Birds, snakes, and summer campers
At our staff meeting today we talked about our fall schedule. I will be scheduled to work weekends, while the other 2 naturalists work during the week. During the school year we do most of our programs on the weekends, which means I will be doing them. I realize that realistically I can't do this. I can't go to school all week, complete my homework, and do the hours of research and prep needed to design and conduct nature center programs. I won't ever sleep. This is making me incredibly sad. I know I need to tell Suzan, our director and my boss, that I will probably need to quit once school starts. I absolutely love this job. I don't want to give it up for school. I am so ready to be done with school and now I might not even graduate on time (in December) because of this stupid class cancellation. I hate NMU for screwing me over. If and when I do leave my position at MooseWood, I definitely will come in and volunteer. So much still needs to be done there, especially with the tank remodeling. I still want to be a part of everything. And Suzan has "Girl Power Naturalist" planned for the fall. A group of hand-picked 5th grade girls will attending the program. It is to encourage the smart, well-behaved girls who get overlooked in class by their teachers because teachers are too busy paying attention to the trouble-makers. Suzan wanted me to be a "role model" and do a program on what I did in Costa Rica and show these girls that they can do whatever they want to. I still want to do this program, even if I don't work there anymore. I felt so honored to be asked to do it.
I helped Steph work summer camp the other day. The theme was birds. It was a blast. I had so much fun. It didn't even feel like work. There were ten 5-7 year olds and they had energy up the wall. We went for a hike, played an outdoor "predator/prey" game, made a bald eagle craft inside, had snack time, played "Guess what bird you are" game, and then took out the animals for the kids to hold. I was shocked when Steph brought one of the little boys over to me and said he had been bit by the corn snake and could I take him into the bathroom and clean up the bite. He cried a little, but was pretty tough. The bite wasn't too bad. And 2 minutes later he was holding the garter snake, totally fine and unafraid. I couldn't believe it though, none of our snakes has ever bitten anyone, ever! I don't think our snake is feeling good. We told his mom what happened when she picked him up and I don't think she was mad, just a little surprised. She even double checked to make sure he was signed up for next week's camp.
I don't want to leave this job...
I helped Steph work summer camp the other day. The theme was birds. It was a blast. I had so much fun. It didn't even feel like work. There were ten 5-7 year olds and they had energy up the wall. We went for a hike, played an outdoor "predator/prey" game, made a bald eagle craft inside, had snack time, played "Guess what bird you are" game, and then took out the animals for the kids to hold. I was shocked when Steph brought one of the little boys over to me and said he had been bit by the corn snake and could I take him into the bathroom and clean up the bite. He cried a little, but was pretty tough. The bite wasn't too bad. And 2 minutes later he was holding the garter snake, totally fine and unafraid. I couldn't believe it though, none of our snakes has ever bitten anyone, ever! I don't think our snake is feeling good. We told his mom what happened when she picked him up and I don't think she was mad, just a little surprised. She even double checked to make sure he was signed up for next week's camp.
I don't want to leave this job...