By Amelia Saris, Project Coordinator II
The goal of Kind News magazine is to inspire kids to show empathy towards people and animals and support children’s social and emotional development, including the ability to achieve goals and aspirations. Our “animal career” series encourages kids to think big about how they could make a lifelong impact for animals.
We launched the series in May of 2021 with an interview with entomologist Morgane Merien. Morgane told us about how she discovered her love of bugs as a child while exploring the tropical island territory of New Caledonia near Australia, and shared her adventures on the TV show Bug Hunter!
Our next career spotlight featured dog photographer Kaylee Greer, who got her start taking pictures of animals at shelters to help them get adopted. In her colorful interview, she described how dogs’ spirits guide her work, and how she’s learned to take the dog’s perspective when she’s behind the camera.
When we learned about animal control officer (ACO) Jess Thedinga, we knew we had to tell her story! During quarantine, she created a TikTok account where she posted fun videos of her work in the field. After seeing some of the comments from kids about being wary of ACOs, she was inspired to write a book, Helping Pets Home. The book is a collection of animal rescue and reunion stories written to raise awareness about the role of ACOs in the community and includes tips on how to help lost pets.
In our interview with ethologist Jonathan Balcombe, we were touched by the story of his experience with fishing as a child and how it motivated him to learn about and advocate for fish. It was fascinating to hear about how fish play, solve problems, and live in family groups!
Stay tuned for our September/ October 2022 issue, where we’ll talk to social entrepreneur Alex Lu about how his creative mind and love of dogs helped him launch a very unique business.
Know a child interested in a future career with animals? Have them take our Animal Career Quiz to see what types of jobs might be a good fit!
