Today, only sixteen percent of American high school seniors are proficient or have an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. How, then, do we prove to students that STEM subjects are interesting, important to their future, and that they shouldn't be intimidating?
On February 27th a court of appeals in Thailand ruled in favor of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, finding WFFT, Edwin Wiek, and Jansaeng Sangnanork not guilty of illegal wildlife possession and other crimes after the government raided the conservation organization over a ten day period in February, 2012, confiscating ninety-nine animals in the process.
Each morning Wassana, Lotus, and Pang Dow, aka the Gossip Girls, strolled past us on their way to eat the banana feast we had gathered for them. When these three lovely ladies get together there is much squeaking and trumpeting because, like all close girlfriends, they enjoying sharing secrets, laughing, and doing a bit of gossiping while they eat a great meal together.
Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary founder Katherine Connor could best be described as a peaceful protester utilizing non-violent resistance, diplomacy, love, and kindness as her weapons of choice. She sees the good in people even as she describes the horrors of the abuses she has witnessed by humans towards elephants throughout the country.
Our days and nights at BLES were long and relaxed, yet went by much too quickly. It's a lifestyle that is hard not to envy despite all the very hard behind-the-scenes work required to run an elephant sanctuary. Negotiating rescues, acquiring land, providing food and medical care, and the constant fundraising is a tremendous amount of work; yet Katherine has established a peaceful oasis that permeates love and hope throughout.
There's been a baby boom at Elephant Nature Park in the past year and you'd be hard pressed to come up with anything cuter than a baby elephant - except maybe three baby elephants!
Lek Chailert has earned global respect for her tireless work rescuing abused elephants and providing them with a life free of abuse. She's collaborated on laws that would provide them protections, has won international awards, and been featured in articles and documentaries seen around the world. Despite the accolades, in her own country she's been persecuted, threatened, ridiculed, raided, disowned by her own family, and even forced to go into exile for a period of time. But she has never given up fighting for her beliefs.
On our first morning in Chiang Mai we stepped outside our hotel in the Old City onto Ratchadamnoen Road with a map in hand but really with the intent to just allow our feet and eyes to lead us. One block later we came to our first wat.
"If anyone wants to know what elephants are like, they are like people only more so." -Pierre Corneille.
In just one short week we will finally be on our way to Thailand. This trip is all about elephants, and we'll be spending our time volunteering at two different sanctuaries where captive elephants rescued from lives filled with hard labor and mental and physical abuse have an opportunity to spend their days in as natural a state as possible.
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