Mallie Balser Senior Project

  Madeleine Balser Senior Project  Kelly Griffin-Brown Weekly Report #2 May 24, 2022                 Senior Project: Pacific Mammal Rescue Center This week went by pretty well. We worked the kiosk every day for 7 hours which was frankly pretty grueling and boring. During weekdays especially we had very little business which made the days very long and very hard to do. It made it worth it though for the days when we had good business and were able to educate the people who were interested and get a decent amount of donations for the rescue center. I came home to Boston Friday morning which was bittersweet for sure. It was nice to be home but working with the rescue center directly was an experience I was not excited to give up. We finished our final working hours on Thursday which was a total of 77 hours. I'm glad we chose to work weekends as well, which happened to have the best business, to help...

 Today was a busy day. I was running around doing errands with my mother. I also had to speak to a few people. I cooked dinner and tried my best to read up on new marine mammal information. It wasn't as long of research as my previous days but I'm hoping to head to the Boston Aquarium tomorrow for more information. The sun was out which was nice as well. Overall it was an okay day research-wise. Hours Today: 30 min Total Hours: 83/84 and 30 min

  Today I did some more research. It rained a lot as well which wasn't ideal. As I said previously I planned to watch a documentary. It was hard to find one that fit my exact purpose. I found one that was called Andy Irons: Kissed By God which was really good but only really involved the ocean and not marine mammal rescue. So I found another which I watched as well called Wild Pacific Rescuee which was interesting. I also watched a sea lion episode on Netflix's wild baby nature documentary series. This in particular showed me some issues sea lions (particularly babies) deal with in the way of predators.  Hours Today: To be honest I'm not even sure like 4? Hours T otal : Approximately 83/84 I believe

  Today I did more research which was very fulfilling. I also had an appointment in the morning which I got out of the way. I only researched for a bit today and found a documentary I plan on watching. I think the documentary will shed more light on marine mammal rescue for me. This in particular will help me learn more about the issues in my area. I will get an early night tonight and head to the beach in the morning tomorrow as well to get better in touch with the research I'm doing. So far I feel I have gained a lot of knowledge. I am excited to see where this knowledge leads me.  Hours Today: 1 hour 28 min Hours Total:  81

 Today I flew home. We caught the red-eye which is nice because that's my favorite time to fly. When the whole world is asleep yada yada yada . I researched cape cod's grey seal, harp seal, harbor seal, and hooded seal populations as that is where I am from. It was interesting for me to see the difference in rescue issues between the west and east coast. I noted that where the west coast struggles primarily with malnutrition and illness the east coast struggled more so with climate change and tourism. While all issues were prevalent on both coasts there was definitely a drastic difference in severity between the coasts. Tomorrow I plan to further research why that may be and on Sunday go to the Boston aquarium to discuss in further detail with those who have some first-hand experience. It has been exciting to further research about marine mammal rescue in an area I am very familiar with and a lot of the issues I read about hit close to home. I am excited to further my resea...

   Today was our last day working formal hours at the kiosk before our assigned research assignment time. We decided to make the most of it even though it was drizzling a bit and the weather is not the best. The overall day went fine and I was happy to both open and close up shop for a final time. Over the weekend we have worked out research assigned to us individually about marine mammals and rescue centers in our respective areas. We are excited for the next step of our journey now that our office hours have been completed and we can more freely look up and visit rescue centers in our areas. While it was fun being in California, I'm excited to see what Boston has to offer in the way of Marine Rescue. I am satisfied with the work we have done here and the new work we will be doing th us forward. Hours Today: 7 Hours Total: 77

 Today was an okay day. The weather was mid . Dinner was mid. The kiosk was pretty mid and slow as well. It was really just a fairly mid-day. Kat had an appointment that I dropped her off at after work which literally took 3 and a half hours. Honestly, working at the kiosk is generally fulfilling I just wish there was a little bit more going on even if it's a Wednesday. I think things will look up tomorrow though! Hours Today: 7 Hours Total: 70

 Today we once again worked the kiosk. I had to wake up a little early to drop my mom off at work and I grabbed a coffee on the way. Then I had an appointment in town. After I went back to the kiosk and worked a later shift. I also went and got empanadas again for dinner as well as some gelato. Both were very delicious. It has been having fun in California but I'm also ready to go home.  Hours Today: 7 Hours Total: 63

   Today woke up and went to the kiosk. It was partly cloudy so the weather was okay. The day itself was decent but pretty regular and a little bit boring. After work we decided to explore Huntington Beach even though it was on the later side. The area was pretty. We decided to get grocery’s to make my mom dinner which the thought was super cute. After that we had a relaxed late evening and got some sleep for the next day! Hours Today: 7 Hours Total: 56

  Madeleine Balser Senior Project  Kelly Griffin-Brown Weekly Report May 15, 2022                 Senior Project: Pacific Mammal Rescue Center This project has challenged me to truly make an impact in my close environment or community and  learn  how best to support those in my area. I learned about the struggles of sea lions, elephant seals, and harbor seals. Some issues included malnutrition, lack of maternal figure, pneumonia, sea lion pocks, and boats/people. I also learned about how these issues are treated . Malnutrition in particular takes a bit longer to treat because the animals must learn to gain a habit or understanding of how to catch their own  food. I also learned how to run a kiosk and get people interested in the topic you are presenting. The topic  I, fortunately, get to present is one that I care about in these animals and I feel very lucky for tha...

