produced little information. While the Okapi is a very unique creature, it's like any other hoofstock, it basically eats and breeds, like a lot of animals. 

But anyway, getting away from my Okapi rant, our day also consisted of talking about our larger project, which has been more hashed out recently. I told you that we decided we were going to do something at Hermann Park, but we haven't completely decided all that we want to do yet. Well today we worked on our problem tree, which helped us see what's necessary in the park and why, and we also looked at our strengths and weakness and how we can utilize and overcome them. It was a good group work exercise, but sometimes, as usual, people tended to be a little up tight. But either way, this internship is learning to work with people, and I think all of us are mature enough not to take anything to heart too much.

I think our ideas about the park are still fairly general, but we want to do signs in the park to help educate the public about the park's history, invasive species, animal treatment, and the prairie. I think that this project is actually very necessary for Hermann Park's guests because they need to know how much work it takes to make the park look beautiful for them everyday, and learn to appreciate it. I think it's very important for people to be thankful for what they've been provided, especially when it's a non-profit organization. This project should not only help general knowledge, but it should help further the park's efforts to create a friendly and safe family environment in the park. Overall, I'm excited about the outcome of this project and sincerely hope our steps to get it implemented go smoothly.

And though sometimes I complain, I really do love this internship. It's taught me some invaluable things and has really shaped a path for me in my life. I'm incredibly grateful that I was given this opportunity, and if I ever seem ungrateful it's because I'm not perfect.

Anyway, I probably won't post all week because I'll be in the Big Thicket. Pray for me, and I'll pray for you!

Exxon and My Future

Fridays are always the best days. It's the end of the week and you only have one day holding you back from the restful and fun weekend. Today was just that, and more. We finally got to meet the sponsor of our project, an Exxon Mobil representative, and the two directors of the Zoo who were very professional and very interesting to listen to.

The lady was a previous banker so she handled the business side of things, and helped interpret the budget and get sponsors from the public. But she was much more than that. She was intelligent and enthusiastic and I could tell how much she loved her job. When asked what her favorite part was, she said the people she worked with, which was great to hear, because that means that there are great people taking care of these animals, and giving them the treatment they need. The man on the other hand, was much more devoted to the animals. He actually grew up wanting to be a vet (like me), because that's pretty much the only job you can have if you love animals, right? Wrong. His life and mine both prove that. But he was great, he was very knowledgeable about how the zoo runs and told us all about the new exhibit going in and how many different departments they have working toward the conservation and health of the animals. Actually, a portion of your admission at the zoo goes to the conservation efforts over seas, SO GO TO THE ZOO! Haha.

When they left, the big shot, the Exxon Mobil man who was in charge of the conservation efforts that Exxon was making, came and talked to us. He gave us a presentation about Exxon, who they are, what they do, and why they need to care about the environment. It was interesting hearing his side of the story, while it may have been a little enhanced, it actually seemed like he wanted to help the environment. He told us about how they help the community in various places where they are drilling, and they even support scientists who are researching and conserving endangered animals. My favorite story was the Western Gray Whale one. He told us that this endangered species is off-shore Russia where they are drilling, and any time they spot one, they stop production, one of them, they managed to chip, and tracked him on his migration east, all the way to the coast of California where the Eastern Gray Whale is usually found. They then lost his tracking signal, but found him back a year or two later in the same place. They realized that the Western and Eastern gray whales might be intermingling and haven't had the chance to study it further, but were very impressed with how far they migrated, and how they managed to make it back. But why? And research is still on-going about this awesome creature.

After his presentation about "Protect Tomorrow. Today"'s interest in conservation, we realized that they actually did care about the environment but were not sure on what scale, or if their impact was actually as positive as they made it sound. While what they were doing was good, they had a tendency to throw money at situations without thinking about the impact that it will make on the surrounding or even global environment. The whole new perspective that I had on Exxon Mobil was interesting and I wasn't sure about how I felt about it. The one interesting thing that I found out was that they knew my advisor when she was studying for her Ph.D. Which is awesome! She's such a role model to me and I hope I can do the same kinds of things with my life that she is doing with hers, and if I have the possibility of support from Exxon Mobil, it could be very impactful.

But anyways, our day still wasn't over. We had a project that we had to go help with at Buffalo Bayou Park. So we drove out there, to the poorer community of Houston and found the place, only to learn that it used to be a garbage dump. How that might impact future wildlife, I'm not sure, but it didn't seem healthy. Either way, it was re-purposed into a nature park, because that's what the community asked for. We helped weed again! This time in the swampy pond of stagnant water. Yuck. And yes, the pond was higher than my rainboots. Fun stuff! So we got to dig up cattail (told you it was a problem), for about an hour, and then she asked us to plant a few grasses in the area surrounding the pond. We were done within twenty minutes and got to go home early.

