Fraxinus

                   

                                           Fraxinus

                Fraxinus may be just a game to us but it's actually a whole lot more than you think. Fraxinus is a game that was created by scientists to give us individual people a way to help save the Ash trees. Scientists say that across the UK, the ash tree is being infected by the deadly Chalara fungus. Something in the ash's genetic code is vulnerable to Chalara. It is causing the tree to suffer from deadly disease called Ash Dieback. 

In Fraxinus you match up DNA as best as you can by moving pieces of it, deleting nucleotides (the building blocks of DNA), or creating gaps. Though its main function is to save Ash Trees; it is also a fun and competitive game, and you can try this game right on Facebook. So just go on Facebook and look up Fraxinus; if you can't find it, then go on bridging the gaps Facebook wall (The profile picture is a gorilla) and look for the game Fraxinus. You can also click on the link below, but you will need to sign in via Facebook. Have fun and enjoy!

https://apps.facebook.com/fraxinusgame/?fb_source=search&ref=br_tf

                                                                                

                                                                                                                -Anthony Chesser

Vote!

                                                                                                                                    Vote Now To Change The World

             Okay so you're probably wondering; what is this all about? Vote now to change the world? What are we voting for; a new president already? Well I'll tell you right now! There are 13 to 18 year old kids trying to make a difference.

              15 year old Shrishti Asthana has made it to the finals because she came up with a brilliant treatment to clean out the dirty contaminated water using solar energy. Another finalist is 15 year old Ann Makosinski, and she came up a battery free flashlight which only requires the heat signature of a human hand. Pretty cool right! A third finalist is 16 year old Elif Bilgin, and what she did was create bioplastics from banana peels, and I think that's really important right now because the amount petroleum left is decreasing rapidly. All three these finalist stood out the most in my perspective but if I had to vote for one; it would be 16 year old Elif Bilgin because she would make all the difference in the world considering the decrease in oil is major problem right now. 

Check out this link https://www.googlesciencefair.com/en/2013/ and vote today!

                                                                                                                        - Anthony Chesser

Internship

                                             Internship

                  This internship has been a great experience, and every second of it has been worthwhile. I got to meet new people and witness new sites. When I first started this internship, I had an idea of what I would be doing, but I never expected to be writing blogs for you people to be reading. This is my first time doing a social media internship and writing blogs is actually kind of cool because I get to share my opinions with you all, and I get to talk about my interest, and experiences, and it's just really great to be able to do that. This internship has built my knowledge on things such as creating codes for a website, getting information on certain subjects such as lowland gorillas, and their habitats. All I can say is that its been great working with my coworker, and supervisors, and its been a worthwhile experience!

                                                                                            - Anthony Chesser

Codecademy

                                          Codecademy

              Codecademy teaches you different types of codes that would help you educate yourself and open up knowledge in you. Codecademy teaches you how to build your own website. The best part: it's FREE! It teaches you to put images in a website you're creating and even teaches you how to attach a link to an image. You can also learn how to change the font size, color, how to bold certain words of your choosing. Wait there's more, you can make paragraphs with a simple code <p> and you can create a heading that would be the most visible and stands out the most. Also, you don't always have to create an organized list, why not just create an unorganized list with just a simple <ul>. I know it sounds difficult to understand but try it out for yourself and see what happens. 

              Throughout my experience with Codecademy, I've learned many codes that were actually a challenge to learn sometimes. Codecademy really brings out your knowledge because in memorization is the main key but it also teaches you one important lesson. Before getting to that lesson, ask yourself, would you rather sit home doing nothing or challenge yourself and learn something new that can most likely benefit you in the future? Well there's one thing you should know before starting Codecademy: Always! Always! Read instructions and you'll do great.

 http://www.codecademy.com/

                    

                                                                                                          - Anthony Chesser

Gorilla Habitat

                                          Gorilla Habitat

                Lowland Gorillas usually live in heavy rain forest habitats. They are able to climb trees but are usually found on the ground in communities of up to 30. To experience how it feels to be in a habitat that gorillas often live in, check out the BZ Congo. Its really lifelike because the trees and plants that you think are real can surprise you because they are actually fake. Well most of the trees and plants are fake but at least some are real. To be honest though; you wouldn't even know the difference. The Congo is a great part of the BZ to visit and is the greatest lifelike experience. Don't miss out!

  

                                                Tigers

     Tigers are my favorite animals because of the following                    reasons:                                                                             

• Their color
• They can pull up to 300 pounds or more
• They are about 8 feet tall when they stand on two feet
• They can look cute when they are cubs, but they grow up to be deadly predators
• They are great swimmers
• Some species are muscular such as Siberian Tigers                                     
  
  
  
   Hey Look 
              Its
                A
                 Tiger!
  
              
  
  
  
  
  
  Hey Don't Turn
     Your Back
       On Me!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
        -Anthony Chesser

My Mentor

                                            My Mentor

                   Me and my mentor Chris MacKay have been getting along well. Chris MacKay is a Digital learning Coordinator, and I bet he is good at what he does considering he's always packed with work. We've talked about our personal lives, and I think that was the source of what started a trustworthy bond between us. When I had questions, he'd always answer them the best he could and that really benefited me because I had someone and still have someone to ask for advice and opinions about certain subjects such as college, etc. Overall, my mentor and I interact really well, and he is a awesome mentor. If your ever interested in digital coordination then I recommend you get in touch with this guy! 

             If you want to have a good relationship with your mentor, my advice would be to remember to reply to their emails. It is very important that you do so because if you don't, then it would probably make it seem like you're not really interested in trying to interact with your mentor. Also always be respectful and learn to trust one another because that is the main source of creating a strong bond between you two. Thank you!

                                                                      - Anthony Chesser

                                                               

                                               College 101!

      

    During the college 101 session, Good Shepherd employees were nice enough to come in and share with us high school students some information that might also help you. There was a banker from Chase who came in and talked a little about loans. Then there were some college students currently attending college right now who talked about their experience during freshman year. One of them said, "It's not so easy when you first start but gets easier as you keep moving forward and doing good." Last but not least was Good Shepherd's Financial Program where they talked a little about FAFSA and scholarships!  Here is the most valuable information I learned during this session. I hope it helps you too!

•   FAFSA stands for "Free Application For Federal Student Aid." FAFSA is offered to everyone and based on your income, determines how much money you get from the government to pay for college. The great benefit about FAFSA is that the money is free, and you don't have to pay it back. So if you're trying to find a good way to pay for college then you should definitely apply for FAFSA.

• You can also take out loans, but the problem with them is that you have to pay it back. There are two types of loans: Unsubsidized Loans and Subsidized loans. The difference between the two is the following: Subsidized loans don't begin charging you interest until you have graduated and been out of school for 6 months. Unsubsidized loans begin charging you interest as soon as you take out the money.

• Scholarships are also an option if you plan to go to college. The more scholarships you apply for and get, the better! Did you know that if you get enough scholarships to go over the cost of your tuition, that you get that money that is left over as a refund check? Well you do! Reach high and do your best. It's hard but trust me, it will be worth it in the end!

Here are some helpful links as well:

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

http://www.goodshepherds.org/

 http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/the-scholarship-coach/2013/02/14/get-free-fafsa-help-from-college-goal-sunday-experts          

