Harold Parker State Forest – It’s a Wrap!

By: Jenaya Amore, 18

The Teen Ambassador program has finally come to a close! To tie-up our successful and fun-filled year, the Teen Ambassadors traveled to Harold Parker State Forest in North Andover, MA for a night of camping, s’mores, singing, stories and laughter. During our overnight stay, we organized a lot of activities that integrated teamwork and communication. We all knew throughout the Teen Ambassador program, in order for tasks to get done efficiently, teamwork and communication were essential components in achieving success.

For instance, we all worked together to set up tents and some of us had individual tasks that consisted of either washing dishes, cleaning up trash left at the campsite (Leave No Trace which is making good decisions and acting responsibly in the outdoors), and preparing breakfast and dinner for everyone. When building the tents teamwork was crucial. There were approximately two teens per tent. The pairs worked together in actually building the tent, pole by pole, piece by piece. When the pair was done, they helped the other teens who needed assistance. For some of the Teen Ambassadors, it was their first time building a tent so it was a little confusing and frustrating at first. However, everyone worked together to help each other out in making sure that all of the tents were put up correctly.

Once the tents were put up, we all went to the Appalachian Mountain Club shed to look for gear that would help us prepare for dinner. Some of the TA’s jobs were to prepare the food, start boiling water, put up a tarp and/or build a fire. The designated chefs for the evening were Zannat and myself. We both worked together to prepare an awesome meal of mac and cheese broccoli while the rest of the TA’s attended to the fire. S’mores completed the evening – nothing beats roasting marshmallows on at stick! The next day and with little sleep, Fong alongside Colleen, prepared a breakfast of eggs, pancakes, fruit and potatoes. Delicious! We even had a few friendly dogs greet us as we worked together to break down the tents, put gear back in the shed, and van. Throughout our trip, everyone was occupied with completing a task and contributed to helping out in their own way. After we packed everything up, Fong and I both took turns reading a map to find a good hiking trail for all of us to go on. It was a beautiful day and the trail was a great ending to our trip - ticks, mosquitoes and all.

 Teamwork and communication were extremely important while on our trip but more so important throughout the Teen Ambassador year. This year we completed many projects where we learned about Zoos’ Species Survival Plans, recycling, climate change, endangered species and much more. Without working together, this year would not have been possible or as great as it was!

Trashion Fashion - Earth Day Awareness!

For Earth Day this year, Zoo staff and guests were treated to the first ever Teen Ambassador ‘Trashion Fashion’ show! After many long months of hard work, our devoted group of TAs strutted their stuff up and down the steps of the hippo theater in their elaborate trashion outfits while educating the public about the dangers of trash and the environmental benefits of recycling. Each TA contributed their time and effort to various parts of the event, either through design and creation of outfits, compiling data and research to present as important facts, or being directly involved with the show as a charismatic model or host. To get a better idea of what the TAs experienced throughout the entire process, their supervisors asked that the teens document their emotions, thoughts and contributions in a short diary-like entry. We share with you some of those entries to give you a peek into the accomplishments and difficulties the Teen Ambassadors faced.

Preparation underway.

Brandis, Age 18:

There were ideas circulating within the Teen Ambassador group about major projects that we should work on throughout the program. Since this was such a diverse and creative group of young people, the coolest ideas came about! One brilliant Teen Ambassador suggested that we put on a ‘trashion’ show. This show would have us creating outfits made up of recycled material. Afterwards, we would model the outfits for an audience. Get it?: “Trashion fashion!” Someone’s awesome idea created that word play. The rest of the Teen Ambassadors were all in favor of having a trashion show so we started coming up with ideas of what kinds of outfits we could make using chip bags, water bottles, soda cans and candy wrappers. When the outfits were being made it was time for my fashion-designing abilities to be utilized to the fullest! We needed to gather 500 bags in order to complete the epic plastic bag beast outfit. It was all worth it in the end when I saw the masterpiece that I created.

Brandis's bow-tiful accessories!

