The Next Chapter: Graduate School

I have always been fortunate that whatever seed was planted in my head at birth grew into such a strong passion, and I have relied on this direction like a compass throughout my life. Whenever the waters have been rough, whenever I couldn't really see past the next big storm, I tried my best to steer the course and stay on my path to becoming a scientist one day. 

Since graduating with a Fisheries and Wildlife degree in May of 2011, I have had a year and a half to think, rethink, brainstorm and torment myself about where I would find my future. I have experienced the highest of highs, such as seeing Africa a second time and my east coast trip this spring. But there have also been some pretty low lows. I'll be the first to tell you this economy is a scary one to follow your passion in. At times I have thought to myself, "Why are you being so naive? I know you love ecology and conservation, but you need to be thinking about how you are going to pay your bills. Why are you still trying to follow this silly passion when what you really need to be following is a good paycheck."  That voice in my head has filled me with doubt and trepidation more than I'd like to admit. However during these times, I am so grateful to my parents, my family and friends and to Ben for reaching overboard and grabbing my hand when I have fallen with frustration. I don't know where I would be without the love and support that I am surrounded by. 

With bleak prospects and frustration building I drudged on and continued to apply for every job, volunteer my time with the things I am passionate about and tried to keep my head above water. Then about a month ago I saw a posting for a great graduate project right here at UNL. I picked myself back up and began to put everything I had into finally achieving my biggest goal: being a graduate student in an ecology program. After a month of meetings, applications, and waiting by the phone, the good news finally came! Starting in the spring I will officially be a graduate student working towards a Masters of Science in Applied Ecology. What's more is I received a graduate assistantship, which means I will be getting paid to go to school! Of all the things that I've done in my 23 years, I've never felt so excited and proud. I plan on throwing every little bit of myself into my classes, this project and this degree, because I know how incredibly lucky I am to get this opportunity. 

But I wouldn't have been able to do any of this without my amazing support system, and for that I would like to say thanks.  

To my family and friends, thank you for always encouraging me with your loving words.

To Ben, thank you for staying by my side even when I felt like falling apart. You are the best friend, partner, boyfriend and companion I could ever ask for.

To Kingston, thank you for always cheering me up and making me laugh and smile when I need it the most.

And to my parents. Thank you papa for all the hard work you have always done to support your family. And thank you for remaining a kid at heart :) I love you so much! And to my momma, you are such an incredible person, wife and mother. I am so grateful for all the times you sat there and listened as I cried, laughed and shared my troubles and happy moments with you. You have never stopped believing in me, and you have an uncanny gift to always see the positive that was coming around the bend before I could. You are my number one fan, and I can never thank you enough for that. I love you so much!

One month until classes start! Of all the chapters in my life I know this one will be the toughest and yet most rewarding. I am so grateful for this, and am ready to hit the ground running! 

Barren Land

Image Credit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/funkcanna/295165511/

I lower my head, and struggle against the wilt

The beautiful yellow orb in the sky once my savior

Now my demise

My roots reach down as far as they can

But come up short of the liquid of life

Is it because of man?

My leaves are turning brown, and shriveling away

I don't know how much longer

I can go on living this way

There are theories, discussions, politics and strife

All of those things seem miniscule to me now

All I want is my life

I look down to the earth

Once my greatest ally and friend

Sadness rips through my heart

To see this barren land

I long for the days

When we were gifted by the sky

I look up to the cloudless blue

And I try not to cry

Soon my roots will tire, my leaves will fall

And I will shrivel away

I try my best to go on, to stay strong

In hopes of change

If only for today

The Human Experience

"Really, it doesn't matter who you are, what your background is. You can converse on that experience. And that is what makes us human."-Makoto Fujimura

After two full months, 10,000 miles, and 16 states we have opened the eyes of over 20,000 children and teachers to the amazing wonders of the rain forest. We have also met more incredible people and done more amazing things than I could have ever hoped for. It's hard to sum up all these experiences in one blog post, so I'm going to talk about the things that have moved me the most, and how I have changed as a person.

Purple states we have taught at, blue we have only driven through. 