                                               
                                                                          - Anthony Chesser                                                                                                     

The Audio/Visual internship was not my first choice when filling out the application to find my summer internship. While I had my doubts, now that it is all done, I thoroughly enjoyed it very much. The internship put me under Joseph Padilla who is a very nice man. Joseph was always guiding me whenever he told me to do something and gave constructive criticism. I feel I learned a lot under Joseph about not only the job but what type of person you need to be to work well.
          A lot of the time, we were working it was outside of the office and in the Zoo itself. This brought us to a couple of different areas that I have not been to and are closed off from the public. Seeing the way the staff works with each other intrigued me. Everyone seems to have the goal of doing their job to the best of their ability. This did not just seem like a regular job to people, they wanted more than their paycheck at the end of the week. They wanted the zoo to be run well. All the people I have met while being with Joseph, from maintenance to restaurant staff to zoo keepers all were kind to me and were excited to see a new intern. This is what made the internship so unique, the community the co-workers seem to have and to experience it makes me excited about if my future will end up a part of that.
-Vincent Adams

My Japanese Macaque Exhibit 

                For our BTG Exhibit design project my team and I choose the Japanese Macaque (also known as the Snow monkey) Macaca fuscata.  The Japanese macaque are found in the northern-most part of Japan's islands; they hail from the island of Hon-Shu.  These old world monkeys are full of mischief and highly intelligent at that. My team and I had to think of clever ways to keep them away from the public. We decided on going with an outdoor exhibit to replicate the monkey's natural habitat and to keep with W.C.S's role when it comes to making naturalistic and engaging exhibits.

                    Now Macaques don't spend the whole day playing games and looking for food. They share a common problem with us humans; they are the only primates besides humans that live in such a cold climate. Areas where temperatures that can plummet  to below zero are not your average  vacation spots. Freezing cold temperatures and a lack of food would drive anyone to the point of extinction or worse....

But for the Snow macaque, the cold is just another part of life, and with their cleverness, they found a way to cope.

                  Hot Springs!! The warm bubbling waters of the volcanic springs keep the water all nice and warm, and the macaques use this to there advantage. This is a members only pool; only the high ranking females within the troop are allowed use. Sadly the lower ranking families must wait out in the cold, and if they try to make a move, the "Bouncer" will have a thing or two to say about it. My team and I added a pool in the center of the exhibit so that in the colder months, the macaques have a place to be that feels just like home. Here at the zoo, the number one thing we want is our animals to be happy and healthy. Therefore, providing behavioral enrichment is a must. 

                During the winter months where food is scarce, snow macaques resort to more creative methods of getting food. Because of the volcanic activity, streams around their habitat don't freeze over in the cold temperatures. This provides a golden opportunity to scavenge in hopes of finding any larvae or edible plants left. You will see that we also added a stream to our exhibit to replicate the ones found in the wild. In all me and my team enjoyed ourselves, and we would do it all again. We learned a lot about the Snow macaques and were happy to share what we learned with our friends and family. 

Come see the Snow macaques whenever you like bring your friends and family too! 

http://www.centralparkzoo.com/animals-and-exhibits/exhibits/temperate-territory.aspx

                                                      ~Brenden Alvarez

Bronx Zoo Archives: History Retold...

               In the heart of Astor court lies one of the many historic buildings from when the zoo was first founded 1895. Right next to the sea lion pool is the archives and administration building, It may not look like much from the outside, but I can assure you that once you enter, it will leave a long lasting impression. Now what's so special about being at the archives? Well for me it was like taking a trip back to the past and exploring what went on in the 60's, 70's, 80's, all the way up to our current time. But before you jump in, there are certain passwords and codes that must be given.

              Like any Hidden vault or center for information, you need clearance to get in. The archives were no different. I can't express how entertaining it was to come every morning and punch in the secret code to gain access. I felt like I was in a top secret government facility. The location of the numbers do change so you do have to be on point. Once access is granted, you make your way down the hall, making sure you tread lightly. You don't want to interrupt the president or the board members when they're at a meeting. As you make your way down the stairs, you find a room full of files, folders, and boxes as far as the eye can see. Once there, that's when the magic happens. There are countless files that contain all aspects of zoo life right down to what was being ordered in 1965 to when and where the ticket booths were placed in 1990.