Nicole, Age 16:                                                                  

 

I felt the ‘Trashion Fashion’ show was a fun experience. When creating the outfits, I focused mainly on getting my dress done on time – which I didn’t stress much over thanks to the help of a fellow Teen Ambassador. I worked on my own dress until half of the construction was completed and then handed it off to another Teen Ambassador. I helped a little bit on editing research information into our own words. Doing that was not very stressful since I had the information already presented in front of me. During the actual trashion show and rehearsal I felt somewhat embarrassed. We were in front of all these people in these odd and quirky outfits made of trash! How ridiculous I thought we all looked. It felt very odd to be in the outfits and to be walking about amongst the guests. But I gained more confidence and felt less embarrassed about it when I knew I wasn’t alone. Knowing that I wasn’t alone allowed me to feel more comfortable, and as the saying goes, “there’s strength in numbers”. I believe that I gained strength from my fellow Teen Ambassadors. By having them with me, I was able to abandon all embarrassment I felt and just have fun with the whole experience. In the end, I really enjoyed myself. Now that the trashion show is done and over with, I am relieved. Though I had fun, I do admit there were some things that could have been changed – such as fixing outfits that were falling apart or knowing exactly what to do during the trashion show.  If I could change anything about my own performance I would show more expression and do more actions. I also feel like we should have done the full rehearsal earlier than the day before. I noticed that some of the outfits, such as the bag dress and my own packing peanut dress, were somewhat hard to move in. I feel that if we had found this out earlier we could have found ways to make small adjustments to the outfits. Overall, I am content with the outcome of the Trashion Show and am happy to report that the outfits will hopefully be making an appearance at Green Fest in August. The outfits were made to enlighten people about their waste and to tell them what they can do to change this. Hopefully this event will happen for years to come so that the Zoo can continue to enlighten people about their waste use and help make our environment and our world a better place.

 

Nicole and Zannat - very fashion forward!

Fong, Age 16:

I didn’t have that much involvement during the process of making the costumes, but I did have experience in modeling the costumes. On the day before Earth Day, all of the Teen Ambassadors had a day of rehearsal. The rehearsal was a trial run where we would take suggestions and add input about our performance. On the first trial, we performed wearing our costumes, then we took suggestions and after that we did another round without the costumes. On Earth Day I felt nervous, but I knew that I was prepared. On the way to the Hippo Theater, guests were looking at us and already saying good job. It was finally time for the first show. At the first show, as I walked down the runway, I looked up and saw a big crowd of people. As I modeled wearing my costume it felt like everyone just stared at me. Yet, even though everyone was looking at me, I went with it. It was a lot of fun doing the show. I had to model for two shows, where I felt a lot of pressure, but it was fun. After the show, all the Teen Ambassadors walked up to the Eco Center, and every guest that we saw stopped us to take pictures. After the show, everyone was tired and took off their costumes and finally took a break to relax. The Trashion Show was fun, and I would like to continue the series in years to come.

The crew in the Tropical Forest taking pics with visitors.

Zannat, Age 17:

The Trashion Show was a stressful, but successful experience. At first, the idea of a trashion show was brilliant. It was new and exciting and seemed like fun to plan out. The first couple days of work were fine: there were no deadlines, everyone was still coming up with ideas, and no one took on any heavy responsibility just yet. As the weeks progressed, we started to realize that we were working too slow, didn’t have all the materials we needed for our initial ideas, and needed to start the educational part of the show, which was the most important. At first we planned that everyone would have a turn making the clothes and doing the research and we would switch off every half hour. This didn’t work out so well because some people didn’t know what or how to research, and others weren’t as interested in research as they were in making clothes. As the weeks went on, everyone kind of drifted off and did their own work, not wanting to switch off or do something other than what they were comfortable with. Some people just worked on one specific outfit, others were involved with other projects and helped make accessories sometimes. I was given the most stressful and laborious task of finding all the information and making a board. On top of the research, I helped plan all of the outfits and worked on the majority of two of them. As the day of the Trashion show grew nearer, I got more and more stressed. I remembered that Randy, another Teen Ambassador, was doing most of the talking, so that relieved some of my stress. Doing a run through the day right before really calmed my nerves and showed me that all the hard work we had done over the weeks had paid off and that the show would go smoothly. The day of the show couldn’t have gone any better! We got a bunch of people to watch, everyone complimented our outfits, and we even got another gig to show off our costumes at the Boston Green Fest in August! I couldn’t have asked for a better day. Now that the Trashion show is over, a lot of the stress and anxiety I had before is gone. Knowing that we completed our largest project and it went better than expected was a huge relief. All the hard work that we had done has paid off, and that’s why even though it was super stressful the day leading up to it, it was very successful in the end.