This journey has been one of the most moving and richest experiences of my life so far. I have met people that have restored my faith in humanity almost everywhere I go. For example, there was a kind young family that invited us into their home in West Virginia for a home cooked meal. They may never know how deeply grateful and impacted we were by this loving gesture. There was a nice selfless young man who went out of his way to come to one of our shows and film us, so that our families can see what we are doing every day. There was an incredible Indian man who talked with us for hours about the drastic change in the ecosystems and in the mind set of people in India, and discussed the philosophy of conservation with us in a perspective we have never heard of. 

The assistant principal showing us the nature trails the kids created behind the schools. 

There was a passionate and driven assistant principal at a school in South Carolina, whose efforts to create a school garden, greenhouse, and nature trail have succeeded in so many ways at opening the children up to their impact on the environment, and had drastically improved the behavior of many troubled teens. There was an older couple we met and had dinner with who went on and on about how important our work is to them, and that they can rest easier knowing that when they leave this earth someone will still be fighting for it. Lastly, there was a guy we met and became close friends with, who after seeing our animals and our passion for what we are doing, decided to start recycling and looking closer at the impact he has on the environment. He has said that seeing these creatures and listening to our passion and motivation has broadened his perspective on the world around him in ways he would have never thought about.

One of the most rewarding experiences has been all the different children from different backgrounds we have met across the country. We have had countless kids at each show come up and ask us how we got this job, because they want to work with animals and save the rain forest when they grow up. This is what makes my heart the happiest, seeing little Ambers and little Jessicas in the crowd whose enthusiasm for nature shines brightly on their faces. We tell them how we went to college for Fisheries and Wildlife, and how they can do something similar to that like biology or zoology. Their faces light up each time and I can just see them starting to plan their future around this two minute conversation we have had with them. Many children have stood out in the crowd after talking to them, and I will never forget some of the things they have said. One little girl came up to us and said she started a rain forest club with her friends called the "Yapok Club" (apparently named after a rain forest animal that I had not even heard of yet.) She was so excited and enthusiastically nerdy about it, I couldn't help but feel like I was talking to the seven year old version of myself. After hearing that the rain forest is being destroyed at an incredibly fast rate, one little boy came up to me afterwards and said "Miss Amber, When I'm president one day, I'm going to make it a law that we can't cut down any more rain forest." This moved me to tears as I told him thank you for that, and how happy that makes us. 

Jess and I enjoying a hike in a Georgia swamp :)

Before this job my hopes for our future were spread thin and bleak, which is understandable if you simply pick up a newspaper anymore. All you will read about are environmental disasters, animals being driven into extinction and humans continuing to blindly march down the path of destroying our world. After teaching, seeing and reaching over 20,000 kids from across the country, my hopes have gotten much higher. At the end of the show I tell them that in twenty years, you guys will be in charge of this earth because you are the future. I then ask them if you don't care about the rain forest or any other ecosystem that's in dire need of help, who will? They get very serious yet enthusiastic, as if I've given them a challenge that they will follow for the rest of their lives to care about and protect our earth. This fills my bucket every single time, and in the faces and hearts of these children is where my hope for our world lies.  

These rich human experiences that we have encountered in the last couple of months have changed me forever. I will never forget the moments I shared with people who started out as strangers and became amazing friends all over the country. I will never forget the children whose minds we have touched, and who have touched our hearts in return. My eyes have been opened even wider, my heart even greater, and I have soaked up every story, every lesson, and every moment with each incredible person we have had the privilege to meet. I believe life is about always leaving behind more than you take, and connecting with people and with our world on a intellectually intimate level. I feel like I have lived more in the past two months than I have in my entire life, and for that I will be forever grateful. 

Our Show!

West Virginia and Virginia have  been amazing to us so far, and we keep meeting amazingly kind people left and right. One fortunate meeting happened when we ran into a father and son while watching the Super Bowl in a small town in West Virginia. The son happened to be a film student at a college in Pennsylvania, and offered to film our presentation. We were so happy!! We have always said how it would be awesome for our family and friends to see our show for themselves.

