Blog 20 - Fourth Interview Questions

1. Who do you plan to interview? What is this person's area of expertise?

• Even though it didn't work out last time, I still want to try to get a hold of a worker from the Big Bear Alpine Zoo. This zoo doesn't just display the animals for education, but also has another section where they are rehabilitating them as well. 
• More specifically, I would like to interview Summer McElroy because she is the lead animal keeper. Since she interacts with the animals all the time, she will most likely understand the importance of increasing awareness.

2. Post 20 open-ended questions you want to ask an expert in the field concerning your senior project. Your focus should be finding answers to your EQ.

• What would you consider to be the most important factor in the role that you play in the Alpine Zoo?
• Why did you choose to go into this field?
• Any experiences with prior animals that influenced you?
• In what ways would you try to encourage the public to participate in certain environmental issues?
• What are some of the factors that are necessary to care for the animal.
• What made you care for animals?
• Zoo's are used for educational purposes, however they are also used for entertainment. What is your opinion?
• Is there some sort of goal that you work towards while working at this organization?
• Do you think raising awareness is important?
• If so why?
• What are some of the most effective methods or techniques that can be used to raise awareness?
• Interaction? Experiences? Issues? Activities? Reach-outs?
• What made you become aware?
• Have you ever taught a group of adults or children?
• In what ways do you think the public learns?
• Interaction?
• What would you say is the most important topic to educate them with?
• What activities did you find the most effective and fun for the children?
• How do you make them care?
• Is it difficult?
• Why are wildlife educators important?
• How can a wildlife educator most effectively spread awareness?
• Why does there have to be animal rehabilitation facilities?
• What are some of the main reasons that animals end up in organizations like the zoo or the nature centers?
• Has this job experience impacted your life in any way?
• Do you think other people can have similar experiences and have the same effect?
• If yes, what types of experiences?
• What age group do you think is the most important to educate?
• Or all? And if so why?
• Knowing about all the environmental issues happening around the world, what are some of the methods that can be used to prevent them?
• What is important to you?
• How do you prevent zoochosis? (a psychological condition of animals kept in circuses and zoos)

Blog 19 - Third Answer

1. Essential Question

• How can a wildlife educator most effectively raise awareness?

2. Answer Three

• A wildlife educator can most effectively spread awareness by organizing reach-outs at public events and schools.

3. Three details to support the answer.

• This helps attract a variety of people. Usually nature centers draw in people who are already interested in the environment. This way, people can develop an interest and tend to want to learn more about the topic.
• Reach-outs can also influence people to volunteer and help out in programs that focus on benefiting the environment for the people and the animals.
• It will also educate the public. This can encourage them to participate in activities and events that will demonstrate care for the environment. This encouragement can spread from person to person.

4. Research sources that support details and answers.

• "Bring the Classroom Outside." projectwild.org. How to think, What not to think, N.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.
• "Wildlife Educator." greencareer.biz. Green Career Guide, N.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.

5. Concluding Sentence

• Reach-outs are important to raising awareness because it doesn't just target those people who are already interested in the environment, but those who disregard the issues and its importance. It can encourage them to volunteer and can develop an interest towards it.

Blog 18 - Answer 2

1.  What is your EQ?

• How can a wildlife educator most effectively spread awareness?

2.  What is your first answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

• A wildlife educator can most effectively spread awareness by interacting with the environment and the animals themselves.

3.  What is your second answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

• A wildlife educator can most effectively spread awareness by realizing the current issues and the effects on the animals and their environment.

4.  List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.

• When someone realizes what other people go through or have had the same experience, they tend to sympathize for the situation. An example of this might be hunger. If someone realizes that there are large percentages of starving children in Africa and if they can relate to those children, they tend to spread awareness in order to help improve the issue.

• If this issue is affecting them in a negative way, they will want to tell others so they can improve upon it and reduce the negative outcomes. An example of this can be water conservation. However, people aren’t reacting to it because they don’t realize it’s impact until it’s physically and directly affecting them.

• Actual experiences can have a huge effect on a person. If an animal that they are really attached to gets hurt or dies because of the issues around the world, they’ll definitely try in some way to raise awareness and improve upon the issue. Sometimes we only realize the problem when it’s too late.