The reason behind the show!

 As a Teen Ambassador supervisor, it was incredibly rewarding seeing the Hippo Theater packed with excited guests who couldn’t wait to see the Trashion Show that the teens spent so much time putting together. We understood there would be difficulties in the beginning, a few struggles with costume decisions, construction and obtaining information. But, the Teen Ambassadors pulled together and the show went off without a hitch. Children sat in the front row, wide-eyed and amazed! The public sat quietly and listened to our Emcee, Randy, as he explained alternatives to using non-recyclable material. The Trashion Show crowd was even speckled with interested Zoo staff who had been hearing about the show for months. Judging by the above entries, it would appear that the TAs agree that the show was indeed a hit!

In lights!

The entire Teen Ambassador group would like to thank all the Zoo staff that donated materials for the outfits, those that created their own accessories and for the support they received the day of the event. 

FPZ Youth Council Talks About 96 Elephants

Zoo New England advocates the conservation of animals all over the world, be it through the Zoo or on a larger scale. One global conservation project the Zoo has been particularly invested in advocating is the 96 Elephants project. Elephants and rhinos are being massacred daily for their ivory tusks and horns. Poacher’s siege territories filled with elephants, equipped with military-grade weapons to obtain their prized tusks. Sold illegally, these tusks are then converted into various artifacts and relics which ultimately results in the decimation of wild elephant and rhino populations.

As part of the Zoo’s mission and goals within the Education Department, we feel that an important aspect of conservation is sharing knowledge with our youth. Our Youth Council is very involved with current events and recently learned about the 96 Elephants project. They felt passionately about sharing ways to help including setting up an information table on Endangered Species Day.

One of our newest Youth Council members, Caitlin, age 14, understands the bigger picture of eliminating an entire species which can lead to “food chains and webs in their ecosystem [becoming] disoriented”. Liam, age 14, also recognizes the importance of using an organization to publicize the project “because being an organization they have more voices than just one person”.

If you’d like to get involved and learn about ways you can help, you can visit the Zoo website where you’ll find a sample letter to send to your local government representative. That letter “could raise awareness about the death of [elephants] and what is happening to them,” Caitlin says. Another Youth Council member Adam, age 13 agrees, “It’s helpful because they have the power to give money and the money can make a difference”. When you send a letter to your representative, this shows the government how passionate and supportive you are of creating legislation that bans the trade of ivory in Massachusetts. Liam adds that it “shows how many people care about conservation of the elephants”.

As a young student, it may be difficult to feel like you can make a difference. The simplest and most effective way to help is to spread the word. Caitlin realizes that “most of [her] friends probably don't know the dangers facing elephants. Youth can use social media, e-mails, and even talking about the problem and the cause at their schools”. One way to bring attention to the poaching crisis is to “submit to [your] school paper”, suggests Liam, “it is the easiest thing to do and if you caught someone's attention they will spread the word to people they know”. Adam says, “I could talk to my friends at school and put up posters to raise awareness about this issue and to try to raise money for 96 Elephants”. Let your friends, family and representatives know that you want to ban ivory trade! You can be the change that saves the elephants!

Check out www.96elephants.org for more information.

Franklin Park Zoo’s First Annual Zoo Careers and Conservation Workshop for Youth!