The day was long, and ended up being very muddy, but all I learned was not forgotten, and our impact on the community, just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I'm so glad we have the chance to help with these project because I know when I'm in their shoes, I'll be praying for some volunteers just like us.


(This blog was written as if it were Friday, May, 25, 2012)

Invasive Species and Their Impact on Our Community

This morning was refreshingly cool for Texas, and we took advantage of it by weeding out Hermann Park (the park just across from the Zoo), while it was still cool. Our volunteer coordinator had told us we needed to help vanquish the invasive species from their park by weeding some, cutting the seeds of others, and simply cutting others.

Hermann Park is a park known for it's beautiful lands, and like many other parks it is owned by the city, and kept up by a non-profit organization. The organization is paid very little and what they do to keep the grounds clean and native is mostly done by volunteers. The other amenities of the park, like the nice benches and bridges are either donations or improvements made by the parks annual income plus fundraising. The park works to try to keep a friendly environment for Houstonians and their children, and keep the landscape beautiful by maintaining the native species and eliminating invasives. Most of the invasives proliferate very quickly and are very hard to control. Some of the weeds we fought were cattails, which grow very quickly and reproduce even faster.

Most of the morning was spend weeding a part of the garden, but then we got into the fun part with the gardener. He told us to find a certain kind of plant and then cut off the tops of it so it couldn't reproduce. that was actually quite fun. But the even more fun part was chopping down the cattails, the very tall grasses that usually grow in ponds, at the end of the biofilter. That was fun because you felt like you were in a forest, and you were just chopping down grasses so you could build a path. I thought it was fun because it was somewhat destructive, so yeah, conservation pretty much encompasses everything, haha.

After that we went on a tour of the park. Our volunteer director showed us how the park had grown in the last few years and how family friendly it had become. It was an enormous park, full of grass, and ducks and various paths and even play structures. She told us that her great-grandparents actually helped start the park (along with Herman, the guy a lot of the city is named after), and they build a nursery for trees because they wanted shade in the hot parts of Houston. What's interesting is that that act was actually destructive to the natural environment of Houston, the prairie. In the prairie, trees barely existed, it was just tall grasses with immense roots that filtered the soil well. Trees roots were far to enormous to make the soil healthy like the prairie did, and they took away some resources from the surrounding grasses. It's actually funny because a lot of people believe that if they just plant a tree, they are helping save the environment, but that's not always the case, especially in an ecosystem that isn't used to such big plant life.

And as we wandered through the park we noticed a lot of things that were bad for the overall ecosystem that are simple misconceptions in the public. Like feeding the animals. That's bad for them because it creates begging behavior and then they don't rely on their surroundings for food but people, and some even get aggressive when they don't get what they want. Take for example, nutria. Most people know that nutria are an invasive species and are nasty creatures that you don't want to mess with. But have you ever seen a nutria in the wild? It looks like an otter, or a beaver, but with a long rat tail and nasty buck teeth. Someone compared it to a large rat. But on the surface, they seem harmless. Which is probably why we encountered an old man feeding them. When our director went up to him to tell him that they were dangerous, he didn't listen. Every time she turned around, he would keep feeding it.  It was difficult for us to see because we knew these creatures had a negative impact on the environment (they'll basically eat anything and end up killing all the vegetation), and this old man was helping it survive and even promoting the begging behavior which might be dangerous for people or children down the road who don't end up feeding it.

It was an interesting lesson, because you have to think about your impact on the environment before you try to help it. Even the best intentions end up failing because of poor planning or lack of knowledge. Something simple like not putting a plant in the environment that will help it proliferate is an example of an attempt to help, but unnecessary failure due to lack of knowledge. Our group became very attached to this park, and were very passionate about these issues because its a fairly simple solution. We thought putting up signs to educate the public about these invasive species, and what they can do to help, would be important toward furthering the park's success and health in the future. We came up with an idea that were were passionate about, that was plausible, and that most everyone liked. It was exciting because we could actually see this plan coming through and helping the community of the zoo and the greater Houston area.

Altogether it was a wonderful day, we learned a lot, and we accomplished a lot, just in a small time period. It's really great when you can look back and see how much work you did in a day, even if it's small compared to the entire project.


(This blog was written as if it were Thursday, May 24, 2012)

How Can We Fit Education into Conservation?

Our projects are pretty much the essential part of the program. That's where we learn to research and present in a safe and encouraging environment. It's so important in fact, we almost have a day every week devoted to it, 20% of our whole internship.

Today was one of those days. It was a frustrating day. Mostly because it's hard to consolidated a group of diverse people to one subject and topic that we are all passionate about. I was disappointed because it seemed like our wolf idea was going down the drain. If there are no more wolves to conserve in Texas since they are completely wiped out, then how can we do a conservation project on them? It seemed irrelevant and wasn't really playing into the whole education idea that we all seemed to have. So I was slightly upset, but it gave me hope that maybe my dreams could be achieved, but on a larger scale as part of my life goal to be involved with wolves, however, that's for another day and time.