              My task was to categorize and add the files of Dr. John Behler who served as the Zoos Curator of the Herpetology Department until his passing in 2006. His collection contained 32 boxes full of his rich history and various accomplishments both as working in the zoo and his international work as a Herpetologist and conservationist. Now the day in the life of a zoo curator is not all pushing papers as you might think. I can assure you there were plenty of "Distractions" to the paper work. From meeting the Asian ambassador to getting the wrong magazine subscription in the mail, its a busy life. Going through his files, you can see the changes he brought about and some decisions that led to many great things.

             It's not all fun and games when being in the archives. It takes some up keep as well.
As you may well know dust is one thing we cannot escape, no matter how hard you try it always finds a place, and the archives are no different. Twice a year, we clean all the files folders and boxes to reduce dust or mold and to prevent anything from compromising the information. I went on a journey - cleaning through Mammalogy, then back tracking to animal behavior, then finishing up on the old zoo education planners. In all, it is a very enjoyable place to be and was a worthwhile experience.

            Being in the archives, I learned about the rich history of the Zoo and all its accomplishments. As you look through the files, you see everything put together in front of you, including things like a very strange plan by the people to petition the zoo for signatures to pass a law that would allow them to release snakes of all kind into the streets to control the growing rat population. Thankfully, this was turned down. Working here really opened my eyes to different careers that were not solely focused on animals and in my opinion are just as fun as those that are. Well that's my journey through the archives so I welcome all of you to come to the zoo and look around for yourself. You never know if one day you might have a file or two of your own someday.

                                                        ~Brenden Alvarez

Favorite Animal

My Favorite Animal at the Bronx Zoo

Kinkajou

The Kinkajou is my favorite animal at the Bronx Zoo. Before being in Bridging the Gap, I must admit that I didn't even know what a Kinkajou was. The scientific name of a Kinkajou is Potos flavus and it is a mammal. The name Potos flavus translated from Latin means the ''Golden Drinker." The name makes sense because they have thick golden fur and have a sweet tooth for honey.  Many assume that Kinkajous are members of the primate family because of traits and features they share that are similar, but the Kinkajou is actually a relative of the Raccoon and the Opossum. 

Kinkajous are omnivores which means that they eat both plants and other animals.  Kinkajous are more commonly  known as the Honey Bear. They are known for using their long tongue to remove honey from beehives and nectar from flowers and fruits. They love to munch on eggs they steal from other animals

 and also eat small rodents like mice and moles.  

Kinkajous are most commonly found in Central and South America in tropical forests. During the day, they are high up in the trees sleeping, and at night they come down from the tree tops to hunt for food. In Central and South America, they are known to screech and yell very loudly. Kinkajous are solitary animals, but it is common to see them playing, grooming, and sometimes even cuddling up to sleep. Aside from having very long tongues, Kinkajous also have long tails that they use as a fifth limb to help them balance, to hold on to branches and more. The tail itself can be almost as long as them; on average anywhere from 19-22 ins long!

Kinkajous are my favorite animal because I find them to be so cute with their big black eyes and wet noses. My teacher at Bridging the Gap actually brought one into our session once and we got to touch it. They have soft, fuzzy hair and are so adorable.  Even though I consider them adorable, I understand that they are wild animals and not pets, but I am welcome to comes see them whenever I please at the Central Park Zoo .

~Sheyna Dominguez

My Jaguar Exhibit

Jaguar: The Ideal Home

     Bridging the Gap taught me a lot of things about animals that I would never have paid mind to before. Even though animal are in captivity at the zoo, there are certain requirements that each animal needs to survive. The last two sessions of Bridging the Gap, we created mock exhibits for animals. My group choose the Jaguar; Panthera P. onca. We choose the jaguar out of all other animals because it sparked a common interest in all of us.

Since jaguars are found in tropical rain forests and swamps, we decided that it would be best if our exhibit was indoors - that way we could control the temperature of the exhibit and be able to display it all year round. We would also include a cool rock, that would always be cooler then the temperature in the exhibit and provide comfort. Our exhibit has tropical plants and trees towards the back that have been placed there to show not only in which habitat the jaguar would thrive but also so that the green-life doesn't  get in the way of viewing the animal. We decided to make our floor dirt but we strategically made the bottom concrete to make it easier to clean. We placed a fallen log right in the middle so the Jaguar can be out in plain sight. 

Jaguars are nocturnal so our lighting would be blue lighting to ensure the animal is active and not just sleeping all day. Jaguars also like to swim and so we included a pool that allows the animal to have fun,exercise and cool off. Zookeepers need to have access to the animal they take care of so we included a keeper door on the left hand side wall of the exhibit. Next to the keeper door is a shift door which allows the animal to shift off the exhibit to eat, sleep and receive veterinary attention if needed at night. 

Animals at zoos are not wild; they are contained to a certain area and sometimes get bored or stressed. To avoid that, enrichment is needed. My group decided that for a jaguar we would have a bright orange ball in the exhibit which the keeper would fill with treats. The jaguar would smell the treats, try to reach them, and therefore entertain itself with the enrichment ball. The ball would be made out a material that the Jaguar could play with, without breaking it or damaging it. The keeper would have full control of when the jaguar can actually receive treats because the ball would open via remote control. Our exhibit would be an ideal home for a Jaguar if it were to be constructed. The Bronx Zoo and Queens Zoo are the only zoo's in New York City which currently house Jaguars. Since Jaguars are solitary cats and are at the top of the food chain they can't house more than one at a time.

The Wildlife Conservation Society has played a key role in the conservation of Jaguars. Their habitats in the wild are being torn down to construct residences, businesses, and farmland. They are also shot and poisoned by livestock owners who frequently find Jaguars moving into their properties and eating their livestock because Jaguar habitats are destroyed. 

To find out more about what WCS is doing for Jaguars visit: http://www.wcs.org/saving-wildlife/big-cats/jaguar.aspx

                                                                                                  ~Sheyna Dominguez

My Snow Leopard Exhibit Design

In my last post, I gave an overview of what we had to do for the exhibit design project. In this post I will go into more detail on how it all worked out. When we got into groups it did not take long for our group to decide on snow leopards. My group first had to research the snow leopard to learn things like:

Where they lived?- so we could design a exhibit that looks close to where a snow leopard lived. In my case the snow leopard lives in central Asia in the high mountains so we knew to give the snow leopard some elevation. We also made it very rocky.

If they were solitary animals?- This is important because if your animal likes to be alone, putting the animal with other animals would have caused a problem. The snow leopard is a solitary animal so we only put one in the exhibit.

Danger to Public?: The snow leopard can jump 19 feet vertically in the air which meant we would have to make sure that the walls around the exhibit exceeded that so the public was safe.

How will the public see them?: In my case the public would see the animal through a glass and there would be information about the exhibit all around.

Hot wiring, temperature, shift area, other things of that nature: The snow leopards exhibit did not need hot wiring since the walls were already high. We did not have to tamper with the temperature since it was a outdoor exhibit but while making a exhibit, all of these things should come to mind. We made a shift area for the snow leopard to go to,  a shift area is where the animals are transported to when their keepers need to clean their exhibit, renovate it, need to check their health and things like that.

After thinking all these things through and designing our exhibit on paper, we were given a bunch of materials to start building our exhibit. Our group also added some additional things like a donation box and an interactive display for the public. We also made a clay version of the snow leopard. Then we presented it to our mentors and parents. Throughout this whole process, you learn a lot about the steps needed to be taken for real exhibits. This was also a great way to raise awareness for the animal. I personally learned a lot about snow leopards and why they are endangered, for example the only predator of the snow leopard is human. Loss of habitat is one of the main reasons and so is poaching.

If you want to check out this amazing animal and its exhibit come to the Bronx Zoo or Central Park Zoo!

