Tuesday, July 30, 2013

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://wildbirdfund.org/

                                                                                                       -Nebraas Shahzad 
   

   

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

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

Monday, July 22, 2013

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