In the morning we had the Houston Toad Lead Conservationist, Paul, come in and talk to us. He was fantastic. He was so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about this silly little toad that it even inspired me to want to support his program. The Houston Toad is native to Texas, obviously. It lives in dry soil with a lot of brush, near a pond that's usually in a forest or something, so their prime area is probably actually The Woodlands (although we didn't talk about that). They are fairly simple creatures, they eat about 10 times their weight in crickets every day (the Zoo has a cow trying to pay for that), and reproduce a certain time each year where they turn from tadpoles to toads. Some random facts we learned was that they actually swallow with their eyeballs, and their "ribbit" is really more of a trill and it's a very unique call. Paul told us all about his conservation efforts; how he had a captive breeding facility at the Zoo, and went out and tracked or counted toads every year by listening for their call, and talked to landowners about their property and how they can help save the "Native Texan." He was very smart and really interesting to listen to. His tactics for saving this random reptile were not futile, he had breed almost 14,000 toads last year and was waiting to put them out in the wild where he hoped they would succeed. All in all it showed how valuable planning is and how there are millions of different avenues and hoops that we have to jump through to actually save a species, it's never a simple task.

After talking to him, we realized how futile our project on wolves would be. And while we still wanted to do our project on conserving an animal, it was a little more difficult than that. It almost wasn't feasible to try to get Exxon on board a huge project that could take thousands of hours and countless man-power. Plus we would rather educate the public than conserve a species the public hates. We discussed countless ideas, landing on a final one (after going through recycling and clean energy, bleh, over-done topics in my opinion) about educating in schools. But how? Why? Who? When? And what impact would it actually have? How could we really make people passionate about our cause? What was a plausible idea that would sustain itself? We toyed with the idea of writing a teaching plan to introduce endangered species to elementary kids, but I went home skeptical and not all that enthused about the idea.

Sometimes, ideas pan out and are beautiful. Others are not as perfect. Ours is almost a forced idea, an assigned project that we have to come up with in a time crunch. It's hard finding people who are passionate about the same things you are and focusing on a certain topic that will actually reach the public and please the funders. Conservation work is never an easy job, whether it be in the field being eaten by fire ants, or in the office, being rejected by your funders, it requires someone strong, willing, passionate, and persistent.

(This blog was written as if it was Wednesday, May 23, 2012)

The Game of Conservation

I'm exhausted. Texas is hot in the summer. And it's not hardly summer yet! Our field trip of the day today involved going back to the Texas City Prairie Preserve and basically learning the simple tasks of an ecologist and conservationist. The atmosphere for the animals is just as important as the people surrounding them, and habitat loss, so that is just as important a topic in conservation as poaching and hunting.

We learned to water sein, which was basically fishing for a bunch of fish and crabs and whatever you caught was dumped in a bucket. At the end of the hour, we poured out the buckets onto a strainer and looked at all we caught. It showed us biodiversity and indicated that the habitat was healthy. We found all kinds of crab; blue crab, hermit crab, etc. We also found some fish and shrimp, which was equally exciting. It was fun because it was an active learning activity and it showed us how much we can find of the wild if we just take our time and look.

Our next topic was water quality, our supervisor taught us all the ways that we can test water quality and see if it is healthy for the fish and other animals to live in. There was a dissolved oxygen test that involved a mini-chemistry experiment, temperature in the water and outside, and a pH test along with various others. It taught us the safe kind of environment that the many animals that live in and off of the lake need to survive. Luckily, since this habitat was on a preserve, it was indicated as very healthy, despite the pollution plant just across from it.

We took a nice lunch, and stared at the surrounding prairie and lake as we talked and got to know more about each other. After lunch we went on a nature walk, which became more of a scavenger hunt, searching for specific types of native plants that indicated that the prairie was healthy. We found most of the things we were searching for and also discovered some scat, some of an owl, some of possibly a coyote and possibly a bobcat. It was an interesting jump into how to learn about the ecosystem and environment and took me right back to high school. I'm almost surprised I wasn't interested in this field earlier, because everything connects so well. Isn't it just wonderful when things finally make sense?

The environment is here for us to utilize as resources, it is a source of jobs for a lot of people and it provides all of us with our food. But when we overuse and abuse the land, it stops giving, it can't give anymore if we don't let it grow and sustain itself. The game of conservation is a game of balances, trying to figure out how and where to fit in our natural habitats to make our ecosystem and environment more friendly to all creatures, including us. So while we can't completely restore all of the environment to what it used to be, we can re-establish it in some places and remember our role in it all. It's really a unique lesson and one that not everyone knows, so maybe our jobs as conservationists are two-fold; education and research, and possibly even more than that. Either way, I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this internship and I think it's given me a slice of my future that I need in order to plan to be more affective and efficient in my conservation efforts.

(This blog was posted as if it was Tuesday May 22, 2012)

Mondays...

