Author: ucdtws

Chapter Events, TWS Events

Discover Your Niche Conference 2020

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UPDATE: In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in accordance with directives from both UC Davis and the national level of The Wildlife Society, it is with great regret that we have cancelled this year’s Discover Your Niche conference. In these difficult times, we encourage you to place the utmost importance on the health of yourself and others. Please stay home as much as possible and practice responsible physical distancing in public spaces.

The Wildlife Society at UC Davis is proud to present the second annual Discover Your Niche Conference, our flagship event for wildlife professional development. Whether you’re interested in research, government, or private sector work, Discover Your Niche has the resources and opportunities for you!

We urge students and early professionals to take this amazing opportunity and learn more about the professional realm of wildlife and conservation. Join us on Saturday, May 2nd, 2020 for a day packed with workshops, presentations, and networking opportunities to meet people with similar career and research interests!

Don’t miss out on this once-a-year opportunity to jumpstart your wildlife career!

Register HERE by March 20th!

The registration fee includes a continental breakfast and catered lunch, exclusive conference merchandise, and the annual opportunity to expand your professional horizons!

Chapter Events, TWS Events

2020 Student-Professional Networking Mixer

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Hey Wildlifers! Our annual Student-Professional Networking Mixer will be happening on February 24th from 6-8pm at Steve’s Pizza. This is a great opportunity for anyone that wants to “speed-date” with professionals from the wildlife and environmental field, gain experience networking, and eat appetizers provided by TWS! You’ll have the opportunity to have conversations with and direct questions to every professional at the event.

The event is free to all members that have paid dues, other students interested should pre-pay $5 through venmo (@thewildlifesocietyatucd), or pay cash in person. Pizza and refreshments will be provided!

If interested, please RSVP by February 20th using this form. If you have any questions, email Breezy (blscranton@ucdavis.edu). We look forward to seeing you!

TWS Events

What a Wild Year!

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Happy New Year, Wildlifers! We hope everyone had a restful and rejuvenating winter break, and we look forward to seeing old and new faces at all the events we’ll be hosting this quarter and beyond.

Before we move on to 2020, let’s take a brief look back on our events from Fall 2019.

September 28 – TWS Lake Day Social
The second annual TWS Lake Day Social was the perfect way to kick off a new school year! TWS members new and old gathered together on the shores of Lake Berryessa for an opportunity to meet fellow members, as well as some of this year’s club officers.
October 1 – Freshman Wildlife Bucket List
The Freshman Wildlife Bucket List was the Wildlife Society’s way of welcoming new students to UC Davis. We made a fun, group craft and came up with some animal-themed bucket lists, then we went around campus to check some items off our lists.
October 12 – PreetiRang Sanctuary
We had the opportunity to visit the PreetiRang Sanctuary, where injured and unwanted animals are able to find a safe home. Not only did we tour the sanctuary grounds and learn about livestock management, we had the opportunity to groom cows, feed goats, and carry chickens.
October 18 – Trivia Night
We’ll take Wildlife for 500, Alex! At our first Trivia Night of the year, we worked together to answer trivia questions about wildlife, conservation, and ecology. Questions were answered, prizes were won, and fun was had.
October 25 – Bucks for Ducks
We gave our all volunteering at the Yolo Basin Foundation’s annual Bucks for Ducks fundraiser gala! We assisted with event setup, tear down, and kitchen staffing to
support local environmental education and wetland stewardship.
November 2 – Nature Hike at King-Swett Ranches
We embarked on a docent-guided nature hike at King-Swett Ranches to learn more about local wildlife and enjoy the changing of seasons. The scenery was breathtaking, and so was the exercise!
November 9 – Auto Tour at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge
We drove through the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge to see the flocks of migrating waterfowl that visit these wetlands and grasslands every year. We took lots of pictures and learned about the different species that pass through the refuge.
November 16 – Lindsay Wildlife Experience
At the Lindsay Wildlife Experience and Animal Hospital, we encountered non-releasable wildlife from native California species. We got to see the animal ambassadors’ behavior training in action and had a Q&A session with their trainers.
November 23 – Birding with the Sac-Shasta Chapter
Our last event of the quarter gave members of TWS at UC Davis a chance to meet members from other chapters on a birding trip at the Cosumnes River Preserve! Not only did we meet wildlife professionals, we met migrating waterfowl, too.

It was a pleasure meeting our new members and greeting our old ones this past fall, and we hope to see you in 2020!

Chapter Events, TWS Events

Nimbus Fish Hatchery Tour Hosted by Thomas Grossman

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On Saturday February 16, fish enthusiasts from both AFS and TWS took a trip out to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery! There we learned about the life cycle of Chinook salmon and Steelhead trout, witnessed the migration of spawning Steelhead, learned about the hatchery process, and even got to feed juvenile fish! Thank you to the members of AFS for sharing all of the amazing fish facts and assisting in putting this event together.

