Mid-project – Charity Insights

Reaching the halfway point

11 August 2016

Now passing the halfway point of my time here at Paignton zoo, I’ve switched to becoming almost completely independent in the work I’m doing. From the start, the general idea was that I would have two weeks of training with the project leader, followed by two/ three weeks of unsupervised work. The overall project itself is now in its third phase. Now that the ‘before’ and ‘during’ data has been collected over the year for the primate’s probiotic treatment it’s time to analyse some of the possible lasting health benefits in the ‘after’ stage. Excitingly, early data analysis is looking good already. For my remaining time here I’ll be continuing to assemble behavioural, faecal and food intake data ready for the end of the project.

With this new independence I’ve had to now create my own timetable, somehow mixing and matching 20 half-hour slots of behavioural observation over each week (I’ve given myself an early finish on Friday, naturally). I also now have to organise myself in the mornings as I weigh out the morning and afternoon food for the day, prepare desiccation pots, collect leftover food from the enclosure and complete faecal scoring. The process can be confusing at times, especially remembering what food is kept where and timing everything correctly in order to catch the food between it being prepared and given out. Encouragingly, I feel like I’m slowly becoming more confident in the work I’m doing here and also learning a lot. My behavioural observation sessions in particular are becoming much easier as I now know what to expect from each of the individual primates, allowing me to record their behaviour consistently and accurately.

I’ve also now been told that my research group has been able to find a post-graduate student to replace me when I leave. This came as really good news as it means that I will no longer need to squish in 3 species worth of work per week in order to finish the project before having to return to London. I’m looking forward to meeting this new student, despite being a little nervous about training them on procedures I’ve only just completely come to grips with myself…

I mentioned in my first blog post how I wanted to practice some photography whilst I’m here. I was also originally planning to record some footage and interviews for a short documentary video but one broken shotgun microphone later the plan had to be scrapped. However, through my supervisor, I have managed to get in contact with the Zoo’s media department and have emailed them a few images for them to hopefully use on their website, so here’s hoping that goes well! As for the near future, I’m hoping to get some even better snaps of the adorable Goeldi monkeys and Emperor Tamarins as I return to working within their enclosures each morning next week.

I’m looking forward to the final stretch of my time here and will be sad to go when the time comes. The entirety of my experience so far has been absolutely wonderful and a great opportunity for me to gain experience whilst enjoying some of the great treasures the south west of England has to offer.

When you get the timing just right….

Samantha Hooker

19 July 2016

I picked the best month to do my internship at Anthony Nolan. (A charity that saves the lives of people with blood cancer or blood disorders). I have now started my third week and last Friday was the annual staff picnic. This is a day where the whole charity comes together (minus vital staff required to keep the charity running) to look at what has been happening over the past year and what the goals are for the coming one. This lead to a gathering of around 300 people in the great hall of London Metropolitan University.

The morning started off with a speech from the CEO. She was very uplifting about what has been achieved over the last year, such as the charity being in the Sunday Times Top 100 not-for-profits to work for and achieving a one-star accreditation in the Sunday Times Best Companies annual ranking. She also was very positive with the goals for the future, ultimately a three-star accreditation and a higher rank.

In the course of the morning there was also a speech from a transplant recipient. Her story really brought home the reason why what Anthony Nolan does is so amazing. Without the bone marrow register she would not have been up there giving that speech.

There was also a Q&A with the Senior management team with questions that ranged from the light-hearted ‘What did you want to be when you grew up?’ to ‘How is Brexit going to impact the company?’. Then there was a chance for all of the different departments to showcase what it is that they do. Most used comedic videos to achieve this, such as filming from a camera strapped to the back of a dog and making it into a silent film. This was great and it showed me that despite the serious work that they do they sure know how to have fun.

After all this was done everybody migrated to Hampstead Heath to have a picnic. Despite having to queue for 20 minutes to get my sandwiches this was a great opportunity to get to know my co-workers a little better and was a very enjoyable experience. If you are reading this blog because you are thinking of doing charity insights I cannot recommend highly enough taking opportunities to socialise as knowing your colleagues makes the whole experience more enjoyable and far less scary.