So here is our presentation! It is in five parts, click the link below for each part. Of course there is a disclaimer, this was filmed a few weeks ago, and we both feel we have added and improved since then. Also, during this filming I was at the tail end of a cold, so I promise my voice sounds better today! Thanks so much to Gary who filmed it! We are still so amazed by the kindness of strangers :)

This particular show was filmed at an elementary school at a small town in West Virginia, and we taught about 400 excited and enthusiastic kids. Enjoy!

Part One

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Cd6WR7_Pg&feature=channel

Part Two

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S4xq0D0c_s&feature=relmfu

Part Three

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68M499YSL_Y&feature=channel

Part Four

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajvRs26afsc&feature=channel

Part Five

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBK5dxyxjkA&feature=channel

Second Week

Our first animal is Pickles! He's saying hello to the kids.

 The second week came and went already, and with 13 shows it flew by so fast! Our routine is becoming better and better and I feel like our program we offer to the children is improving every day. 

The kids love Pickles, a lot of them say he's their favorite. 

We are becoming more and more comfortable and excited about being up there in front of sometimes 700 children and teachers. The best part is when people come up to us afterwards and tell us that they can tell we love what we do, because we bring so much enthusiasm  and passion to each show.

We love interacting with the audience, we ask a lot of questions and they learn a lot!

Here are some details of our second week on the road:

We taught in three states: Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania

We put on thirteen different shows in nine different schools.

We reached 3,500 kids and hundreds of teachers.

Some of the kids are chosen as volunteers to hold the  Madagascar Hissing cockroaches. 

We had some interesting things happen this week also. One private Lutheran school actually had us do our program as a recruitment for coming to their school. Another school we went to had used our program as an incentive for great behavior, so out of 450 children out of that elementary, 50 weren't able to go because of bad behavior. At that school two reporters showed up and took pictures and facts down to write articles in their newspapers.

Ellie showing off for the kids. 

One of the most fulfilling shows we did was at a public school in Cleveland, Ohio. This school was in the center of a very impoverished area, and most of the children came from economically disadvantaged homes. Yet despite all the odds, the school holds very high expectations of character and grades over the students, which builds personal responsibility and confidence in the students. Before, during and after the show, this confidence and good  behavior showed tremendously in the students. 

She loves to jump up on Jess and I during the show. 

These students turned out to be one of our most attentive and interested audiences, and afterwards as they were all walking out one by one, several of the little girls ran up to Jess and I and gave us hugs. It warmed our hearts to see the joy and gratitude on their faces.  Also, a teacher came up to us after the show and told us she had a phobia of spiders, but wanted to hold Carl our tarantula to face her fears. That was so awesome to hear, and we eased her into holding Carl on her hand, and letting him walk up her arm a little. She stood their shaking as Carl eased up on to her hand, but afterwards was so happy about facing something that scary to her. We were really proud!

Little Maki is our last animal of the program. He usually clings to his otter, but has been jumping more for the kids. 

One of the most moving moments we had last week was at the end of one of our shows. Towards the end I like to say my favorite quote:

"In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught."

-Baba Dioum

After I say this, I explain that this is why Jess and I do what we do. No we are not in the rain forest directly trying to stop deforestation and habitat destruction, but we are right here right now in front of all you kids hoping to get you excited enough about these animals so that one day one of you might want to visit the rain forest or even try and save it. Then I hand the microphone to Jess to finish up our conclusion. She explains how these animals will never be able to live outside in the wild again, and then she asks if everyone can do us and the animals a favor. Of course everyone usually enthusiastically says "Yeah!". Then she asks everyone to get outside as much as they can, because when you are outside in nature you start to love it and appreciate it more, and we tend to protect the things we love.

After we concluded with this, a little girl came up to Jess as we were putting things away. She pointed to our banner which has a picture of a beautiful rain forest, right next to a picture of a completely decimated area of stumps and dead shrubbery after people clear cutted parts of a rain forest. 

At current rates of deforestation, over 55% of the Amazon Rain Forest will be completely gone by 2030. 

Jess wrote the following about what happened next:

When the little girl came up to me she looked very bothered and I could tell her mind was racing. She pointed to the pictures on our banner and said, "How can people take something that is so beautiful and turn it in to something so ugly." She looked sad and said how much she loved all of the animals she had seen during our program. For some reason this question really caught me off guard. Although simply put by a little girl it proved to be a very hard question to answer.