    Today was a cloudy day like I predicted in yesterday's blog post and no I didn't check the weather beforehand. We worked the kiosk again today and it was honestly not very interesting probably because of the crummy weather. Kathryn and I decided to go to the movies after our shift was over and watch the new Nicolas Cage movie which was very funny. Overall I think the crummy weather made for less activity but still wasn't that bad. We also decided to explore the area for dinner with my mom and got street empanadas which were super good. I had a good day today. I hope tomorrow the weather is better and we have more to do. Then again today was Sunday which is kind of a slow day so that. made sense. Monday will probably pick up for sure.   Hours Today: 7 Total Hours: 49

 Today we woke up a little bit late and were in a rush to make it to our kiosk job on time. We rushed over to Huntington beach and made it in the nick of time. It was honestly a boring day beyond the same work we have been doing. The weather was once again very nice and Christine one of our bosses decided to let us take the reigns for today so we primarily worked our shift completely alone, just the two of us. We also grabbed Mexican tacos that were vegan, because we have decided to continue trying to eat vegan for the environment. We decided to watch the sunset at the end of the day which was very beautiful on this pacific coast. Tomorrow, maybe similar but I think the weather may be a shade cloudier than today. Hours Today: 7 Hours total: 42

  Today Kathryn and I decided to head to the beach in between our shifts at the kiosk. The sun was warm and so was the ocean. It reminded me about the work we are doing and who we are trying to help, the sea mammals. We finished our day at the kiosk after talking with one of our bosses Christine who gave us even more information about sea lions being released into the ocean after treatment and how sometimes they are shy and struggle to enter the water due to fear. After work, we were driving home on the freeway and I had a panic attack and passed out at the wheel. I pulled over in time and we were totally fine but it was deff a lesson! I thought that at that moment I understood the sea lions' fear even more. The fear of the unkwon. 

 Today was a lot calmer than yesterday. We worked our hours at the kiosk without a hitch. For lunch, we went to a grocery store nearby and got some snacks. It's fun getting to promote and ask for donations for something you really care about. I have found that talking about the sea lions, harbor seals, and elephant seals really makes me happy because I know they need as much support as they can get. We also learned yesterday what happens to the animals and rescue center in the case of wildfires. Often times the animals will be driven whiles away to the sea world of San Diego until the risk is no longer there. I am excited to see what Friday brings!

   Today Kathryn and I started off the day bright and early working at the kiosk. Surprisingly, things went very smoothly. After our trial day on Tuesday, we were set to run the kiosk ourselves during our shifts. Unfortunately, we were let off a half-hour early due to an evacuation because of wildfires. Fortunately, the wildfires did not reach my mother's apartment where we are staying and we were asked to sit tight for the rest of the night. Things are looking up for today(Thursday) though as it appears that the fires have not complicated or interrupted the rescue center or our appartment. Luckily, we will be heading over shortly to begin our workday!

 Today Kat and I were toured around the rescue center. The animals at the center included sea lions, harbor seals, and elephant seals. Stephanie, a lady who works there, explained to us why the animals are in the rescue center and what they do to help them. Many of the animals are at the rescue center due to malnutrition for various reasons. A prime reason is that for whatever reason the sea lions in particular never learned how to catch their own fish. The marine rescue center charters primarily to pups that are malnutrition and or suffering from pneumonia or sea lion chickenpox (a very contagious illness.) We learned a lot about the work they do which we plan to present at express fest. We also were taught how to run the front desk kiosk on a day-to-day business. 

          Today we were told to research more about the marine mammal rescue center. We had various homework assignments that we spent the day finishing for our tour and introduction day on Tuesday. My mom also drove us to the rescue center so we could see for ourselves how to get there. While it isn't technically part of our project I think it's fair that I can write about what I want to talk about. We went to get groceries yesterday. Kat and I have decided to go vegan for the duration of our senior project to help the environment and prove we can do our best to live life eco-friendly. I am excited to begin our official work day on Tuesday as I now feel prepared to begin working after researching yesterday. I love to help the environment and know that this is the beginning of a great start!