It’s time to look back on 2023! Check our blog between Christmas and New Year’s for a variety of stories and memories of 2023 from the staff and volunteers of the Wildlife Center of Virginia.
In my job as Outreach Communications Coordinator at the Wildlife Center of Virginia, there are a wide variety of responsibilities. For those who know me, it goes without saying that my favorite moment of any day is the moment when Marigold the education opossum sticks her nose out of her hutch to eat her daily meal. To avoid writing an essay about Marigold’s nose, I would like to share one of my favorite video creation stories from the past year. Since my job requires a lot of time in front of a screen, I really do savor moments when I get to travel out of the office and interact with members of the public. When filming a video about feeding ducks, I got to do just that: combining the video creation process with direct interaction and education.
In the creation of a video, there are multiple stages of the process and different aspects to enjoy about each of those. When planning the video, you get to dream big and imagine possibilities for ways to convey a meaningful message. When filming, it is time to direct the process to the best of your ability, but also to let go of the outcome because there are many factors out of your control. When editing, you get to pick out the gems and arrange them in a way that the audience will appreciate and learn from. And finally, when sharing the video, you get to hear what people enjoyed and learned and feedback about how to improve. For me, the lessons learned from creating this video can be applied to future projects.
What I enjoyed the most about this video was how it combines humor, education, and community involvement to get the word out about how feeding ducks can be harmful. When asking questions about ducks to random community members at the park, we had no idea what they would say, but the outcome generally reflected what I think most people think about feeding ducks. People care but might need more information about what is most helpful for overall duck well-being. While filming, Alex seamlessly responded with humor and educational messages that helped spread important messages about how to protect ducks in the long run.
This kind of direct interaction with the local community helps all of the messages we are putting out there about wildlife feel a bit more concrete and real: there are small choices that we make every day and those ultimately add up to either harm or benefit our wild neighbors. I am grateful to be contributing to efforts to protect wildlife through sharing educational messages in a digestible way and very much appreciate the caring community that makes it all possible!
– Lauren Glaze, Outreach Communications Coordinator