Mondays are almost inherently bad. Once you start to get in the swing of things with the week, boom! There's the weekend, and then you get to relax and have fun, and Monday smacks you in the face with the workload again. Not that my workload is bad or anything, I've been going on about how much I love it for the past week, but waking up is hard, and forcing your body to work in the Texas heat is just as hard.

Our day today consisted of going to Pearland to meet the Keep Pearland Beautiful staff (all two of them) and learn about their efforts to increase recycling and reduce litter in their community. It was a basic Parks and Rec department but non-profit and not solely for the government. They told us about their education programs and what they were doing in the community to get people involved. They have a lot of volunteers and people backing them up to achieve their vision of a better and beautiful-er (if that's a word) community and country.

This wasn't my favorite day simply because it was so cliche. They were fighting for a lot of the things that environmentalists are fighting for, but I am not sure that their scale is as accurate as they think. I don't know where they got their facts from, and from previous visits to conservation sites, they had research done in science to prove their facts, here, I wasn't so sure. What tied it all up for me was the woman making a snide comment about the upcoming elections and how stupid some people are (like the conservatives who fight for our countries wholesome beginnings, whom I happen to be on the side of). It was a little frustrating for me because she was giving us the side of environmentalism that I didn't like. The opposing side instead of the encompassing side. I liked what she had to say about litter, but I was sure that I would not want to be in a position like her's in the future.

Nevertheless, we went to their huge recycling facility, with a park behind it that would be open in 2016. We helped them pull up weeds in a part of their garden that they had not planned to be filled with weeds. It showed us about planning and how important it is in this field to look at all options and see all obstacles (or at least try), before you implement something.

And while it was similar to other places we had been over the past week, it was dissimilar in the way that they hadn't completely backed up their ideas with science. I wasn't sure if the garden was natural plants to that area and how it would help the ecosystem grow, I was more aware of how it would affect the people coming through it. Don't get me wrong, curb appeal is important, but the more natural, the more self-sustaining and healthier for the community at hand.

But while this day wasn't all that perfect (it was super hot and I didn't drink enough water, oops!), it was still an important learning experience. Throughout my life I've learned to look on the bright side, and I've become perpetually optimistic. Maybe today was a lesson in poor planning. Maybe it was scratching a future job opportunity off of the growing list. Or maybe, like all of this, it was just experience that will eventually further my career in the long run.

All in all, Mondays are Mondays, and if you try to change them, they'll probably fight back.

Forever hoping for a better tomorrow.

The Journey of a Seed Collector

Today was a great day. We got to go to the Katy Prairie Conservancy and learn all about their efforts to save the prairie. The guy we met there, Jaime, was incredibly intelligent, and a sort of role model for the kind of person I want to be in the future. He was obviously a biologist, he knew all about the different kinds of plants that were on the prairie, and how the prairie's ecology affected the world around us; but he was also a business man, buying properties and promoting the prairie in all sorts of places around Houston. He was brilliant, and some day, I hope to be someone as personable and smart as him.

When we arrived, we got a preview of what the prairie meant to Texas and how it shaped our history, and shapes our future. The soil on the prairie was so rich and deep that the settlers who arrived here used it for crops and grew tons of it until they had to build a train to export it because there was such an abundance. They over-used and abused the prairie and began over-taking it. They took more than was given to them and the prairie began loosing it's battle to survive. The prairie is an essential part of the ecosystem, it is the ecosystem. It's roots are so deep that it could control flooding when it came in, which could have helped with the recent floodings in Houston, but alas. The prairie is just so essential to the environment that we cannot let it die, and Jaime is doing all he can to not let it.

He told us about the reintroductions, reconstructions and re-establishment's he was doing for the prairie all over Houston. The park across from the zoo he actually had started a project, and in just three years it was looking like a healthy prairie should look! It's amazing the kind of diversity of plant life that the prairie has and how it brings about other animals to the park. He told us that he had a few new projects he needed help starting, so we would be collecting seeds for him.

We started off collecting a tall dry grass, that was easy because you just pulled at the top of the little tuft and if some seeds came off you were in business. But after a while, he wanted us to start collecting a flower. That was much harder. Not all the seed pods were ready yet, and it was hard to tell which would give the most seed yield. We searched around for about 20 minutes to find the perfect pod, and when we did, we found that they were practically the rarest kind. We walked through the prairie and kept collecting these pods, while Jaime told us all about the nature that was surrounding us. We found stick bugs, spiders, caterpillars, weird tasting leaves, and special kinds of fruit. It was absolutely gorgeous out there, and I was surprised that people didn't have the respect for the biodiversity that I did. Just because they are plants, doesn't mean they can't go extinct. And besides, how could you erase something from the earth that was so beautiful?