                                                                                                              -Nebraas Shahzad

Exhibit Design

As you  guys already know Bridging the Gap has a lot to offer and something that was a big part of Bridging the Gap was exhibit design and behavior enrichment for animals. As an last assignment for all of the sessions, the students were given some time to create their own exhibit. We were broken up into group and had to choose a mammal to create a exhibit for, using all of the aspects we learned about exhibit design. All the groups had to think about how big the space would be, the climate the animal lives in, the way the public would have access to see the animal, outdoor or indoor exhibit, and things in that nature.

This is a exhibit that was done by Vanessa Martinez, Kawayne Campbell, Anthony Chesser and myself

Animal: Snow Leopard

Animal Information:
-Endangered
-Geographic range: Central Asia
-Habitat: High Mountains
-Life Span: 21 years in captivity
-Predators: Humans
Indoor or Outdoor?: Outdoor

Features: High elevation, glass window, donation box, animal information, rocky terrain, cave

  

                                     

This exhibit was done by Julieth Noguez, Frankie Prchal, Carlos Correa, and Brenden Alvarez

Animal: Snow Monkey

Animal Information:

-Not Endangered

-Geographic Range: Asia (Japan)

-Habitat- Subtropical and Arctic forests 

-LifeSpan: 30 Years in Captivity

Indoor or Outdoor?: Outdoor

Features: Hot spring, dirt floor, some vegetation, walkway, glass window, toy

Animal Enrichment: Hiding sweet potatoes in the dirt so the monkeys can find them and eat them     

This exhibit design was done by Sheyna Dominguez, Evany Robinson, Vincent Adams, Celsea George

Animal: Jaguar

Animal Information: 

-Endangered

-Geographic Range: South Western USA, Central and Southern South America

-Habitat: Tropical forest, Savanna, Swamp

-Life Span: 20 years in Captivity  

-Predator: Humans

Indoor or Outdoor?: Indoor

Features: Plants, water, logs, dirt, boardwalk, toy, rocks

                                                                       -Nebraas Shahzad

   

Zoo Careers

Today as I was walking around the Bronx Zoo, the weather was perfect and most of the animals were pretty active. I saw a lot of things today at the Bronx Zoo like the mouse house and the butterfly garden. I also saw giraffes eating from the trees, two baby peacocks walking around with their mother, sea lions, lions sleeping under the shade, Golden Lion Tamarins climbing their cage, and a White Striped Antelope chewing on a fallen peacock feather. All these things make the zoo what it is but how is that all possible? Well through Bridging the Gap I learned that the zoo is so much more than just zoo keepers and some staff; It takes a lot of work to run a zoo. As I walked around today I also noticed the staff and the different jobs at the zoo. Some examples would be staff who are selling tickets for attractions, cooks, staff working at the registers, zoo keepers, costumer service, first aid, security, but that's only what any one can obviously see. There are other jobs such as maintenance, engineering, behavior enrichment, education, zoo hospital and more. These jobs are less noticeable but just as important and the zoo would not run efficiently without them. I had a chance to talk with Don Boyer today, he works on zoo herpetology (reptiles and amphibians) and is also my mentor. He does a lot of interesting things in his career and always as a awesome story to tell about the experiences he had working for the zoo like today Don told me about how he was suppose to release Hell-benders into the wild although it was cancelled. Like Dons career, there are many other careers that people don't know the zoo has to offer, all with their own positive features and challenges.

Photo By: Nebraas Shahzad

                                                                                                            -Nebraas Shahzad

Bridging the Gap, a unique opportunity!

All Bridging the Gap sites are a bit different. They all have different staff working with the teens, the kids are different, and the sites are different which all plays a role in what your Bridging the Gap experience may be like. I did all of my Bridging the Gap sessions in the Bronx Zoo which gave me a huge advantage, it being the biggest metropolitan zoo in the United States. There was just so much to see every time I would come in for a session. Also the Bronx Zoo has so much history behind it. It was always to fun to see the old photos or documents of the zoo.

