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