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Zoo InternQuest is a seven-week career exploration program for San Diego County high school juniors and seniors. Students have the unique opportunity to meet professionals working for the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute for Conservation Research, learn about their jobs, and then blog about their experience online. Follow their adventures here on the Zoo’s website!
For the coastal cactus wren project, Mr. Fitch collects cactus pads from cacti fields and then regrows them. Once the pads are repotted, they are replanted in the wren’s native habitat, mainly near Lake Hodges. In time, they will grow big enough to shield the wrens from predators, providing them with a living home. By assisting with the growth of the cacti, he is able to provide the birds with a nesting habitat, while still allowing them to thrive in the wild. His primary area of focus is on the areas around the San Dieguito River Park, as it is a wildlife corridor. That means that it connects mountain habitats with coastal ones. Currently, Mr. Fitch is hoping to build a wildlife corridor from Lake Hodges all the way to Julian, to connect natural habitats to each other and establish more relationships between coastal and mountain species.
Another conservation project Mr. Fitch is working on is with coastal sage scrub restoration, working with a coastal sage, a native plant that covers the areas along the San Dieguito river valley, all the way up to the edge of the San Diego coast. He works with the other people in the project on replacing grasses that aren’t native with plants that are, benefitting the entire surrounding ecosystem.
What can people do to help the Coastal Cactus Wren and other native species? Mr. Fitch’s team always needs help, and volunteers are welcome. Volunteering helps get people involved and educated, besides the providing the physical labor required to transport and plant the cacti. To volunteer, email rfitch@sandiegozoo.org!
Another way to help is by replacing non-native plants with native plants, reducing water consumption caused by plants as well as helping native species interact with their environment. Additionally, Mr. Fitch said that domestic cats, when allowed to roam free, can interfere with natural bird populations. Keeping your cats indoors, or at least putting bells on them, can help maintain natural populations in the wild. San Diego County is a beautiful, diverse area full of wildlife and native plants. As our county becomes more and more developed, human development and activity affects habitats in many ways. Ryan Fitch and the work his team does is crucial to the conservation of San Diego wildlife, and their efforts are the first step to bringing back endangered species, like the coastal cactus wren.
Casey, Conservation Team
Week Five, Fall Session 2016
For the coastal cactus wren project, Mr. Fitch collects cactus pads from cacti fields and then regrows them. Once the pads are repotted, they are replanted in the wren’s native habitat, mainly near Lake Hodges. In time, they will grow big enough to shield the wrens from predators, providing them with a living home. By assisting with the growth of the cacti, he is able to provide the birds with a nesting habitat, while still allowing them to thrive in the wild. His primary area of focus is on the areas around the San Dieguito River Park, as it is a wildlife corridor. That means that it connects mountain habitats with coastal ones. Currently, Mr. Fitch is hoping to build a wildlife corridor from Lake Hodges all the way to Julian, to connect natural habitats to each other and establish more relationships between coastal and mountain species.
Another conservation project Mr. Fitch is working on is with coastal sage scrub restoration, working with a coastal sage, a native plant that covers the areas along the San Dieguito river valley, all the way up to the edge of the San Diego coast. He works with the other people in the project on replacing grasses that aren’t native with plants that are, benefitting the entire surrounding ecosystem.
What can people do to help the Coastal Cactus Wren and other native species? Mr. Fitch’s team always needs help, and volunteers are welcome. Volunteering helps get people involved and educated, besides the providing the physical labor required to transport and plant the cacti. To volunteer, email rfitch@sandiegozoo.org!
Another way to help is by replacing non-native plants with native plants, reducing water consumption caused by plants as well as helping native species interact with their environment. Additionally, Mr. Fitch said that domestic cats, when allowed to roam free, can interfere with natural bird populations. Keeping your cats indoors, or at least putting bells on them, can help maintain natural populations in the wild. San Diego County is a beautiful, diverse area full of wildlife and native plants. As our county becomes more and more developed, human development and activity affects habitats in many ways. Ryan Fitch and the work his team does is crucial to the conservation of San Diego wildlife, and their efforts are the first step to bringing back endangered species, like the coastal cactus wren.
Casey, Conservation Team
Week Five, Fall Session 2016
