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Youths Develop By Helping Zoo

Tribune photo by JAMIE PILARCZYK

Students in the Lowry Park Zoos Education, Conservation and Community Opportunities Leadership Program get a tour of the manatee exhibit by Virginia Edmonds, assistant curator for the Florida mammals, far left.

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By JAMIE PILARCZYK

jpilarczyk@tampatrib.com

Published: October 15, 2008

TAMPA - Nikki Myers joined the ECCO Leadership Program as a way to meet friends.

The Plant High freshman and her family moved to South Tampa from Iceland a year ago. The fact that ECCO, or Education, Conservation and Community Opportunities, also offered a chance to work with animals at Lowry Park Zoo cemented her decision to enroll in the program.

"It's really interesting," said Myers, 14. "There are a lot of things, like facts about the zoo and people that have come to talk with us, that have impacted my thoughts.

"I've learned a lot about the steps of getting into college and a lot of life skills and, of course, how to handle animals," she said.

Part of the zoo's youth development programs, ECCO is a free, nine-month educational opportunity focusing on animal husbandry, conservation and leadership. Members are asked to attend two 90-minute workshops a week but can come every weekday from 2 to 7 p.m.

The program is housed in the Youth Development Center, 1101 W. Sligh Ave., where students can drop in to do homework on one of the computers, listen to music or take care of the animals - from Herman the pink-tongued skink to Poinsettia the hedgehog.

"I love all the animals. My favorite animal here is Gizmo, an Eastern screech owl," said Ami Green, 16, who is in the GED program at Chamberlain High School. "Through this ECCO, I've actually met and become close with a lot of zookeepers, and I've gotten to know them very well. I'm hoping I will be able to get a job here, and I'll still know them and still be able to talk with them."

ECCO is a steppingstone to the Zoo Crew Explorers internship program. Mary Corinne DeGood, the zoo's youth development programs coordinator, said both programs help youngsters ages 12 to 18 to become civic ambassadors, educating peers and adults about environmental stewardship.

"I'm very pleased with what's going on," said DeGood, who took the helm in February and started ECCO in June. "They feel a sense of belonging here. They feel a sense of ownership."

ZOO-PER OPPORTUNITY

For information on youth development programs at Lowry Park Zoo, contact Mary Corinne DeGood at (813) 935-8552, ext. 479, or mc.degood@lowryparkzoo.com.

Reporter Jamie Pilarczyk can be reached at (813) 259-7661. To view a multimedia presentation on the ECCO program, go to southtampa.tbo.com or centraltampa.tbo.com, Keyword: ECCO.

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