By: Toby Klein, Youth Programs Assistant

On Monday, January 19^th, Zoo New England had its first annual Zoo Careers and Conservation Day! Zoo Careers and Conservation Day was created as an opportunity for youth to explore a future involved in Zoos and learn how they can contribute to conservation efforts both locally and nationwide. We invited local youth between the ages of 11-18 to come to Franklin Park Zoo and participate in a day of learning geared toward their future aspirations.

Youth listening intently at the speed session.

The day began around 12:30 p.m. with an endangered species talk presented by Colleen O’Donnell and Toby Klein, along with the help of Teen Ambassadors and our program animals. The talk focused on different causes that lead to species being listed as endangered and discussed current efforts to protect and conserve wildlife and their surrounding environment. The turnout from youth and parents was fantastic! The participants willingly asked and answered questions while listening intently, truly interested in the topic of endangered species.

Speed session in the Tropical Forest classroom.

Immediately following the talk, the participants were split into two groups: 11-14 year-olds and 15-18 year-olds and escorted to the Tropical Forest classroom and ECO Center, respectfully. Each group was introduced to four Franklin Park Zoo employees from a few different departments during the speed session portion of the day. The employees that participated were Caitlin Reardon and Jen Maltese from Education, Melissa Durham, Erin O’Brien, Maggie Sawyer, and Rachel Jakosalem from Animal Care, Hanad Duale from Community Outreach and Robert George, Executive Vice President and Site Director of Franklin Park Zoo. A special thank you to everyone for taking time out of their busy day to talk with everyone! The youth sat down with each employee for about 10 minutes to hear their story, how they came to work at the Zoo and what their job duties entail. The youth were engaged, asking thought-provoking questions that I would never have thought to ask! All of the guest speakers enjoyed sharing their stories with the youth, as well as the parents who began joining groups as the session went on. The speed session could have continued for another hour, but there was one more talk on the agenda to hear!

Brian talking about climate change!

For the last talk of the day, we all met in the Tropical Forest classroom to meet Brian Stillwell and hear his presentation on climate change. Brian represented The Alliance for Climate Education (ACE), a group dedicated to spreading the word to youth about climate change and what they can do to help, through a fun and interactive slideshow. The entire group was paying close attention to the information Brian was sharing. His questions were met with bursts of hands from the audience! Climate change is a popular topic that the group seemed to relate to and enjoy learning about.

The presentation ended at 3:30 p.m. which, sadly, concluded our day. After the closing speech, filled with thank-yous and our appreciation to the participants, the group exited the Tropical Forest classroom with new knowledge gained from all of the events of the day. We already look forward to planning next year’s Zoo Careers and Conservation Day with hopes of including additional Zoo careers, as well as other conservation-based careers to enhance everyone’s experience. 

The Alliance for Climate Education Presentation

The Madagascan Adventure - A Teen Ambassador Book Creation

By: Jenaya, 18, Current Teen Ambassador

It’s around 5:45 pm on a Tuesday evening; Teen Ambassadors (TA) Kadeem, Justin, Christina and I are trying to compile a list of projects to do during the academic school year. Projects range from making videos to creating plays that all speak about the Zoo and Teen Ambassador missions. The project we brainstormed that sounded truly amazing was the creation of a children’s book. We were extremely excited about making a book come to life. We started forming many ideas but ultimately knew we wanted to base our book on biodiversity. However, we immediately ran into a roadblock. How do we make a book fun yet informative for children under the age of 12?  Well, the excitement and motivation we experienced that Tuesday evening was awesome! In all honesty, we thought creating a children’s book would be a piece of cake – that we would be done with the book in no time … WRONG!  We were definitely not ready for what would lie ahead.

It took an enormous amount of time to figure out the plan for the book, just the plan! We ran into many obstacles:

1.       How do we make the book fun and engaging for children below the age of 12?

2.       Who was going to illustrate and how do we illustrate?

3.       What would be the setting and plot of the book?

4.       Which animals would go on an adventure?  

So many questions needed to be asked and answered! It was a huge thought process and around midyear, we figured out the format for the book. It was awesome to get to the point where we knew what we would be writing. Towards the end of the academic school year, with the help of the rest of the Teen Ambassadors, we all started to draft pictures of the animals we were going to use and began working on the story line. However, June came around and it was time to close out the first Teen Ambassador year before summer began. When the second year of the TA program started, three new members – Arjanae, Isabelle, and Randy – were ecstatic about the idea of continuing the book from the previous year. The previous year’s teens however, all looked at each other with the same stare that indicated how much work would need to be put into the project. Ultimately, we all came to the conclusion that we wanted to finish the children’s book.