Today I went to the archives building and had the opportunity to interview Vanessa who was in the same Bridging the Gap sessions with me. She works in the archives. Basically what she does is organize old files into the computer. Vanessa showed me some of the files, like some magazines and pictures she gets to see on a daily basis. She had expressed to me that being in Bridging the Gap had broadened her knowledge on different animal careers and college choices. She also told me that her view on zoos had drastically changed. At first, she thought zoos was like a prison for animals but being in this program had taught her that zoos do much more than keep animals in cages all day long. Ron, one of the WCS staff that taught here at the Bronx Zoo, had explained that the ideas of zoos have changed over the years, from being all about entertainment to conservation. I also had the chance to talk to Vanessa about some of the awesome features about being in Bridging the Gap at the Bronx Zoo and she said that she loved when the staff would bring in animals for us to see and be near which was something I also really enjoyed. Like me, she also thought the size of the zoo was very important. She also thought that the college boot camp we did was very fun and useful at the same time. All of these things and more make the Bridging the Gap a unique program that can't be taken for granted.

Old Photo of the Bronx Zoo entrance

                                                                                                                   -Nebraas Shahzad  

Projects around the world and close to home

Ever wondered what is being done around the world or more importantly close to home to help the environment or the animals that share it with us? Well one of the most easiest way to access that information is go online. Now a days people can't do much without the internet so if you want to get involved or just learn some ways people are helping to save the environment and wildlife it is a perfect place to start. I took a few minutes and did the same and was astonished about some of the information I found.

WCS is an organization that is connected with the five zoos around New York City that do amazing projects all over the world. A few things that had caught my eye as I was looking around their website were all of the information they had about the different projects that were being done around the world to help wildlife and habitats. Something that also interested me about this organization was the fact that they do a lot of projects that try to bring awareness to all of the worldwide issues. This needs to be done more often because if a person is not aware of an issue, how can anyone expect them to understand the importance of helping? There is a quote that came into mind when I was looking at the WCS website:

"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

Photo By: Wally Gobetz

Next I looked close to home which for me is New York City and found some cool projects like NYC Environmental Protection. They are working around New York City to provide clean drinking water, collecting and treating water waste, and reducing air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution. Something that caught my eyes while looking through their website was that they were working along with teens to raise awareness litter control and the amount of litter thrown into the Bronx River. I think it is a great idea to get teens involved with issues concerning environmental problems.

Then I went a little further from NYC and found another organization just outside of NYC that are trying their best to help wildlife and plants around New York State. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's main goal is to protect and enhance the environment around NY. They mange and protect a lot of wildlife in NY and also have educational camps, centers, and programs to raise awareness.

New York City is one of the busiest cities in the world. I did not expect to find a non-profit wildlife rehabilitation facility in the heart of New York City. They are called The Wild Bird Fund and their goal is to provide medical care and rehabilitation to injured, ill, and orphaned wildlife of NYC and to release them back into the wild. They are the only rehabilitation facility in NYC. Something really cool that I found on their website was a way any normal everyday person could help. Such as what to do when you see a hurt animal and who to reach out to. They gave specific details on what a person could do to help which is a great idea and can get more people involved.

If you want more information about all of the projects I have talked about, here are some links:

   http://www.wcs.org/

   http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/home/home.shtml

   http://www.dec.ny.gov/index.html

   http://wildbirdfund.org/

                                                                                                       -Nebraas Shahzad 

   

   

Things to do at the Bronx Zoo?

Hello there!  Wednesdays at the Bronx Zoo are always free....so that is when all the families and people come to the zoo! Today was a like any other summer Wednesday at the Bronx Zoo. I went around today and saw many attractions. First, I went down to the Madagascar exhibit which is always really fun to see but I would recommend really taking your time to look through and read all about the animals and their habitats (because you learn a lot of information if you take your time).

