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

Presentations, Prom, and Polar Bears

Hey People,

Hope life is treating you well. My life is awesome. I am nearing the end of my high school years. WHOAAAAH! So, I needed to update you all. First I will begin with some awesome news. I won two scholarships. One is from the Illinois Conservation Foundation, and the second one I won from the Women's Board at Brookfield Zoo/ The Chicago Zoological Society! I am really excited! I also went to the senior awards banquet at my high school and won the Science Academic Achievement award! So that was an awesome surprise! I had my presentation on Wombats with Science Track Year 2. It went well. I actually had prom the same day as my wombat presentation. So I went to the zoo in my dress, then went to prom right afterwards. It was ok though because my dress fit the zoo theme. Yes, I put a polar bear on my dress. Why? Because the zoo has been a huge part of my life. Each day I remember my expedition to Canada to study the bears and I remember that I am a conservation leader. The polar bear resembles everything during my high school years. I spend more time at the zoo than any friend's house. Another reason why I had a polar bear painted on my dress is so that I could continue to educate. People at the dance would notice the bear and ask about it, or be reminded about protecting this species. Anyway thats a basic sum of what has been going on. Prom was an awesome night and my presentation was fun. I will catch up again later when I don't have senior banquets all week! CAIO! ~Wildlife Katie

Great Bear Wilderness

(Image from Brookfield Zoo/ Chicago Zoological Society)
Hey family, friends, and fans!

Great Bear Wilderness finally opened May 8th! It was amazing. There were Native American dancers, flute players, and story tellers available to participate in the grand ceremony. Robert Buchanan of Polar Bears International was there, as well as Bill Watkins from Manitoba Conservation. Stuart Strahl the CEO of Brookfield Zoo/ Chicago Zoological Society gave a grand opening speech. I have never seen so many excited guests. I was very excited as well. I had already seen the exhibit, but this time I was able to see the reactions of the guests which to me was the most important thing. Now finally I can see the people get connected to the polar bears in the underwater viewing area. The children would put their hands up on the glass and the polar bears would swim to them and put up their paws. It was beautiful watching these connections between humans and wildlife. In the corner of the exhibit I found my rock. The rock was my tundra rock that I picked up while on my adventures in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada with Polar Bears International's leadership camp back in 2008. I risked my life for that rock. I was amazed that it was in the exhibit. Now the bears can be connected back to the wild through my representation of the tundra rock. I hope all of you can have to chance to visitBrookfield Zoo to see Great Bear Wilderness. The bison, bald eagles, polar bears, brown bears, and wolves are a part of this amazing exhibit. If you do happen to check it out, let me know about your experiences. I really care about the bear. I really care about your connections to nature and becoming conservation leaders. You all make the biggest difference. I will talk again soon~ Wildlife Katie

Update from the hectic life

So much has happened and I haven't had time to update my blogs! I know I previously mentioned I was going to put my old blogs on here. I don't think I have time for that. Instead I will be writing about what is currently happening in life. Much more interesting right:? I am currently enjoying the company of my new addition to my life, Chuck. He is my pet hermit crab. Such a fun creature. I give him daily enrichment but I do know that I should be finding him a companion soon. (Her name will be Cindy). So then I can have my cute hermit crab couple. As for zoo life, I am working on my power point presentation on my wombat research. I have not been able to write blogs or do many zoo things because of my current intervention with the musical at my high school. Rehearsals are taking over my life. Anyways, the project sadly is coming to a close and I am going to miss my marsupial friends dearly. But on a good note, I am coming back to work in Zoo Camp again so I am really excited for my new boss Erin and seeing the new team they put together this year. I also recently applied for some scholarships from the women's board at the zoo. I DID receive a youth achievement scholarship from the Illinois Conservation Foundation, so that is exciting. Along the lines of school, I am getting my stuff figured out with Community College. I can't wait because then I will have time to do more volunteering in the Batavia Community. Our community garden project is starting up this weekend and I am excited. Well, I have to go grab some grub! I will let you know about my latest adventures when I have the chance. ~Wildlife Katie

A message I admire

Buggy Bears Fighting Picture

Robert and Carolyn Buchanan: My heroes

Robert and Carolyn Buchanan are my heroes. Robert is the current president of Polar Bears International. He recently won the George B. Rabb Conservation Medal from The Chicago Zoological Society/ Brookfield Zoo. I had the privilege to attend the Conservation Dinner where they awarded Mr. Buchanan for all of his conservation efforts. The dinner was hosted by the Brookfield Zoo Women's Board and it was held at the Art Institute of Chicago in the Modern Art Wing. I was the youngest person there but I met so many new outstanding people. The dinner was delicious and I really had some good conversations about polar bears and the climate change. I got some recognition at the event which really made the night special for me. I watched a presentation about polar bears and one new thing I heard about was a radio collared bear that had swam 400 miles. This is incredible that such a majestic animal is capable of so much power. The biggest bear on earth with so much power can still be so helpless due to the climate change. That is a reason why Mr. & Mrs. Buchanan are so special to me, it is because they have so much passion for these bears, they speak with such intensity that makes you want to change everything around you. It was really great for me to see them again it had been a whole year since my Canada trip and I cried myself to sleep tears of happiness because I was once again reunited with my real life heroes. ~Wildlife Katie

(photos by Jim Schulz of the Chicago Zoological Society/Brookfield Zoo)