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)
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