Age:
16
Sponsor:
Wildlife Conservation Society, Prospect Park Zoo
School:
Brooklyn Acedemy for Science and the Enviroment
City:
Brooklyn, New York
Biography:
Hi my name is Rashaad Roberts. I currently attend the Brooklyn Academy for
Science and the Environment high school (B.A.S.E) for short. I like BASE because it s so diverse and there are so many different cultures and so many different personalities and styles. My school contains only 413 students, but that way you can formulate bonds with teachers and the principal (Ms. Peterson).Our school is unique because we get a lot of support from Prospect Park and Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) Also we get to go there for free!
I come from the typical home with my mom, my older sister Danielle, my younger brother Maalik and me Rashaad in the middle. I love my family because through thick and thin they have been there for me. Both of my parents were born on the Island of Grenada which is where they also grew up. My family, though small, works together to get things done. For example if my brother needed my help doing his home work we all use our strengths to get it done, sort of like a super family.
One thing I like to do in my spare time is go for long walks around Brooklyn.
It is very fun because one day you could go to the park and relax or some days you could go to the Prospect Park Zoo and watch the seal lions play. Walking in Brooklyn is relaxing because not only do you see all types of people, but there are so many stores you can go to like the bodegas were you can buy things like sandwiches and juice, but also go to Kings Plaza mall which is just your typical mall where you can go shopping for games, clothes etc.
Since I was a young child I have always loved animals especially snakes, turtles, and frogs. Every time I would go and visit my grandmother in Florida I would attempt to catch things like tree frogs and turtles. Now that I am older I am now thinking about seeking a career in herpetology which is the biology of reptiles and amphibians. One reason I believe that this is the right career for me is because even watching television I would see people like Jeff Corwin and Steve Irwin catching and talking about the animals that they encountered.
One of the fun things that I have done this summer was work for the Nature Conservancy. This was exciting because not only did I have a chance to get away from my family (no harm intended), but I was able to leave the city of Brooklyn for an entire month! I gained experience in building steps on trails and marking out trails and keeping people off the beach to protect the Piping Plover. The Nature Conservancy staff member even taught me how to surf which, by the way, takes lots of practice. I had the time of my life but I also learned that it takes hard work to get from point A to point B.
I am looking forward to this experience and can t wait to meet all of you.
Sunday, October 8, 2006
4:06 PM
Final Journal Entry
This experence for me has been so fun and exciting that if I had the ability to reverse time I would do it in an instant not just to meet all of my wonderful new Friends or extended family but to re-experence all of the jokes and the time we spent together. This whole trip has made me a better person because I have experenced some things that some people will never be able to see or hear orsmell. The most fun part of this trip was meeting the loving people that acted like myfamily, and of course seeing the polar bears. One thing that I will always leave with is the fact that I am now an ambassador of the artic which means that I can pass on my knowledge to others about what I learned.
Sunday, October 8, 2006
4:06 PM
Final Journal Entry
This experence for me has been so fun and exciting that if I had the ability to reverse time I would do it in an instant not just to meet all of my wonderful new Friends or extended family but to re-experence all of the jokes and the time we spent together. This whole trip has made me a better person because I have experenced some things that some people will never be able to see or hear orsmell. The most fun part of this trip was meeting the loving people that acted like myfamily, and of course seeing the polar bears. One thing that I will always leave with is the fact that I am now an ambassador of the artic which means that I can pass on my knowledge to others about what I learned.
Friday, October 6, 2006
5:41 PM
Journal Entry 8
Today the day started as every day on the tundra starts off with Robert singing oh what a beautiful morning . This time for breakfast we had bacon for protein and French toast for the sweetness of the syrup this breakfast was good because in the tundra it is cold and the bacon and toast was hot. You also had the choice of taking apple or orange juice which by the way taste very good. After hearing Robert explain what we were going to do for the day. The highlight of my day was finding out that I was goingto experience a maternal den of a real polar bear of course there was no polar bear in the den.
