We got up bright and early to head to the Brookfield Zoo for Millennium Development Goal #7 today and despite a chaotic start to the morning we got there in one piece and started off with a trip to do the dolphin part of the zoo. We had a few speeches from managers of the zoo and other organizations that work with the zoo and Girl Scouts. Then we saw a modified dolphin show where they did "tricks" that help with their health like being in the position to get blood drawn or an ultrasound.
We separated into patrols and had sessions on climate change, water, and deforestation. The first one I went to was about climate change and it was pretty interesting. It seemed a lot like the kind of things I learned about in biology so it was a bit of a review, but it seemed like the other girls and chaperones learned a lot about climate change and global warming. Then we went into the water session where girls had a bucket of water that represented all of the water in the world and it was slowly divided out to show how much saltwater, freshwater, and potable water is in the world. There was then another seminar where we learned about a website called mywaterfootprint.org where you can calculate how much water you use in a day. I will definitely be checking that out when I get home.
We had a bit of time to explore the zoo before lunch so we went and saw the monkeys and the rain forest exhibits which were very interesting. We had lunch next and it was an All American Picnic aka hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, beans, Girl Scout cookie, pop, ice cream, and watermelon.
It was very...American. :)
We had a session about deforestation and big cats and the palm oil crisis and orangutans. It was definitely my favourite part of the zoo trip. We learned about some of the symbols that are used to show what products do not hurt the habitats of animals. I will be looking into the use of palm oil in foods and products I use and hopefully reduce how much I use or only use certified palm oil that does not destroy habitat for orangutans.
When we got back from the zoo we had some free time to do some shopping and looking around so we did that for a bit right before our boat cruise/tour of Chicago. I am so happy we did that because I saw some awesome sights and also got a few decent photos (despite the fact I had to use my iPod because I am an idiot and forgot my camera at home.)
Overall it is was a great day- I had a lot of fun and learned a lot too! I am looking forward to the take action projects tomorrow and I will never be able to say thank you enough for asking me to be the chaperone on this amazing trip!
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