what did I do?
where it all began.First off, my name is Caitlynn Turner, and this my adventure. It all started the summer of 2008 when I got a spot in the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden's VolunTeen Program at the age of 13. After three summers, they started a new teen program called T.R.I.B.E. (Teen Recruits Inspiring By Example). T.R.I.B.E. has different tiers, so I worked my way up to Junior Zookeeper, assisting the Children's Zoo staff. The summer of 2013, I aged out of the teen program, but continued to help the Children's Zoo staff as an adult volunteer. It was during my time as a volunteer that I saw an article in the zoo's magazine about Polar Bears International's (PBI) Teen Leadership Camp. The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is one of PBI's Arctic Ambassador Centers, meaning they work with PBI to spread the word about climate change. I read about how the zoo was going to send a teen to study polar bears and climate change on a trip with PBI and automatically contacted the person responsible for the article. She told me that unfortunately, they already had someone chosen for that year, but if I wanted a chance to be chosen in the future I would need to do more than volunteer. I proceeded to ask what that was, and she responded "Project Polar Bear".
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project polar bear: Round oneProject Polar Bear is a bi-national contest where teams of teens work on projects for roughly a four month time span. These projects are designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions with the bears in mind. Teams are also required to keep an up-to-date blog during their project. I immediately grabbed a friend, Morgan Mosley, and together we formed Team Impact. The project we decided on had three different parts. First, we had people pledge to adjust there thermostats by two degrees. Second, we planted little tree saplings all around our school's practice soccer field. Lastly, we held a milk carton recycling trial at school to prove that it can be done and to promote recycling. Once you complete your project, teams must write a detailed report about what you did and explain how it reduced carbon dioxide emissions. Overall, our project placed third at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden's 2010 Regional Contest.
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PBI Teen leadership camp.I remember getting the call, I was going to be the second teen ever to go to PBI's Teen Leadership Camp and represent the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. It was a dream come true. The project may not have come in first place, but I had showed initiative and participated in Project Polar Bear. In October of 2011, I traveled to Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, which is also known as the polar bear capital of the world. Myself and fourteen other girls from all over the U.S. and Canada spent a week out on the tundra. During the course of the week we stayed on what is called the Tundra Buggy Lodge, and together we took the "No Shower Challenge" to conserve water and reduce our carbon footprints during the trip. We spoke with polar bear biologist Dr. Steve Amstrup, learned about climate change and how to answer questions regarding the subject, and made actions plans to carry out once we returned home. Not to mention we saw a total of thirteen polar bears during the trip, and other wildlife as well. The experience was life-changing, I made amazing friends, and saw an animal whose future is dependent on us. I never had a favorite animal because I could never choose, but the polar bears stole a place in my heart during this trip. I knew that once I returned home I was going to compete in Project Polar Bear one more time as part of my action plan. When I was in Churchill, I blogged for the Cincinnati Zoo so everyone could read about my trip. You can access the zoo's blog here, and you'll be under the PBI category. My blogs will be farther back, so just scroll to the bottom of the page and click "previous entries".
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want to buy a bag?As part of the project, Team Impact also made an online store through Etsy called "Repurpose for Impact" to sell our bags. I still make bags in my free time, and if you would like to check them out or purchase one just click the button below!
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Project polar bear: round twoAfter returning home from Canada, my plan was to once again enter a team in Project Polar Bear. Myself along with Brittany Getz and Samantha Tibbs, formed a team and stuck with the name Team Impact. This time, instead of a project with multiple parts, we wanted to focus on one main thing. One day my mom (who was our project mentor) was throwing away a pet food bag, but wondered what else we could do with it besides putting it in the trash. Then came the idea to turn pet food bags into upcycled grocery totes. It was brilliant. These bags are non-biodegradable because they are made of polypropylene, so instead of sitting in landfills for possibly centuries, why not reuse them? So we started by collecting bags from the Cincinnati Zoo, local community centers, our high school, friends, and family members. My basement became a mini bag production line and storage unit. Then, we attended various events and craft shows selling our totes for $10. The craft shows and events we went to were crucial because they allowed us to share the plight of the polar bear and not only the importance of recycling, but buying recycled products as well with out customers. When someone purchased a bag, we also asked for their email address so later we could send them thank you using PBI's polar bear e-cards. The money Team Impact made from selling the bags was to go toward the purchase of trees that were to be planted in our local community park. In order to make this happen, the team requested a meeting with the Aurora City Park Board. We discussed our project with them and even showed them a few sample bags. They agreed to let us plant the trees, and even offered to plant them for us. We ended up collecting enough money to buy a second round of trees, but these trees were plants at the new Aurora Soccer Fields. To commemorate the project, we each planted a tree in our yards as well. In the end we sold 157 totes, and planted 15 trees. After completing our 21 page final report, we estimated that our project reduced a total of 138,558.48 pounds of carbon dioxide. Our project won first place in the Cincinnati Zoo's 2011 Regional Contest, and it placed third nationally in PBI's 2011 Project Polar Bear Contest.
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Impact in san Diego.Since we placed third nationally in PBI's 2011 Project Polar Bear Contest, our prize was a trip to San Diego, California to go behind-the-scenes at the world-famous San Diego Zoo, and Sea World San Diego. We also attended a parade and fair in honor of Earth Day. This trip became more than a prize to me though. Up until this point I had been set on my career path, ever since I was a little, I wanted to be a veterinarian. I never wanted to work with cats and dogs though, I wanted to be a zoo vet. It was during my time in San Diego that I realized I wanted to care for animals, but in a different way. I didn't want to heal the sick, I wanted to care for the healthy. I also realized my passion for educating people and telling them about the animals I love. So I switched gears, not to something totally new, but different than I had always imagined. I don't know exactly where I will end up, whether it be zookeeping or the zoo education department, but whatever it is I will be happy. My parents always told me, do what you love and you will never work a day in your life.
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speaking on behalf of the bears.Outside of volunteering at the zoo and participating in Project Polar Bear, I have had the opportunity to speak at different places and events. The pictures on the left are from when I spoke to groups of kids from the Boys & Girls Club for Coca-Cola's Artic Home Campaign. The pictures on the right are from when I spoke to 120 fourth graders about how they can help polar bears. I've also spoken at my local Lion's Club chapter, to a Girl Scout troop, and others. Each time I speak, I am reassured because I realize that there are adults and kids that do care and want to help. So, whenever there is a chance for me to let people know about the bears and climate change, I take it. Hopefully, I'll have more opportunities in the future.
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You must be the change you wish to see in the world. -Gandhi