So in a fast simple way as she was getting ready to leave with her class I did my best to answer her question. I told her that sometimes people take things without thinking about the effects they will have later, and sometimes people also take too much, and consume much more than they have to. I then explained to her that the more we get outside and see what nature has to offer us the more we will love it and feel connected to it, and as humans we tend to protect the things we love. I ended by just telling her to always try to give more than you take in every situation in life, even when talking about the earth that supports us and all other living things. I hope she got something out of my answer, but most of all I hope she goes home with something from our program because education is really the key.

`

Ellie the Coatimundi

I thought I would formally introduce everyone to each animal ambassador we have with us, and tell you all the awesome facts that we love to tell the kids, as well as try and explain each animals' individual personalities.

Ellie loves to be on our shoulders.

The first animal on the list is Ellie the Coatimundi, although in the program she is the second to last one to come out. Ellie is special in many different ways. One minute she is stirring up trouble in every way possible, and the next minute she is cuddling sweetly with us as if it never happened.

Here comes trouble!

First I'm going to tell you all of our awesome coatimundi facts that the kids hear every day.

• They live in South, Central and parts of North America.
• They are a cousin of the raccoon, you can see this by their ringed tail and bandit face.
• They are omnivores, but spend most of their time grubbing around on the rainforest floor in search of insects.
• Their long pointy nose actually has a bone in the end of it, making it possible for them to move their nose independently.
• Their long tail is not prehensile (meaning it acts as a fifth limb and they can hang from it), but they do use it when they are in groups by sticking it up in the air so everyone can see each other in long grass.
• The females are dominant and run in social groups together, while the larger males only visit for two weeks out of the year during mating season.



Ellie showing off for the kids.

• When people first discovered them, they thought the males were a different species than the females because they were so much bigger and solitary. They called the females "coatis" and the males "coatimundis" meaning "lone coatis".
• When climbing down from trees they prefer climbing down head first, so to help out with this they can actually turn their back ankles 180 degrees around and climb down that way.
• Females socially groom each other.
• They walk plantigrade just like humans, which means on the bottom of their foot, instead of on their toes.
• Their darker camoflauge helps them remain hidden on the forest floor.

As cool as all those facts are, I feel like they don't even begin to describe Ellie's individual personality. To sum it all up, we came up with a list of rules that Ellie seems to live by. 

She loves to bat at your hands like a cat.

The World through Ellie's Eyes

1. If it's yours, it's MINE.
2. If it's mine, it's MINE.
3. Fruitloops!?!?!?!
4. Oh I like your hair....it's mine!
5. My nose turns corners before I do.
6. Before it's ok to officially stay in any hotel room, I must first inspect every corner of the room.
7. It is also my duty and right to inspect every corner and pocket of both Jess and Amber's suitcases, without notice.
8.  Fruitloops!??!!!?!?
9. Don't even think about giving me my biscuits without a full dish of water, because I need to dip and wash each biscuit until they are the perfect texture.

10. 

    Love chomps!

    10. I bite because I care.
11. Your nose, eyes and ears are all really interesting and a great place to stick my nose. Just stay calm and no one will get bit.
12. Fruitloops?!?!?!?!!
13. 
    When traveling in the van I like to stick my paws out and hold your hand, just so I know you're still there.
14. I chirp until I get my way, I bite until I get my way. So....I'm going to get my way.
15. Chaos is my friend.
0021
16. If I let out all my energy, a cozy cuddle and  belly rub is the perfect way to end my night.

She loves to jump up on anything. Even stuff hanging up is not safe with her around.

Chicago

We got to stay the weekend in Chicago, so after all the animals were fed, cleaned, watered and exercised, we decided to take advantage of it! Taking the metro was a first in the U.S. for both of us, but we managed it. It was about a 35 minute ride to the central of downtown. We got off and walked up onto the street and were greeted by an amazing view of the tall buildings and city lights. 

