Assessment Essay

       Deninson Nature Center and Me:

                                An essay By: Kolton Sebastian

                                        8^th Grade English

                                        2/25/11

                                Pine point school

                              Teacher Mr. Salsich

TS Have you ever wanted to volunteer at a nature center? Well you should because it’s a blast. The past two months I’ve been working at the Deninson Pequot Sepos Nature Center which is a visitor attraction full of wildlife.

TS The first time I saw the Deninson Pequot Sepos Nature Center (hereafter referred to as D.P.N.C) I was very excited. SD There was very nice people that welcomed me right away when I first walked in the doors. CM The Deninson Pequot Nature Center has a good environment with caring people. CM Everybody appreciated me there right from the start. SD The Deninson Pequot Nature Center feels like home to me because I know everybody likes me there. CM The environment there is very warm and cozy. CM Whenever I work there it seemed that I never get interrupted from my work which is very nice and peaceful. SD The animals there are very kind and cuddly. CM Most of the animals are cute and cuddly except for the snakes, I was frightened of the snakes. CM I asked Karla the front desk lady if the animals were ever aggressive and she said no, which made me more comfortable around them. CS Everything was very welcoming at the Deninson Pequot Nature Center right from the start.

        TS There were some difficulties I encountered at the Deninson Pequot Nature center but, they weren’t that bad. SD One of the troubles I encountered there was filling up the bird feeders. CM I had to fill the bird feeders up every 3 days which was every time I went, and when I did fill them up I got dirty because of having to touch the suit. CM Since the bird feeders were so high I would have to place my hands in awkward positions to fill the up which made my hands have blisters and cramps. SD One of the other difficulties I had was being terrified from the snakes. CM Every time I went to go down and help feed some of the animals, the snakes were always right behind me in their cages which I didn’t like at all. CM I was always thinking if the snakes could get out of their cages which concerned me a lot when I was working. SD My last difficulty I faced there was getting distracted from the animals. CM Every time I was doing something I would look around at the animals which distracted me from doing my work.  CM Since I was getting distracted from the animals my I didn’t get that much done as I should have, which made my visits longer than they should have been. CS Even though my difficulties were hard to around of I still managed to get all the work done I was supposed to do.

        TS There are many of great things I’ve done at the Deninson Pequot Nature Center from playing with kids to feeding the animals all the way to helping little kids that are injured.  SD I played a game I made up with two kids named Emily and Fisher, the game was called Big Foot, Little Foot which is the same thing as hide and go seek. CM I played Big Foot, Little Foot with Fisher and Emily for about 30 minutes and they loved it. CM They kept on hugging me and asking me to play again, which we did. SD Another good thing I did was that I fed the owls and hawks that get fed every two weeks. CM The birds needed more mice to eat so Harrison and I went out with our guide to go and feed them. CM The birds were very excited to see me and Harrison because they knew we were coming to feed them so they started to fly around in their cages, which was made out of steel metal and wood. SD My favorite and one of the biggest best things I did was hosting a family and helping their injured daughter. CM The two kids Zack and Angelica were having plenty of fun until Angelica fell on a nail and started to bleed. I noticed that she was in need of a band-aid so I quickly ran upstairs to go and get her one, as I put neo-sporn on her cut and her mom and dad thanked me for helping her, which made me feel really proud and noticed that I did something really good.

        TS My research increased my understanding in many different ways. SD My research increased my knowledge about endangered species which helped me know more about the wild life I was near every day. CM My research also helped me how good the Deninson Pequot Nature Center really is. CM I now understand how many things that the D.N.P.C really goes threw from helping animals to creating a good environment out of little space (trails through the woods). SD After researching I found out how to take care of animals. CM After I found out how to take care of the animals I knew the D.P.N.C was doing a very good job. CM Since I now knew that the Deninson Pequot Nature Center was doing a good job I felt more comfortable being there. SD My research helped me discover what materials you would need to create a nature center. CM After knowing what materials you need, I found out that the D.P.N.C has everything they needed for animal care. CM After finding this out I had full respect towards the Deninson Pequot Nature Center. CS I’m glad that I now know that the Deninson Pequot Nature Center is a really good place for injured animals.

        TS Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird, is just as lonely as Matt the owl that has cataracts disease at the Deninson Pequot Nature Center. SD The blind owl Matt is lonely at the D.P.N.C, just like Boo Radley is in To kill a Mockingbird. CM The blind Barn owl named Matt is always in a small cage by himself almost all day. CM Boo Radley is also lonely stuck in his house all day by himself. SD Boo Radley of Maycomb and matt the owl in Mystic never really get the chance to get out and have fun. CM Boo Radley never wants to come out of his house, even though he can come out. CM Matt at the D.P.N.C doesn’t have a choice, whether he wants to come out or stay in his cage, because his cage is locked. SD Matt’s in the middle of the hallway as you first walk in the doors at the D.P.N.C and, he can NEVER go out of his cage by himself. CM matt is a Barn owl who has cataracts which, is a disease that makes your vision go blank, so this disease never gives him the chance to interact or see other people/animals. CM I feel like Matt is a very lonely bird that gets paid little attention and, never gets to have fun. CS Boo Radley and the blind owl Matt have almost the same themes of loneliness.

        TS Since I’ve been working at my service site I’ve gained more self confidence, and respect. SD Since working with children I’ve learned that you have to stay calm which is a very good way to deal with bad situations. CM There was a little girl named Jenny who was scared of the dark in the theater room so she wouldn’t go in. CM Halfway through the clip she now wanted to go in the theater, but she wanted me to hold her hand which I did, so it made her more comfortable knowing somebody was there with her. SD Working at my site has taught me that little kids can be stressful but you have to deal with them in a kind and gentle way.  I used to get annoyed when a little kid would asked me a question. CM Now if a little boy or girl said something that was incorrect, I would simply calmly tell them they’re wrong and tell them the correct answer. SD I’ve got a lot of respect toward children since I’ve been at my field. CM For the kids who didn’t know what they were looking at, I would respectfully tell them. CM Now I know that little kids make mistakes, but that doesn’t mean they’re not as good and as smart as me. CS these two things have really made me a better person.

        TS The main thing that my experiment at the D.P.N.C changed me about, is that I now care for animals way more than I did when I first came there. SD when I first came to the D.P.N.C I really didn’t care about any of the animals as much as I thought I would. CM When I first visited the D.P.N.C I barely took a look at the animals. CM At first it was almost like nothing took my attention walking into the D.P.N.C’s hallway. SD Now that’s all changed. CM Every time I walk down the hallway now, anything catches my attention. CM Now instead of not wanting to be near the animals, I can’t stop wanting to be near and help them. SD Unfortunately that all changed again. CM Feeding the animals got boring to me after doing it over and over again. CM the weird thing is that even though I love the animals and being with them I can’t stand getting dirty because I have to feed them. These two things have made me a better person because, I now realize that things are going to change and you’re just going to have to deal with them.

        The past two months have taught me many things, like you’ve seen in my essay. this essay reminds me of Atticus, a hard worker, and my essay is precise just like Atticus’s work.