Third day at externship!!!Today at the farm was a little different than most, it was a day called Tali and friends. this consisted of me meeting them at a house full of kids and parents, we all met outside in the backyard and set it up for the kids. This meant laying down a tarp and a sheet and then putting out rolled up towels for each kid to put on their lap. (prevents poop or pee on clothes). The kids are very young which means they always want to be moving around, this makes our job a little more tricky as we have to pay extra attention when the children are holding the animals to make sure they don't hurt the animals or the animals get away. Tali who is also my mentor then gets the children's attention and educates them on animals and tells them the basics of what Tevaland does. Then it was time for the animals to come out, this is enrichment for the animals and a calming mechanism for the children and the parents. The animals that came with us today were baby bunnies, a full grown bunny with a broken back, baby chicks, two ratios (AKA long bunnies) we call them long bunnies so the parents and the kids don't put the "gross" rat stereotype in their minds. We also brought a blind duck with a broken neck. The kids got to participate in many activities such as brushing the bunnies, feeding the rats, helping the baby chicks fly and so much more. Reflection for todayThe place I am interning at is pretty straight forward, the only question I had was where the animals came from, and if they came from all over... They come from a lot of places and are given up by people who can not take care of their animals. High tech high schools do a great job of teaching the kids to do project based learning and hands on learning. So working on a farm I have the perfect prior experience through my school. My daily tasks change everyday but whatever I am doing is a blast and there is always love to give even if the farm chores are done for that day. It's really interesting getting to know the animals on a personal level and how they completely adjust to you being there everyday, in a way they open up to you. It's also crazy to learn the back stories of the animals and the lengths this farm does to accommodate the animals. Like I've said the purpose of this farm is to rescue animals that aren't in the best situations and rehabilitate them, if they cannot be set free into the wild then they will have a forever home on the farm for sure. I am really learning how to multitask and use my time management skills better, because there is only a certain amount of time to feed, clean, give water to and love on the animals, I am really learning how to do more than one thing at a time but more importantly how to do it well.
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Makenna albanoMy name is Makenna Albano and I am a senior at High Tech High International, I am attending Colorado State University in the fall and I am majoring in animal science. I have a lot of experience with animals but not as much with larger animals and farm animals. For my senior year externship I chose to fly to New York and work on a farm that rescues and rehabilitates all kinds of animals. I am very excited to get the farm animal experience, at this farm they have all kinds of animals such as goats, horses,bunnies, cats, chickens, pigs, rats, ferrets and more!!! |