He let us go to lunch a little early and we talked about the Attawater's Prairie Chicken again. He showed us some videos and then told us about the exhibit he had had in downtown Houston for a year. And since he had let us go so early, he asked us to help him take it down. So on our way back to the zoo, we followed him to his office, got stuck in a lot of Houston traffic, and carried a variety of plants up to his office. He was very appreciative of the free labor we gave him and showed him that field work is not always in the field. It's teaching and educating the public about your projects and getting support and understanding from them to help your project earn respect and eventually proceed and succeed.

When we got back to the Zoo we journaled, which was surprisingly hard for me because I had already written most of it down here! (you're welcome ;)) We then discussed our plans for next week; on Monday we were going to Pearland to learn about the conservation work they were doing there! So as you can see, there's conservation projects not just overseas, but right next door to you! We've found about 5 in just a week, and all in our area. It's really cool to see how close to home these projects are, and it makes me hope that my future will be spent near my close family and friends. But whatever happens, I know God has great plans for me. And I can't wait to find them out.

Have a great weekend! I'll keep you up to date on my week next week!


(This post was written as if it were Friday, May 18, 2012)

Projects, projects, projects!

Today was a "project work day," one of the days where we get to work on the two projects that we have assigned for this internship. The first is fairly simple, learn all you can about an animal that they assigned us, and the conservation efforts that people are making for that animal. Then present it to the group. Then present it to the public at the zoo. On two different days. If you are in Houston and want to come see this project, it'll be in the afternoon on June 7th. I'd love for any of you to stop by! Our other project is much bigger, and much more important. We will be presenting it to a group of Exxon Mobile employees, and if they like it, it has the potential to crawl up the chain of command and hopefully get implemented.

We mostly worked on these projects all day, focusing on the large one at first. What we decided later was that we would like to do a project for (and about) the grey wolf (my favorite animal!). The grey wolf is incredibly important for the ecosystem and community at hand. It has a bad rep because it's a predator, but all predator's have bad rep's. They recently did a reintroduction in Yellowstone, and it cleared up all the over-grazing that the deer were doing, and reestablished the ecosystem's natural homeostasis. It was so successful in fact, that they are starting to reintroduce wolves in other places as well, such as New Mexico and even North Carolina (that's the red wolf though). It's really cool how important a species can be in the food chain and the way things naturally run, and I love learning things like this.

And the wolf is not only gorgeous and majestic, it's ferocious too. They're brilliant creatures, living in packs and forming their own chain of command, they can be very successful in the wild, and have been known to be illusive and smarter than the hunter's hunting them. It's really cool to see their behavior and their natural instincts at work, especially when their instincts help us save them. They're just my favorite animal because they are so incredibly smart and important in the wild.

After a while, we were sent on a scavenger hunt of the zoo (yes, we have fun too), because it was so cold in the conference room. We had 30 minutes to find the answers on a sheet of paper and report back. My partner and I explored primates, and found out about a lot of their behavior, looked at some of the antelope and got to see the aquarium. We were very close to winning, but missed by one. It was really fun because I knew some of the answers. Although rhino's tusks are not used to make ivory, they're used to make spears, and medicine, just in case you were wondering.

When we got back to work, we began working on the smaller project. This project is due fairly soon, and I'm supposed to be working with a partner. Of course I get stuck with the only guy in the group, haha. He seems cool but I just hope he's as enthusiastic as I am about this project. We get to do the Okapi! I just learned about this really cool ungulate in December, and am so excited I get to do a project on it! The Okapi, as I've mentioned a little earlier, is a relative of the giraffe, but is smaller, with black fur, and black and white stripped legs. It is notoriously illusive, so little is known about it's behavior in the wild.

The man who formed the Okapi Conservation Project is John Lukas, and he is involved in all kinds of conservation projects all over the world, he's on the board of practically every one, and he's the president of the International Rhino Foundation. He's build a sanctuary for the Okapi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and has been fighting with the locals (well mostly the police, although he has connections at the capital), to keep it safe for the Okapi. What's ironic about the DRC is that their national symbol of the country is the Okapi, but until Lukas opened his conservancy in 1992, they had no safe land where the Okapi was protected. I get to learn all about him and what he's doing to save the Okapi from extinction(I think they're listed as near threatened on the IUCN red list).

All and all it was a day filled with gathering information, which I love, but next time, hopefully, I can bring my computer, and do more focused research. It was fun, and it made me more excited for the projects we have planned.

Until tomorrow!


(this post was written as if it was Thursday, May, 17)

It's The Little Things

Today was great. I don't know why but I honestly can't stop smiling. I'm exhausted, I have a couple ant bites on my ankles, maybe some random scrapes, a blister on my foot but I'm so incredibly joyful it's amazing. I absolutely love this internship, it's everything I've ever wanted to do. And it's only been about chickens so far! It's so clear that this is what God wants me to do with my life because I have been having the time of my life! And we've been doing very mundane things, as well. It's really not that exciting to anyone who's not me and enthusiastic about everything, haha.