"Cloud Gate" sculpture in Millenium park, nicknamed "The Bean"

There were so many people and cars, honking, talking, and yelling. There were so many sights, sounds and smells it was a little overwhelming. We headed East to Millenium Park. I was determined to see "The Bean", because I've heard so much about it. It was amazing!

Jess hugging the bean.

The night skyline of Chicago reflected perfectly in the 110 ton stainless steel sculpture. We had some strange urges to just hug this giant thing...so we did. Going under it was crazy too, there were so many reflections of us big and small.

It was huge!

We also went to the 94th floor of the John Hancock building. The view was incredible, you could see lights for miles and miles. After finding our way back down, we stopped into a busy brewery for some hand crafted ales. We ended the night on a fun and safe note by actually finding our way back to the metro and jumping on the one that took us to our vehicle.

Chicago skyline seen from the John Hancock building.

Overall it was a blast! We were really surprised by how friendly everyone was. We were told about this, that although Chicago was a huge city, it was also still a Midwestern city, with Midwestern values. Anyone we casually asked for directions was overly helpful and went out of their way to show us the way. The friendly people, the exciting atmosphere and the beautiful sights made for an amazing night!

First Week!

Ellie the coatimundi, when she's being sweet.

Well we survived our first week! We ended up teaching 11 shows at 10 different schools in 3 different states (Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois), and reaching 2,610 different children, all in one week! We did a lot of driving, and a lot of loading and unloading the animals every morning and night and for each show. It got tiring and traffic was frustrating at times, but each time we got into a school, and got up there in front of all those smiling little faces, our buckets were completely filled again.

Maki loves peaches!

Here are some of my favorite things the teachers said:

• "This was incredible, I saw some children smiling today that I haven't seen smile in a long, long time."
• "Kids did you hear they went to college for this? You can go to college for anything, not just to be a doctor or a teacher. But you have to do really good in school and you might  get to do something as cool as what these girls are doing."
• "What do we say every day before class? Learn something new, be kind to one another, and have a great day. I think we all learned something new and awesome enough for a month!"
• "Thank you so much for telling the kids to get outside as much as possible, most of these kids never get outside, and they really needed to hear that."
• "I want everyone to thank these two young women for getting out there following their dreams and doing their part to save the planet."

Irwin the Blue-Tongued Skink

Here are some of my favorite things the kids said:

•  When told to "Get outside as much as you possibly can, because it's so good for you" One kindergartner said "Ya, especially if there's a fire in the house!!"
• One girl came up and asked "What was the first snake in the world?"
• When they started getting really loud, we said "We have to have you guys quiet down, because you might scare Pickles", everyone said "We're sorry Pickles!!"
• When asked what's something they think of when we say rain forest one little boy said "Soggy trees!"
  
  
  

  

  Pickles the Gold and Blue Macaw

  Overall it's been an amazing first week. We noticed some pretty apparent trends too. For example, the more urban the area was where we were teaching, the more frightened and skittish the children were by most of the animals, especially the "scary, creepy" ones like Carl the tarantula, Herbie the red tail boa and the Madagascar hissing cockroaches. In fact a few girls even said "gross get it away" when we brought cute little Maki (baby ring tail lemur) near them. This was interesting to us to see how little experience they've had with animals and nature in general, and how disconnected they seemed to be. Those are the schools we really love to go to, to show kids what nature has to offer. I really hope out of all the children we reached, we made a small difference in even a couple of their lives.
  
  

  

  Ellie loves a good belly rub.

First Show!

My sister Bailey got to meet "Maki" the lemur before saying goodbye. 

Our first show was in a little town called Russelville, Arkansas. We spoke to a crowd of 200 children. For our first run through, it went really well! We took turns handling and speaking about each animal. We also spoke at the beginning and end about what a rainforest is and all the awesome things we get from it. The excitement on the kids faces as we brought out one amazing animal after another was contagious. An hour breezed by without us even realizing it because we were having so much fun sharing with the kids. It is hard to  believe this is actually a job, because it already feels like I get more out of it than I give.

Our crazy gypsy van!

After a two hour drive to the next town, a good break down conversation of what we can improve on, and an awkward encounter with a flirtatious semi-truck driver, we arrived in Huntsville, Arkansas for our next show. 