One other highlight of this special day was going on my first helicopter ride which was not as bad I thought the ride was smooth and fast but naturally I fell asleep during the ride. After we got to our destination I tried to run to meet up with the other people in my group and fell flat on my face, surprisingly the fall was soft due to the deer moss. The soft ground gave me an idea to tackle people
onto the ground. Later when we returned to tundra buggy lodge had lunch we talked about what we were going to do once we got home.
Thursday, October 5, 2006
10:16 PM
Journal Entry 7
Today the day started with Robert singin "oh what a beautiful morning ". Soon after that "beautiful" awaking I soon got up to brush my teeth and wash my face. Even though the water was colder than ice on the tundra buggy. For breakfast today we had eggs with bacon and bread, we also had the chance to
make hot chocolate. Today we did not go out on the road buggy but we did see a polar bear it even stood on its hind legs and put its paws on the side of the buggy.It was very excitnig though I wish I had A high tech camera like most of the students on the expedition. Today the highlight of my day was doing the Q & A with the Mapleton elementary school because seeing the satisfaction on there faces after answering all of there questions was such a
great feeling.
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
4:26 PM
Journal Entry 6
Today was fun because as soon as breakfast started I new that the day was going to go smoothly. For breakfast today we had fluffy pancakes and mouth watering Sausages that of course I had two serving of both pancakes and sausages. After breakfast we entered the traveling tundra buggy that was like always was fun because in bounces. Five minutes on the road we started to see polar bears mainly the same mother and cubs that we saw yesterday. Outside on the balcony the temperature was like five degrees Celsius which converts to like fifty degrees Fahrenheit. During lunch we saw a big male that was not to close to the mother and the cubs but was not taking any risks. This time for lunch we had a wonderful chicken soup that contained carrots, corn, onions, and a whole bunch of good stuff that tasted great. We also had a chance of making sammys (sandwiches) and eating muffins which also taste great.
While on the buggy we did presentation which was exciting because we got to laugh and smile, have A good time. during the presentations we learned about the effect of green house gases on sea ice, the effect of global warming on the bug population and many other things. The highlight of my day would have to be lunch because usually while on the road we would have sandwiches alone but today we also had soup.
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
6:54 PM
Journal Entry 5
Today the highlight of my day was seenig my very first polar bear in the wild. This was so exciting even though the bear was not doing anything it was still fun to see what or how the bear would react.
On the trail we also saw the ptarmigan which is a type of bird that lives in the arctic, not only did we see bears and and birds but we also saw arctic hares and fox.
Even though the ride was full of bumps it was wearth it because when we got home and starting to eat dinner we saw A mother and
her two cubs the cubs were very excited to see us they came up to the buggy and just was not leaving.
Monday, October 2, 2006
8:57 PM
Journal entry 4
Today the hightlight of my day was going on the tour of churchill and seeing the all of the posible bear human contact sights. I am looking foward to going to the tundra buggis tomorrow because we might be able to see some live polar bears in there natural enviroment. Today at dinner we went to the same place as yesterday same seats. I cant wait to see what the tundra buggi will look like for example how big it is
or how long it is.
Sunday, October 1, 2006
4:05 PM
Journal entry 3
today the hightlight of my day was leaving the hotel and flying to churchill.
the flight was two hours and ten minutes, this flight was entering because it wuuld be the first time I have been in a plane with a propellor that was cool.
durring the flight I was mainly listening to music on my friends ipod. As soon as we arived in churchill there was a bus wating for us at the air port ready to take us to the hotel were we will stay. One thing I am looking forward to along my stay would be the food that we will be eating.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
6:22 PM
Journal entry 2
Today the hightlight of my day was going to the zoo and seeing all of nthe diffirent types of animals.My favorite were the turtles(cooters and red eared sliders)this was fun because I have hopes of being a herpetologist one day. O ne thing that we did thatWas exciting was seeing the polar bear ( dibbi) who is 39 years old.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
6:01 PM
Journal Entry 1
Hello this is the first day being in the hotel it was fun because I got to meet new friends. The hightlight of my day was getting to know everyone, but what I liked the most was the food. The food is unique, not what I am used to at home. At dinner we
had wild rice, roast pork, fish and a whole other stuff. After dinner we watched the
movie just friend. Soon after I retired to the comfort of my big fluffy bed in which I
was drowned in pillows.
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