We went out to the Texas City Prairie Preserve today and got to help out the Nature Conservancy there (they have two Attawater's Prairie Chickens). We helped them nail scraps of metal onto posts to try to deter birds of prey from preying on any of the two chickens they have left. This is actually the first year they are trying to prevent these attacks, so when the new chicks come in from captivity, they will be more safe than any of their previous friends.

It was simple(or supposedly so). You went up to a fence post and nailed about three nails onto the top of the fence post so the birds of prey couldn't stand there. But it really wasn't that simple....You wouldn't believe all the things nature had in store for us today, and needless to say I'm fairly useless at hammering nearly anything. There were bushes, tall grasses, and thorns surrounding the fence posts, making it nearly (and sometimes completely) impossible to get to. Then there were the ants, thousands of them in very large swarms...in the posts. That was unfortunate. Some were completely skipped because there were so many ants on them.

It wasn't hard work, but it was a lot of work. There were thousands of acres of Prairie that were covered with fence posts that they needed to cover before August, and we were only helping a small portion of that. There were ten of us, so we got a lot of work done, but it wasn't easy. It was a lot of walking, a lot of struggling with nails, and bushes and ants, but nonetheless, we accomplished a lot. Our trek back was fairly long and we could see the kind of work that we did throughout the day.

It's really great when you can see your progress, but in conservation work, it's never really like that. Thinking about how much more they needed to do was almost heartbreaking, especially since nearly no one was working at the facility. It's hard, back-breaking, sweat-drenched work, but it's worth it. Even if one of those posts helped save a chicken's life it was worth it for me.

I loved today because it was getting dirty, and getting really involved in the stuff that needs to be done. It was fun because it was out in nature, surrounded by God's beautiful creation, even though some of it was out to get us (ant's are a little evil....). I was content with the work that I had done and grateful that I had this opportunity to really see what conservation work involves and how their days can be spent. All throughout this internship I know I'll be dreaming of the future, and of the day when it'll be my project out there, trying to save whatever animal I choose and help promote a healthier environment and ecosystem for all.

I can't wait for the life that God is opening up for me. I'm perpetually excited and so enthusiastic. Even though I'm tired, and my body is sore, I'm completely joyful and intrigued in what tomorrow will bring.

You're Conserving What?

So, as I told you yesterday, our plan today was to go to the Attawater Prairie Chicken Refuge and learn about the place and maybe do some volunteer work for them, but what we got out of the experience was much more than we bargained for.

It was an early morning, I got up at 5:30, a number that should never exist on anyone's alarm clock ever, but for me it did. When we got to the Zoo we took a van an hour and a half to Katy to the Refuge. While we were on the van and everyone began nodding off, it began to rain, not heavy rain, but light, consistent rain, that wasn't letting up much. Our mentor told us that we should prepare to work in all kinds of weather, and the only kind of rain that could really stop us would be a thunderstorm. Needless to say, it didn't thunderstorm. Now while we all assume that rain on a work day is a bad thing, it can actually be a blessing in disguise. It provided us a clear cover from the sun, kept us cool and protected us from sweating profusely. I thank God for the rain, because without it, we would have all been even MORE exhausted (if that's possible), and unhappy.

When we got there, we were lead to a conference room where we were told all about the Prairie Chicken. So I'll give you some fun facts; the Attawater Prairie Chicken is the most endangered bird in North America, it's population is about 50 in the wild, almost all comprised in one area, the Refuge(in Katy); the work they do there determines if and how the Chicken will survive and thrive in the environment.

Ever since the start of urbanization, we have been loosing prairie in Texas, and it's not only because of the big cities and suburbs that are sprouting everywhere, it's the cows and farms as well! They use the land for their(and our) own purposes and forget what it was once used for, as a home, and safe place for the wildlife to live.

Here in Texas we have a great diversity of wildlife, from armadillos, to rabbits, to coyotes and even cougars. And we saw a bunch of these animals in the Refuge and even more plant life. The plant life that they had at the Refuge was immense, diverse, and gorgeous. It was tall grasses, numerous wildflowers and a variety of pretty colors. I was amazed at the beauty of such a flat piece of land, and impressed by the awesome wild. And it was a beautiful day for it too, even if we did have to get a little wet.

Our project for the day was taking down the Prairie Chicken nesting guards. In order to keep the baby chicks safe from prey on the ground, like snakes, or other poisonous or mean critters, they put up a mesh fence to protect them while they are still eggs and the hens are still nesting. We got the glory of getting in the mud and taking those things down, but with team-work, we were done fairly fast and were able to take down three in the whole day.

