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February 10, 2014

Should USEE Adopt an Office Pet?



I have an idea that I would like to share... 

Josh, Carolyn, and I were brainstorming ways to spark people’s interest in USEE and environmental education, particularly during outreach and tabling events. We were trying to think of ways to attract people to our organization’s table and get them interested in our projects, programs, and environmental education in general.

The idea hit me…


USEE should adopt an office pet!


Think of the animal as a mascot that would assist USEE in exciting people about environmental education in Utah.

We would have to choose the right animal for USEE: one that is non-controlled, native to Utah, easy and inexpensive to care for, happy in domesticated living situations, comfortable around groups of people, easy to transport, and easy to adopt/find.



USEE would love to hear from you. Is this a good idea? Is this a bad idea? What type of animal would you recommend? We could always consider alternatives to using a live animal, like using mounts, skins, skulls, wings, feathers, pictures, etc. to gain interest. Do you think one of these alternatives would have the same effect in attracting attention from people?


Click the link below to discover the benefits, along with standards, for using live animals in environmental education:

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

DWR is trying to find homes for 40 desert tortoises. Maybe USEE should rescue one! They are tortoises that cannot be released into the wild because they transmit a disease to other wild tortoises. This disease is non-transmittable for humans, so it is safe to touch and handle them.

Here is an article that has more information on rescuing desert tortoises from DWR: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=1288&sid=28558519#XzJTlpA7WDTSsYYW.01

Tom said...

What a great idea! Have you considered getting a Doodle? I know someone who has one and they are adorable. They are super smart, extremely friendly, hypo-allergenic, and would likely dress up for the occasion.

Anonymous said...

One of our staff members is currently applying to rescue a desert tortoise. So, if all goes well, it might become our new mascot!

Michael said...

I think having a live and sociable creature at our tabling events would be an awesome and instantaneous way to engage people!

Anonymous said...

I am also preparing to adopt a kinkajou, which is an animal that originates from Central and South America. Perhaps we could bring the kinkajou along to events to help with education and outreach?