5.  What printed source best supports your answer?

• When I interviewed my mentor he said that the way that he started to get involved in the environment was through his job. However, he first started caring for it by interacting with the animals, but he was also put in a position where he experienced damaging situations. When he was in a different program, he’d get calls to pick up animals that were injured due to human activity.

6.  What other source supports your answer?

• Reid, Sarah. "11 Wildlife Experiences That Could Vanish In Your Lifetime." cnn.com. Wildlife experiences, 16 Apr. 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.

7.  Tie this together with a concluding thought.

• When we experience something that has a huge impact on us, we tend to defend it as much as possible and have others help in the movement.

Blog 17 - Interview 3 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?

• I learned that I've been only focusing on ways to educate the public and have them interact with the environment, that I didn't notice why they are even moving away from it in the first place. Throughout the interview my mentor also helped me realize that finding ways to raise awareness is not necessarily the most difficult, but trying to make them care about it is.

2. How has your approach to interviewing changed over the course of your senior project?

• The very first interviews that I've conducted didn't really seem to get me the information that I wanted. I feel like part of the problem were the questions that I had made. Maybe they weren't structured right and it carried the conversation into a different direction. However, I'm really proud of the way this interview came out because I knew the kind of information I was looking for. It's fun to talk to people who are passionate about the same thing that you are. 

Blog 16 - Independent Component 2 Approval

1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

• Starting around the end of February, the nature center holds a junior ranger program for kids ages 7 to 12. I was thinking about volunteering Saturdays and staying longer to help my mentor with the program. This program basically educates the children about the environment. The functions of different plants, how to distinguish the dangerous animals from the safe ones, the difference between  mammals, birds, fishes, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates, and information in general.

2. Describe how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

• To demonstrate that I've worked for more than 30 hours, I'd take a picture each day to show the activities that we do with the kids. Then I'll put them together and make a slideshow.

3. Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.

• My topic is wildlife care and awareness. Educating the public is a form of awareness. Having first hand experience about my topic can definitely help me observe the different techniques used to educate the kids. This will hopefully give me an understanding of the methods used to get the kids to interact and acknowledge the environment. 

4. Post a log in your Senior Project Hours link and label it "Independent Component 2" log.

• Link 

Independent Component 1

• Literal
• I, Julissa Ortiz, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work."
• My mentor Max Lucero and the San Dimas Nature Center staff has helped me complete my independent component.
• Link
• I've decided to do extra hours. I originally was going to do the presentations that I do with the public, but it does not meet the full 30 hours. However, this February, my mentor is starting the junior ranger program. That takes several days during the week and can work for my independent component 2.
• Interpretive

• I usually volunteer every Saturday, unless something comes up with my family. Each Saturday, I usually stay for seven hours. Spending more time at the nature center has helped me become more familiar with my essential question. I am constantly experiencing my answers, but I still have trouble figuring out what they are.
• Applied
• This component has given me more experiences with the animals and nature itself. My topic is basically everything that the nature center is revolved around. Since I did more hours, I was able to become more familiar with the everyday schedules and I began to learn more about the animals. Each Saturday, all the volunteers do presentations. We need to know most of the information so that we are able to answer the public's questions.

Lesson 2 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

• I was proud that I was able to go into depth of my answer. When I first thought about it, I was worried that I might not be able to cover much of the answer because I thought it was self-explanatory. However, there was key factors to my answer that I've experienced through my mentor ship. I enjoyed seeing it come together.

2. a. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

• P

    b. Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

• I believe I met all of the P consideration requirements. The only thing that I'm not so sure about is the time. However, I think I did good overall and I was really proud about the outcome of my activity.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

• I think the information that I collected was able to support my answer one well. I really enjoyed my activity because I wanted to demonstrate the difference of having a connection with an animal at oppose to not having one. Interacting with them is what raises awareness. If I had more time, I would've had them share out loud with the groups.

4.What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

• I personally think that the way I presented could've been better. I would sometimes stumble with my words and wouldn't be able to express myself the way I wanted to. I could've cut out a slide or two from my power-point to make more room for the activity. 

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

• I originally thought about education and interaction, but education wouldn't work because it's basically my essential question. Maybe organizing an event or festival that solely focuses on raising awareness.