The Prairie Chicken's life is fairly simple. It lives for about two years and mostly searches for food; so basically, it lives to reproduce. But unfortunately, their offspring have mostly failed to survive past chick-hood. It all begins with the mating dance that the male does for the female. He puffs up his orange cheeks and makes loud booming noises while stomping his feet(some would think he was having a tantrum), and attempts to attract the female. She'll either accept or deny and her eggs will be fertilized. Once fertilized, she builds a nest in the high grasses(to keep her hidden from predators), and waits for about 26 days. All she does is wait. Occasionally she'll leave to feed, but basically, she sits on the nest. When the chicks hatch, they learn the ropes and go on to be chickens of their own and repeat the cycle. This seems to be where the problem ensues.

Lots of the chicks they get are from captive breeding and have little experience in the wild, so they don't know what predators are and fail to escape when one encounters them. There's stories of all kinds of animals catching the chickens, usually birds of prey, and leaving only feathers of the carcass. But one unusual case was a case of fire-ants; the nasty pests got to a mom and her chicks and killed them off in one night. The Refuge's new research for this year is how to treat fire-ant invasions and deal with the problem and how it affects the chickens.

But the most exciting thing that happened today was finding a mortality. Our guide told us to pull in front of a satellite truck to harass one of his interns and we learned that his job was to track the chickens(pretty boring work if you ask him), and he had actually heard a mortality beep for one right before we pulled up. So we began our search for this chicken, expecting a nasty crime scene, and found her....whole. It was very unique and quite unexpected. We're not sure what she died of but it seemed to be something that they'd never seen before. It was a unique experience and one that highlighted the day. And, although it was sad, it was all a part of the work they were doing at the Refuge to save the Prairie Chickens from extinction.

All in all it was a tiresome day, but one of the good ones where you go to bed content for the work you did that day. And the knowledge I gained, from one day at this internship, is something I'll never forget. I seriously cannot wait to experience all that this internship has to offer.

Until then, I'll patiently and enthusiastically wait for what tomorrow brings.

The First Day of the Rest of My Life

Today began the rest of my life; but it was more uneventful than you might imagine. We began with standard procedures for all Zoo volunteers, the boring, nitty, gritty stuff that no one really wants to talk about but always has to talk about. But it didn't matter to me. I was there, at the zoo, happy as I'll ever be.

Then came the more exciting stuff. The schedules. And that's not sarcasm, I was super excited about these schedules, detailing all the activities we'd be doing over the course of 8 weeks. I really love mapping my time out, but we don't have to get into how OCD I am. It was awesome, I found out we were doing two projects, one with the whole group (all ten of us) that would later be presented to a board of employees from ExxonMobile (they're sponsoring our internship), and another with just one other person researching the conservation efforts on one specific animal. And guess what?! They gave me my new-found favorite animal: the Okapi!

For those of you who don't know(cause I didn't until December), what the Okapi is, it's kind-of a new discovery. It was found in 1901 and is known to be very illusive. It related to the giraffe, having the ossicones(little horn-like things) that are apart of it's skull on its head, tall legs, and a pre-hensile tongue that can reach incredible distances and grab just about anything. It's fur is dark and silky and it's legs have white stripes on them to hide them in the rainforest. They're beautiful animals, just like every one of God's creation, but they are special because they are so unknown and mysterious.

After the introductions, and some interesting Ice-breakers, we got the chance to go on a tour of the Zoo, my personally favorite part of the day. They told us all about the animals, their names, their history, and even if they had had babies recently or their temperaments. We got to see the Maned Wolf, the Elephant, the Rhino, the Anteater, the Jaguar, etc. Nearly everything! (The spectacled bear had a box of Cheez-Its, and people were worried that it was litter, but it was simply enrichment! Oh,  the things we do for these animals! Remind me of the iPads for Orangutangs)On the tour, I got to learn more about the Cougar and how they are usually housed in Zoos, not because they are endangered, but because they are abandoned by their mothers, or their mother's are shot by poachers. They have incredible range, all the way from Canada into Mexico and down into South America! And they have multiple colloquial names, the Mountain Lion, the Puma, etc. One of the two at the Zoo is actually the University of Houston's mascot! Her name is Shasta and she is one of the rescues that they have.

One of my other favorite parts of the day was the Giraffe feeding! Of course, I've done this before, so I'm an old pro, but this one was different! They were right in your face and very anxious for that piece of lettuce that you had. They all had really cool African names, and were identified by the marks on their body. One of them actually had a few shaped like hearts! Being that close to such a huge animal really makes you think about your place in the world; it shows you that there are things in this world beyond our control, and that's something really beautiful.

We ended the day with our plan for tomorrow, a trip to the prairie to help a conservation project for the Prairie Chickens. It sounds a little lame, they're chickens, but chickens can be just as cool as any lion, if you let them. We got our awesome shirts(I'm really legit now) and we were set free!