A beautiful hi-way in Arkansas.

The path to Huntsville was on a winding, steep hi-way that passed through thick forests and beautiful open valleys dotted with log cabins and livestock. We were both pleasantly surprised that Arkansas was such a beautiful place. Our program in Huntsville was for 450 children from kindergarten through 2nd grade.  Everyone there was so helpful and kind. Jess and I both smiled when we heard our first "ya'll". The second show went just as smooth and we were more confident. Of course Ellie the coatimundi decided to knock the bucket of fruit loops onto the floor, but the kids got a good laugh out of that.

Maki making a friend in the mirror.

 We headed to Westphalia, MO to find a hotel for our show tomorrow. And after getting all the animals watered, fed and clean cages, we are finally relaxing.  Of course our definition of relaxing is probably a little different than a week ago. We're watching a movie as Pickles the macaw sits on his perch, Maki  the lemur chirps at us and Ellie the coatimundi grooms our hair. I think I can get used to this :)

Ellie the coatimundi helping me style my hair. 

The Ultimate Adventure Begins

All it was was a phone call. And then everything changed. I checked my voicemail and it was from my old professor at UNL. He said that Wildlife Encounters is looking for a traveling environmental educator and he thought of me. I knew Wildlife Encounters, I've worked with them before bringing them to our Wildlife Club for meetings and even our big banquet. They are a non profit organization that owns exotic animals used for educational purposes. I called Stacie from Wildlife Encounters to inquire about the position, almost to entertain myself. I have a job right now that lasts until December, and I didn't want to think about all the complications of applying for a different one.

However Stacie was thrilled to hear from me. The person who had this position had a family sickness and had to leave abruptly with short notice, so she was desperately trying to fill someone. She said that she has known me for years, she knows I would be amazing at this, and if I wanted the job it would be mine. I couldn't believe it! So I asked her details about where, when and how long the position would be for. She said it starts in two weeks, and it lasts until the end of May/beginning of June. Oh and about the "where" and the "what"? Here it is: Me, a lemur, a parrot, a  burmese python and a coatimundi all together in a van traveling up and down the east coast doing different educational programs at schools all along the way.

I was in shock, and told her that sounded amazing and I needed to get back to her with my answer. Of course I called me boss, who was amazing and told me he wants whats best for me, it sounded perfect for me, and when I come back in June I can continue working for him. I called my mom and dad and tried to keep my cool as I explained the opportunity. I felt like I had just won the lottery, like I finally caught my lucky break. Everything I'm passionate about just signed itself up as job that placed itself in my lap; environmental education, animals, traveling. I called Stacie back quickly and accepted the offer. My first program is in Arkansas and I leave Sunday January 22.

Here is an exerpt from the Wildlife Encounters website of the program I will be offering to children all over the east coast:

Wonders of the Rainforest

"See the Rainforest spring to life as our national touring Wild Encounters wildlife show presents “Wonders of the Rainforest.” 

Explore rainforest habitats and the plants, animals, and people that live in these ecosystems.  Learn what products come from the rainforest, why rainforests are considered the lifeblood of the planet and the factors that threaten their survival and what people can do to protect the rainforests around the world.  Discuss the relationship of rainforests to climate control and global warming.  Identify ways to use rainforest products without destroying the habitat.

Wild Encounters will showcase live animals and products from the rainforests around the world and talk about their survival, natural history, geography, natural behaviors, and conservation education."

And now meet my new travel buddies for the next four months!

A lemur, which live in Madagascar

An albino burmese python

A coatimundi

A macaw

So...that's my big news! I can finally fulfill my childhood  dream of being a traveling gypsy accompanied with exotic animals! I can't describe how excited I am. Yes, yes, I will miss Ben and Kingston and my family back home. But I will see them again before we all know it. Until then I will be heading east with a van full of creatures from the rain forest and a mission to educate today's youth about the wonders of the natural world. 

I will be updating my blog at least weekly. I'm sure I will have a lot of funny stories about trying to keep a lemur from jumping on the hotel beds and all the other excitement that will entail. I can't wait!

Wildlife Encounters website:

http://www.wildlifeencounters.org/