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So, I don't get customers. I do get visitors on weekends though. Usually all week long I'm out in the field, so I don't really see any visitors. All the techs and biologists have the weekends off, and the interns are here alone to have the visitor "center" open. Our visitor center is a small room, maybe the size of a walk in closet or large bathroom. There are a couple of informational things set up, a few free posters and bookmarks to take, and we have a mile long loop trail. That's really it. It's not really a visitor center, it's just a spot for visitors to get some information. There are 2 port-a-potties outside for visitors, and a couple of picnic tables. We have an interpretive guide outside at the kiosk that people can take on the trail. On weekends the interns present a program that we write ourselves.
Sillyness to me is the questions that I get on weekends. Questions like "Will we see a lot of animals?" or "Are there animals in cages?" or if we are a petting zoo. We are a wildlife refuge. The point of the refuge is that wildlife comes first. Yes, before the visitors. We are here to protect wildlife, and in our spare time (or the interns "spare time") we educate the public as best we can. Also, since we are not a petting zoo I have no idea if you'll see anything besides a chipmunk. Seriously. I walk that trail a lot, and I generally don't see a whole lot of animals besides squirrels and chipmunks. I've seen beavers in the river but they don't have a dam here. There are geese around that you can generally see, and wild turkeys occasionally make an appearance. Kate saw a deer fawn one morning, but I haven't seen a single deer since I got here. There are also some small birds flitting around. I don't know what people are expecting when they ask. I think they are expecting to walk our 1 mile loop trail and see herds of roaming elk or something. Perhaps the scene from The Lion King when all the animals congregate to look at baby Simba. My lackluster list of animals here doesn't really seem to thrill people.
A lady came in today and asked how many animals she would see. After I told her what she might see, she asked what all we had here for visitors. The trail and the area you are standing in? Then she asks if there is stuff for kids to do. I already told you what we offered, I'm not hiding the amusement park I save for the people that I like. The kids can walk the trail and look at our information, and if they get taken at 10 am on weekends, they can take part in a walk.
It's really a minor annoyance, and not even all that annoying. But I get asked that question rather often, and -that's- the annoying part.
Sillyness to me is the questions that I get on weekends. Questions like "Will we see a lot of animals?" or "Are there animals in cages?" or if we are a petting zoo. We are a wildlife refuge. The point of the refuge is that wildlife comes first. Yes, before the visitors. We are here to protect wildlife, and in our spare time (or the interns "spare time") we educate the public as best we can. Also, since we are not a petting zoo I have no idea if you'll see anything besides a chipmunk. Seriously. I walk that trail a lot, and I generally don't see a whole lot of animals besides squirrels and chipmunks. I've seen beavers in the river but they don't have a dam here. There are geese around that you can generally see, and wild turkeys occasionally make an appearance. Kate saw a deer fawn one morning, but I haven't seen a single deer since I got here. There are also some small birds flitting around. I don't know what people are expecting when they ask. I think they are expecting to walk our 1 mile loop trail and see herds of roaming elk or something. Perhaps the scene from The Lion King when all the animals congregate to look at baby Simba. My lackluster list of animals here doesn't really seem to thrill people.
A lady came in today and asked how many animals she would see. After I told her what she might see, she asked what all we had here for visitors. The trail and the area you are standing in? Then she asks if there is stuff for kids to do. I already told you what we offered, I'm not hiding the amusement park I save for the people that I like. The kids can walk the trail and look at our information, and if they get taken at 10 am on weekends, they can take part in a walk.
It's really a minor annoyance, and not even all that annoying. But I get asked that question rather often, and -that's- the annoying part.