Then came the adventure with the bus. Just when you thought I was done. So my dad had driven me that morning, in an effort to keep me under his care and safety for as long as possible, but with the traffic of the afternoon being foreboding, he had advised me to take the bus home. Little did I know that the bus does not pick you up where it drops you off. Now I know that seems like common logic but when the bus stop is half-way down the other street, and you can't see it, it seems as good of an option to pick the one you know. I thought it was a good idea (no blonde jokes!), but it didn't work out in my favor. So instead of taking the 4:45 express, I got to take the 5:40 bus, with a little lesson in humility and patience included. But I made it home(I know you all were wondering)! Safe and sound and starving.

Not everyday ends up like you expect it to. Not every experience ends up like you want it. But it's all a part of the bigger plan of your life that He has in store for you. While today wasn't perfect, it was joyful and I am grateful for that.

Here's to praying that tomorrow brings more joy than pain, more delight than sadness, and more peace than strife.

The Internship I'd Always Dreamed Of, and the Life I Never Knew I Could Have.

I'm not really much for blogging, or really talking about myself, but I figured, with the opportunities I've had this summer, why forget? I decided to start this blog because I hope it will help me, and maybe even you (if there are any of you), figure out who I am, what I love, and what I'm living my life for. So here goes nothing:

I'll begin with....what this is all about. Ever since I was a little girl, I've wanted to be a Vet. I'd hoped and dreamed all my life that I would finally have that D.V.M at the end of my name, but this year I realized it wasn't meant to be. And when you realize something like that, you'd expect it to break your heart. But it didn't. My heart's already been broken. And I know for a fact it can never be broken again. This decision I had made, to not be a vet anymore, was two years in the making, I was just too stubborn to realize it. But I'm glad it happened when it did, it shows that everything falls into place perfectly if you let God's timing work out. I realized that when I made the decision, and I realize it everyday when He reminds me to let my worries fade. But anyway, I was a Bio major for two solid years, ok, so maybe not that solid. My doubts didn't really start until this year, when I was taking Bio, and not really loving it. But I let it pass, until I came into O Chem. Now that's not really my cup of tea (and I don't even like tea to begin with). Ok, so, I may have gotten a bad grade (yes, I'm not perfect, I battle with that every day too), but a miracle happened, it wasn't the end of the world. I had other plans...He had other plans.

Every time I've ever been to the Zoo, no one could wipe the smile off my face. My dream of being a zookeeper, was finally on the horizon. I could be whatever I wanted to be. I could do whatever I wanted to do. Because it is my life, and wherever I feel most at home, most happy, most JOYFUL, is where I belong. Now I'm not saying I belong at the zoo (haha, funny, ya'll), but I know that it could lead me down the path to where my life is going. Ever since I decided that being a vet wasn't all it cracked up to be for me, I've had this new-found dream. This hope in the future that I've never had before, and I'm incredibly excited.

So being me, who always has to have something on the horizon, for the future, for the summer, for the next year, I applied to about 8-10 zoos all across the country for internships. My parents....weren't that supportive. They worried about parenty things like money, and gas, and safety. But I wasn't worried. I didn't feel the need to. I knew God would work it all out in the end. So for about a month after I submitted all those applications I had heard back from one. One. And that sucked. It was the only one that was nearly impossible, not payed, no housing, and in Missouri of all places. Although it was my favorite animal (the wolf, in case you were wondering), I couldn't take it. I'd have to give it up. And I did. And then I almost but gave up on the rest of them, only hearing back from 2 or 3 that their positions were already filled. And then...

I got the call. A completely unexpected phone call. FROM THE HOUSTON ZOO!!! Ok, sorry I shouted, but every time I think of it...you can't imagine the smile on my face or the joy in my heart. But it was only an interview...on the next day, at two. And boy, that next day was nerve racking. Trying to find a quiet place on campus with no construction noises, or leaf blowers was nearly impossible. But I had the interview, and it went splendidly, if I don't say so myself.

And that was a stressful week too! Four papers, two tests, and to top it all off, the last week of school. They told me they'd call me the next day. So naturally, I expected a call before 5pm....before my O Chem test at 6pm. And guess what? They didn't call. I was...confused, to say the least. I'd thought they told me they'd call the next day, but...oh well. I guess not. So I went into my O Chem test (there seems to be a theme here...), and came out with no phone call. Went out with one of my good friends and was totally distracted from thinking about the phone...and that call that I had expected.

And of course, when I least expected it...a 713 number called me. I rushed out of her room...anxious to find out whether I would have a job this summer, and listened as the man on the other end asked if I was still interested in the Collegiate Conservation Program this summer. The very internship that I had prayed so hard about for that month that they were processing it. It was mine. The internship. The dream. The hope. All mine. And I was grateful, and I am grateful. And that's why I'm writing this blog. Because I don't want to miss a minute. I start Monday and I am incredibly excited! I cannot wait to start my life, and I am so blessed that everything seems to be working out perfectly. I hope and I pray that anyone reading this will find their true passion and chase it. God has his timing, and He has His ways, He'll figure it all out for you, if you just let Him. Trust in the Lord, for He is good, and His love endures forever.


And as always in life, there's more to come!