Photo by: Nebraas Shahzad

After that, I went to Wild Asia and watched a dinosaur show.  Veronica, who is a Bridging the Gap student at Central Park Zoo, is interning with the Wildlife Theater and was there watching the crowd to make sure they were doing what they were suppose to (and monitor anything they were not). I talked to her a little bit about how Bridging the Gap was for her and she told me that she wasn't really planning on going to college but now, she is interested in attending college because of Bridging the Gap! She also told me that she believed working at a zoo would be a easy job but realized due to the program that it really is not and just like any other job it takes hard work.

Photo By: Nebraas Shahzad

The show was very nice to watch and the audience seemed really engaged. Something else I did today was go to the sea bird aviary to watch bird feeding. There were a lot of people there-so I didn't get to see much.  However, after some of the crowd left, it was fun to watch and I enjoyed it very much. Something else I did today and do almost every day is pay attention to my surroundings. I walked around, took my time, and noticed all of the little details around me like children crying, chipmunks roaming around everywhere, pretty flowers here and there, people yelling and people laughing. I always think everyone should take a little bit of their time just to notice their surroundings because you can learn something new everyday just by doing that!

Photo By: Nebraas Shahzad

What experience have you had while visiting a zoo on a non Bridging the Gap day?  Have you visited any other zoos besides the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, and NY Aquarium?  Leave a comment on your experience with zoos!

                                                                                                      -Nebraas Shahzad      

What is Bridging the Gap?

Photo By: Nebraas Shahzad

Hello everyone my name is Nebraas Shahzad and I am from the Bronx Zoo cohort , right now i'm at the Bronx Zoo. Today is Wednesday which means the zoo is free, so there are a lot of people roaming the zoo right now looking at many of the different animals that the Bronx Zoo has. I was just by the sea lion exhibit but I could not see a thing due to all the people that were surrounding the sea lions. Like today I usually get to see the beautiful wonders of the zoo and all the animals that live here. This is all because of Bridging the Gap, a zoo program that allows teens who are interested in animal careers to see what the zoo is like and help them through many things like their future career, college process, finical aid choices, plus many more. I was with Bridging the Gap since January, I would have never thought I would be connect with the zoo in anyway but, when I got accepted, I was very happy. This internship has taught me so much interesting stuff and opened my eyes on how the zoo really works. I would say the best part about being in this program was listening to all the cool stories all the staff had about their experiences with zoos and all the little fun facts about animals-or anything really! Not to mention we pretty much got into the zoo for free.

I have always wanted to be a veterinarian and now I know that the reason I wanted to be a vet was because I didn't really know there was any other career that helped animals like a vet would.  However, being in Bridging the Gap made me realize that there is many more careers then being a vet. Now I want to be a zoologist and realized that you can help animals in many other ways. I also got to learn about the history of the zoo and how the idea of zoos changed over time. Actually just the thought of knowing information not a lot of other people have access to makes me feel more excited to learn even more-which was another thing that I really liked about this program. I mean what more can you ask for: you get free access to the zoo,  learn fun facts about zoo careers and animals, listen to cool stories from WCS staff, meet new people, ride around in carts, and interact with awesome animals. Please comment on how your experience with Bridging the Gap has been.

                                                                                                          -Nebraas Shahzad

Welcome to the first Bridging the Gap Blog!

Welcome to the first Bridging the Gap blog, I hope you take interest in all of the topics I will be discussing in my blogs. Just to give you a brief overview of what Bridging the Gap actually is and what I will be talking about in my blogs: Bridging the Gap is a internship that seeks to connect high school students who have interest in pursing animal related careers which also includes conservation science, zoology, marine science, ecology, biology, and many other careers. Bridging the Gap also helps students understand what college will be like, financial aid options, job referral, resume building, and more; Bridging the Gap also helps students understand why zoos and conservation is so important. The program also teaches students to have a new appreciation for animals in general. Some things I will be discussing in my blogs are things like my experience in Bridging the Gap, why conservation is important, why zoos are important, and a bunch of other topics, not to mention a bunch of pictures and videos. Please check back frequently for new and interesting posts!

                                                                                                     -Nebraas Shahzad