By Jane Edwards (Taronga Zoo)

It’s the stuff of dreams for most kids: staying at the zoo overnight surrounded by wildlife!

Last Friday night, Taronga Zoo welcomed 35 students as they started their training as Future Endangered Species Scientist (FESS) mentors.

During Science Week these students will lead science workshops throughout the Zoo (for fellow students and the public) about the science behind conserving our wildlife.

The FESS Up sleep over and training exercises were eagerly anticipated by the students and, once they arrived, there wasn’t a moment to spare.

The program began with a ZoosnooZ Sleepover where students heard from scientists about their fascinating conservation work.

This included Taronga’s own conservation programs, such our involvement in a national effort to establish an insurance population for our largest living marsupial carnivore, the Tasmanian Devil, at risk of extinction due a rare cancer. Taronga is also running a vital ‘breed-for-release’ program for an endangered bird species, the Regent Honeyeater.

FESS Up students had the intimate opportunity to experience the zoo at night, spotting some of Taronga’s majestic animals as they commenced their nocturnal behaviours. Students glimpsed the lions resting amongst the savannah grass and the elephants and the giraffes strolling across their paddocks.

With lots to do the next day it was an early 6am start. The students spent the day being trained as science mentors and getting involved in activities that demonstrate scientific methods and concepts. These included field sampling for chytrid, a fungus responsible for threatening many frog species across the globe, and working as Animal Behaviourists to create ethograms (charts) which monitor animal behaviour.

This week mentors will hold workshops throughout the Zoo for schools attending the Science Week program and Zoo visitors are invited to attend on Saturday 22nd August. The expo-style workshops will showcase current best practice in the scientific fields of animal genetics, preservation of endangered species, communication and behaviour, climate change effects, bush regeneration and sustainable living and Indigenous science.

Tags: animal conservation, taronga

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