Photo Essay

In this picture is a cycad, which is a type of plant. The reason this is important is because it is by far one of the most interesting plants I've researched throughout my time at the zoo. The thing that I learned about this that most drew my attention was how old this family stretches back. These particular cycads are not any older than 40 years old, but its family stretches back 150 million years ago dating back to prehistoric times. I think this was a good experience for me because my main job was to find information to connect visitors to plants somehow, either by coming up with human uses for it or really impressive statistics.

This particular picture above is interesting to me because the first time I saw this tree I thought it was a dead tree ready to be removed. After spending some time researching I learned that the large clumps at the end of the branches actually contain seeds for the tree. Along with this tree I've learned a lot about other plants and trees through my time spent researching some of the existing plant collections at the zoo. I feel like this has also given me a new appreciation for these plants because a lot of these serve a purpose for humans, and the experience oozed the phrase "looks can be deceiving."

This picture above is one of the bear habitats, but it is also more than that. It is one of the most impacted animals of the browse program. The browse program is an animal enrichment program through the use of plants and trees. For example, in the background of the picture you can see dead trees, those trees are used for the bears entertainment to climb on and do as they please. The browse program also involves cultivating plants for the use of the zoo and other zoos by delivering plant material to other places for food as well. This area is one of the habitats with the most browse material.

Everyday on my way in, I pass through the Warner Administration Building. The inside is a earthen colored, dimly lit series of rooms, but when I step out of it I always see this same sight full of lush greenery. This is a pretty important place to me because almost everything I've had to research during my internship have been in this garden. I've looked into the ferns, the bamboo, and even the small bonsai trees in the center of the lake. The first time I saw this, the idea of "without a good looking plant design the zoo is just animals in cages" came to me.