-Thomas Grossman, Chapter Representative

Chapter Events, TWS Events

Ano Nuevo Trip Hosted by Christian Formaini

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On Sunday February 24, 2019 our  members were given a guided tour of the mating grounds of the elephant seals. Año Nuevo State Park was a beautiful site with much to see. We were able to hike into their habitat and get within feet of adults seals and pups. It was amazing to be able to get so close to the seals and watch them interact with one another. They have an amazing hierarchical system and it was extremely interesting getting to watch their interactions!
-Christian Formaini, External Public Relations Coordinator
Chapter Events, TWS Events

Sunset Viewing with TWS Hosted by Beverley Loo

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On January 21, 2019, our members caught a sunset at the top of Hutchison Parking Structure right on campus! It was a great way to end a relaxing three-day weekend and start our short week of school. There were quite a lot of people also enjoying the evening; the more the merrier! Many of us thought the sky looked prettier on the side facing away from the actual sunset because there seemed to be an ombre affect; turning the sky from blue to pink. If you’re interested in seeing more events like this please let the officers in your student chapter know!

– Beverley Loo, Internal Public Relations Coordinator

Chapter Events, TWS Events

Volunteering at the Winters Salmon Festival Hosted by Raven Barbera

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On Saturday, November 3rd, 2018 TWS members attended the Winters Salmon Festival! This event is a celebration of the return of Chinook salmon to Putah Creek for fall spawning. MVIMG_20181103_140422 The Winters community comes together to educate on salmon biology and bring awareness to environmental topics to encourage public involvement in conservation. Children and families happily visit the many educational booths and overall it is an exciting and fun-filled afternoon!

Our TWS members volunteered to help with the guided tours of Putah Creek; we shared some general salmon biology facts and were able to chat with people with a wide variety of interest and knowledge in conservation. Although we did not see any salmon swimming up the creek, we did have the chance to see the effects of the current restoration projects that are improving the Putah Creek habitat. TWS plans to work with the Putah Creek Council to help with wildlife monitoring to track the progress of the restoration projects — stay tuned for more information on our monitoring project! 20181103_150358(0)

Other members participated in the ever important job of wearing salmon costumes to bring fun to the event! The costumes definitely brought a smile to the faces of all who encountered them and honestly we could hardly contain our own laughter as well! It was so much fun seeing children excited about salmon and our members had a great time too!

Thanks to all of the members who joined us at the Salmon Festival!

-Raven Barbera, Design Coordinator

Chapter Events

Lake Day Social Hosted by Lindsey Arkangel

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We held our first TWS social on October 6, 2018. The event was opened up to members of both The Wildlife Society (TWS) and the UCD Environmental Club in which 41 people, members and officers combined, attended. We spent the morning at a picnic site in Lake Berryessa. We set up blankets for a small breakfast-styled picnic and started off the social with a few ice breakers to get members to meet each other and their fellow officers. Afterwards, we broke up into where some members went birding, while others continued participating in ice breakers, playing board games, hammocking, and/or hanging out at the lake.

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Something I really liked about the event was its location. I think I would like to continue having outdoor socials, as not only does it serve as a nice little nature-escape away from Davis, but it also allows members to participate in a variety of activities that would not be possible or not be as fun/inclusive in a more indoor/classroom setting. More than anything though, my favorite part from this Lake Day Social were our members. I spoke to many of them throughout the event and got to know the four that were in my carpool quite well. They are all such brilliant, kind hearted people and I am incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to get to know them. I look forward to seeing their faces throughout the year!

-Lindsey Arkangel, Events Coordinator

Summer Highlights from our Officers, Uncategorized

Summer Highlights: Lindsey Archangel

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For the first half of my summer I stayed in Davis to take NPB101 and CMN001 while continuing my research internship and job. Then during the second half of my summer, I had the incredible opportunity to travel around Poland with my roommate and some new friends to learn about all things equine. We spent about two and a half weeks traveling from one equine facility to another to learn about different management practices and assess the welfare of individual horses at these facilities. Also, while we were in Europe my roommate and I were able to plan a small trip beforehand to the Netherlands, Germany, and Czech Republic. Overall it has been an incredible summer and I am excited to see what is in store for the rest of the year!

Summer Highlights from our Officers

Summer Highlights: Breezy Scranton

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This past summer I went on a two-week adventure “down under” to volunteer at the Walkabout Wildlife Park in Calga Springs outside Sydney, Australia. I studied zoology, wildlife care, and zoo veterinary medicine with koalas, kangaroos, echidnas, wallabies, and all kinds of other Australian wildlife. We also went to Sydney for a day trip to a nearby beach town, explored aboriginal sites in the bush, and went behind the scenes at Targona Zoo. Some of the activities we did at the Wildlife Park included assisting in treatment rounds with Australian wildlife, performing health checks kangaroos and koalas, examining pythons and echidnas, learning to handle and assess possums and bandicoots, creating enrichments for everyone from dingos to cockatoos, and performing veterinary labs such as marsupial necropsies.

After I got back from Australia, I worked at my local small animal veterinary clinic as a Veterinary Assistant. I got to do anal gland expressions, ear flushes, injections, fluid therapy, blood draws, and so much more! I especially enjoyed assisting the veterinarians’ surgeries consisting of eye enucleations, mass removals, dentals, amputations, spays, and neuters! Working with all of these various species this summer made me really excited to become a veterinarian one day!