As mentioned, all of the teens from the previous year had worked extremely hard to bring the book to life. People who were great at illustrations, drew the animals for the book. Teens who were good at editing spent time editing the story line of the book. Everyone was contributing to the book in their own way to make sure it would be complete! The day came when our book was finalized and we had to pick a title. We came up with “The Madagascan Adventure” … PERFECT! 

After our book was complete, we connected with Dr. Machanda from Harvard who eventually took our book to Uganda, Africa where it was shared with students from the Kasiisi Project. Hundreds of students were able to enjoy and learn from our project. We were told one of the kids’ favorite parts from the book was when the animal’s canoe had a leak and they all tried to work together to remove the water! Not only did our book reach Uganda, it also made its way to Madagascar. When the TAs heard this, we found it so cool that a book a bunch of teens created turned out to be an international hit. The book was a success! Just like chameleon in the book, who thought he did not have the power to make a difference in his home because he was small and couldn’t be heard, actually did make a difference. As Teen Ambassadors, we may be a small group, but we know that hard work and dedication truly pay off. 

A Fundraiser With Heart!

Tis the season of giving back - a season where some give their time, some offer their knowledge and expertise and others purchase gifts for those they hold dear. Another great way that some choose to give back is by raising money in support of their favorite charities and organizations – this was the case with Adam, a member of the Youth Council here at the Zoo. Learn about Adam’s adventure and fundraising efforts to support the Zoo – all in the spirit of giving back!

Hi!  My name is Adam.  I’m thirteen years old and I’m a member of the youth board at the Franklin Park Zoo.  One of the ways I support the Zoo is by raising money, especially for animal conservation.  Just recently I decided to do a raffle.  I thought it would be an efficient and fun way to raise money.  The prizes were a one year family membership and a behind-the-scenes tour of the Zoo. I challenged all of my family members and some of my friends to sell 75 tickets each. We offered the tickets at $1 each, 6 for $5 and 13 for $10.  We sold a bunch of tickets at the Lantern Parade at Jamaica Pond.  I met Mayor Walsh and he bought $20 worth of tickets.  The Lantern Parade was also a great chance to talk to people about conservation at the Zoo. I sold tickets at school to my teachers and friends, and my parents sold them at work.  On Halloween, while giving out candy we sold many more tickets.  In the end we raised $750 for the Zoo.  It was a really fun project and a good way to get other people involved and to talk about how much I love the Franklin Park Zoo.

To learn more about how you can support the Zoo, check out what you can do here! 

Adam reading up on big cats! 

Get Out and Explore!

Conservation begins with using your senses to discover the hidden treasures within your own backyard. Explore the beauty of your natural surroundings while leading your friends and family on an outdoor adventure!     

In late fall of last year, Franklin Park Zoo’s Teen Ambassadors did just that! With backpacks full of snacks, water, extra gloves and hats; teens stepped out and into a completely different world in the wondrous wooded Blue Hills Reservation located just a short drive outside of Boston in Milton, Mass.  Each Ambassador took on the responsibility of leading the group on portions of the expedition. Leaders were challenged with everything from reading maps of the Blue Hills’ numerous trails to making sure the group persevered on the rugged uphill terrain.  As it turns out, even a trek into the wilderness only a stone’s throw away from Boston can still deliver the beauty of an unspoiled forest, complete with peaks that showcase breathtaking views of the city!  With positive attitudes, communication, and teamwork, the teens beat out the harsh cold and completed a portion of the fittingly named, Skyline Loop trail. When asked about their experience, teens heartily replied, “When can we do this again?!!”

Lili connecting with nature!

Teen Ambassadors enjoying the beauty of the Blue Hills!