On October 11, 2025, the ELF fellows took a field trip to the Jacksonville Zoo with Dr. Matt Hallett to learn about how zoos are involved in conservation efforts through a behind–the-scenes tour and classroom time with experts in zoo education.
Continue reading to find out about what our 2025 cohort experienced and learned during this fun opportunity.
Behind-the-scenes with giraffes!
To start off the morning, zoo technicians took the fellows behind the elephant enclosure to the back of the giraffe exhibit. There, with leafy branches in hand, the fellows got to get up close and personal with several of the female giraffes housed at the Jacksonville Zoo.
Though skittish at first, the giraffes came to eat the brush held up to them at the fence, using their long tongues to reach around and over the wire to get to their yummy snack. They all have very unique stories, including one giraffe that lost her lower jaw in an accident, leaving her tongue hanging out when she isn’t eating. The fellows had lots of awesome questions for the zoo technicians as it relates to the care and treatment of these beautiful animals.
The fellows got to engage with the zookeepers about their career paths and zoo work in general, with Paige Hughes noting that “going behind-the-scenes at the zoo allowed me to realize how many different educational backgrounds there are working within somewhere like a zoo.”
Conservation signage activity
New changes to the zoo will involve a major overhaul, including new educational signage, some of which has been implemented already.
To explore the function and messaging of conservation signage in zoos, the fellows used a research paper and worksheet written by Dr. Megan Ennes to reflect on what they saw.
Fellow Grace Hooker reflected on the signage activity by saying “the conservation signage assignment gave me a new perspective on just how important signs are for educating the public about endangered species and what zoos are doing to help.” Another fellow, Kay Johnson, considered the difficulty of providing thorough signage, saying “…comprehensive signage is hard to implement everywhere, yet it is important in providing thorough science education to the public.”
Informal education discussion
Following lunch and more independent exploration of the zoo, the fellows gathered at the zoo’s education center to meet with several experts in zoo education programs. Sharon Spencer, an adult education specialist, and Andrew Jacobs, an outreach specialist, facilitated a discussion of environmental stories and how to connect with people’s personal environmental values; this experience provided the fellows with perspective on conservation outreach and how to communicate with people with diverse perspectives and priorities.
Dr. Hallett will continue to mentor the ELF fellows on connecting with wildlife through camera traps. The fellows will meet with him to help analyze the camera trap images to speed up the data management process.
All photos ©Florida Museum/Jeff Gage.
Support for these events was provided by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
If you are interested in supporting the TESI Environmental Leaders Fellowship, please email Sadie Mills at smills@floridamuseum.ufl.edu.
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Learn more about the TESI ELF Program and Cohort for Fall of 2025: