10/10/10

Hey everybody! So 10/10/10 is coming up! That means worldwide eco-friendly events! YAY so I am currently organizing a winterizing of our community garden for Polar Bears International! I will have to let you guys know how it goes! If you want you should plan your own event in your hometown! Just check out www.350.org        yes. go do it now! Talk to you guys SOON! ~Wildlife Katie

Pilot Whales in New Zealand

I was reading today on Yahoo! News about the pilot whales stranded on the beaches in New Zealand. Apparently a pod of around 120 whales were beached.  Only 43 whales survived and made it back out to sea.  Reading about these pilot whales made me really sad. Why does that have to happen? Was this a cause of climate change? or did the whales just so happen to be at the end of their lives?
 I remember watching a Steve Irwin Crocodile Hunter episode where Steve put his hand on a dying whale and spent time with it as it passed away. Things like that really hit home in my heart. I want to be a conservationist and I want to go help out the whales someday. I wish I could be one of those people who coaxed the 43 whales back into the ocean. How amazing these creatures are. So beautiful and graceful. I love them. If anybody knows a way for me to get involved in whale rescue let me know. I am sure someday I will get there. I just need to get my degree first. ~Wildlife Katie

(AP Photo/New Zealand Herald, Steven McNicholl) 
Citation:
"Stranded Pilot Whales." Yahoo!News. Web. 22 Sept. 2010.< http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Stranded-PilotWhales/ss/events/sc/092210pilotwhales;_ylt=AnONXQUVO_vtXh7j4JCMTniGWo14;_ylu=X3oDMTBuaWpybDd1BHBvcwMxMgRzZWMDZXAEc2xrA2ltYWdl#photoViewer=/100922/photos_wl_pc_afp/f4a354d2599e39d8bf67901eb00c31fe>.

What 2010 Brings

Hey Friends, Family, and Fans,

I am really excited for the rest of this year! I am having two friends from Melbourne, Australia that are coming to visit in November! I am really excited about their visit because as you should probably know- I am obsessed with Australia. I hope someday I can work with marsupials in the wild or have an opportunity with the Australia Zoo (Steve Irwin's Zoo). I recently had a friend return from Australia and she bought me, "The Secret Life Of Wombats, By: James Woodford," So far it is a really incredible book about one of my favorite marsupials. The book also happens to feature Dr. Rod Wells, whom I happened to chat with recently about wombat warrens. I got his contact information from Mrs. Sandy Mann from the Brookfield Zoo's Women's board. I met her when at the scholarship luncheon that I attended before this summer. It is quite amazing how you meet so many people and how many connections people have! Really cool stuff.

I am also really excited for December of 2010 because I am going to California to meet up with my fellow arctic ambassadors with Polar Bears International!!! This will be our first reunion since our trip to Canada. I am so incredibly excited for visiting the San Diego Zoo, learning how to surf, celebrating new years in L.A. We have many plans and I can't wait until Christmas Day when I leave on the plane!

Well thats enough info for now. Talk to you all soon! Big Bear Hugs~Wildlife Katie

College Life

Dear Friends, Family, and Fans,

I am now a college student and time seems hard to grasp, but as I am getting older I am starting to put my priorities in line. I really would like to spend more time writing in my blogs. I am not sure if anybody even reads them but someday I am sure somebody might come across them and be amused or something. Being in college means less time at the zoo. I finished up Zoo Camp for the summer but I am planning on doing some overnights for Boo at the Zoo, etc.. As for being an Arctic Ambassador I am planning an event on 10/10/10 to make a difference. I am so far planning on winterizing the community garden here in my hometown. I have also started filming small documentaries for a future Wildlife Katie Show. Its quite fun, nothing too special yet but maybe it will become something. I also began reading, "Communication Skills for Conservation Professionals, By: Susan K. Jacobson," It is for Ph.D students but I wanted to get a bit of a head start on what my future should bring! Also Susan K. Jacobson is an associate professor in the department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida! (The school I hope someday to attend, possibly transfer or go to for grad school!) Well I have to go write up my first lab report on why cells are so small. Fascinating I know! Well my good readers I will talk again soon. ~Wildlife Katie