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Bee Lilyjones's avatar

Yes, immersive, what Stacy said.

While you no longer work as a zookeeper, Amanda, your writing gets me thinking about the many hats a zookeeper must wear, the many roles a zoo has in education, conservation. Gets me thinking of how we understand and must play our role as stewards of this fragile planet.

Many of us still feel uncomfortable around the subject of zoos, even though we're all that much better educated, these days, around conservation and, of course, zoos have had to evolve over the years.

We touched on something the other day when we were chatting about the vast resources that giant pandas consume. Other forest species perhaps don't receive the same conservation attention. Anyway, your piece here has got me thinking again about how we value nature. And do we conserve what moves some of us (cute-looking pandas) or what sustains all of us? (soil, bacteria, fungi...)

Thank you for another great piece, Amanda.

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Amanda C. Sandos's avatar

Oooh! My job here is done. This is exactly what I want. Getting people to think, and begin asking the hard questions like what is most important and how to prioritize conservation efforts. Most people won’t think or act beyond what they themselves can do each day, and this is also great. I’m not minimizing that. But the world needs more peopls to think deeper and act bigger and move our species as a whole towards large changes in the way we use and overuse the planet. Thanks for reading and being a deep thinker and a writer educating others about the need for said changes!

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Stacy Boone's avatar

I love how research begins "here" (as an example) and waggles, turns, genuflects on itself and finishes "there." An immersive essay. We can each do a small thing, just pick one thing to make a difference.

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Amanda C. Sandos's avatar

Yes! Exactly that. I remind myself of that almost every day when I start to let the overwhelming state of things get me down again. Every act of kindness counts. Thanks for reading!

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Amy Standridge's avatar

The greatest unofficial food group - caffeine. Bam! I rarely ever think of deforestation in my daily life. I'm going to check my coffee brand. Looks like it's a good choice - Lifeboost. It's shade-grown and hand-picked in Nicaragua. I use an aeropress most mornings. Thanks, Amanda.

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Amanda C. Sandos's avatar

Yay for good coffee buying habits. That is awesome.

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Robin Yaklin's avatar

No matter how small...let's do our part!

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Cyndi Lee's avatar

Amanda, this is such a good piece! And I so appreciate you educating all of us on the rainforest. I learned a lot!

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Amanda C. Sandos's avatar

Yay! My job here is done. So appreciate you being here. I miss you Cyndi!

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Julie Snider's avatar

Thank you, Amanda, for letting Emeril plunge you into the world of the rainforest and for taking us along with you. Your sensitive portrayal of this bird and of the vast importance of the resources that originate in Emeril's homeland really help this essay land.

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Amanda C. Sandos's avatar

Thanks. I so appreciate you reading. I have family here this week. They leave today and I’m looking forward to catching up on all my reading this evening.

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Julie Snider's avatar

Ah…an empty nest and a time to rest!

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