I don’t have a teaching degree. I am a CPR/BLS instructor. But my love is for leading exotic animal classes with live specimens, and I also teach my daughters everything under the sun of the local fauna. I’ve educated about Georgia’s endangered brown bat, bobcats, raccoons, honey bees, hummingbirds, countless snakes – venemous and non venomous, lizards, spiders, newts, alligator snapping turtles, box turtles, various birds, fish (not as easy as it sounds!), possum, skunks, moles, chipmunks, shrews…..anything indigenous to Georgia, I’ve nursed it back to health and educated on it, then released it back into it’s native habitat.
My daughter’s and I have our own capture and release program. We call those Bon Voyage parties. My favorite times are when I see wonder, curiosity, and sheer joy replace fear that was on everybody’s faces when they first came in. By the time classes are over, nearly 100% of those in attendance walk away understanding why those animals exist, and are firmly resolved in preserving them. Those are incredible, fantastic moments for me.