I first started volunteering
(as a part of the World Bird Sanctuary Junior Volunteer Program) in 2007 when I
was 13 years old.
I spent my first seven
years volunteering at the World Bird Sanctuary’s ETC
(Educational Training Center) doing pretty much anything I was told. Whether it
was cleaning mews, prepping food, or doing whatever projects we had that day, I
was always on it.
For the first 3 years I
was always at the ETC, but when I turned 16 I was brought into a whole new
world. Now able to handle birds, I was getting more into my work as a whole.
Since I was able to do more with bird handling I would tag along with staff
members on trips to feed and care for some of the birds on the exhibit “line”
at the upper site (This is the area that is always open to the public.)
While I was there I was
finally able to interact with the public.
It was something new and amazing to be able to talk to people who
thought what I did was incredible. I now had a whole new appreciation for what
I do. But I wanted to get out more without leaving the ETC, so I volunteered to
work at any special events that appeared on the calendar.
There is World Eagle Day
that I always enjoyed being apart of. It gave me a chance to help out on the
upper site. I got the chance to walk the “line” and answer people’s questions,
and I found that to be one of my favorite things to do. It always made me feel
good to help anyone out or help clarify an “old wives tale” about birds.
Whenever a new event would
come along I would do anything to try and be able to lend a helping hand to the
public. But there was no event quite like Open House. It gave me a chance to be at the ETC and also interact with
the public--working displays, answering questions, and most of all giving
tours. This gave me the chance to share the store of information that I had
learned over the past seven years with guests, and they truly appreciate it.
After seven years of hard
work I now know what it was all for—WBS Bird
Shows that we present at zoos! That is what I have been training for most of my
life--flying birds every day, hearing the “ooos” and “aaahs” from the crowd as
our birds fly over their heads, and being front and center to bring the public
a show like they have never seen before.
Every day I get to meet hundreds of new people and a few old familiar
acquaintances.
I truly feel like the bird
show is where I am meant to be. I
feel it’s what I am meant to do. Now
I know the energy I get from performing a show will never leave me.
Submitted by Ian Wright,
World Bird Sanctuary Milwaukee County Zoo Show Trainer
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