Harriette Escapopalis

Review of World Bird Sanctuary

Hello from Jamaica! Wah Gwann! I am a professor at...

Hello from Jamaica! Wah Gwann! I am a professor at The University of The West Indies teaching medical sciences. I have come over to Missouri last year to visit my grand daughter who is studying STEM careers. She seemed elated about showing the trails at the World Bird Sanctuary!
I decided to give the Sanctuary a call to let them know we'd be coming and to be informed about upcoming shows or events. When I called them, a man picked up and was rudely snickering at my accent. (Legally speaking, the phone call was a a form of harassment and discrimination. It is illegal under federal laws to discriminate against characteristics which include race, color, national origin, gender, pregnancy, religion, genetic info. etc.) Then, he hung up almost immediately on me. I was displeased with his tone as well, but I decided it was just a mistake and a bad day.
My daughter and I left early the next morning to discover the trails. We immediately fell in love with the nature and all the birds. We even saw deer farther down the trails! Although we saw a disturbing man in a tree, it was a very pleasant experience. There were people riding horses, bike riding, and walking, but further down, it was just us. Amazing trails and recommend it to all.
Then, we decided to go into the gift shop area. That's where things took a turn. The gift shop was filled with a variety of animals such as a bunny, armadillo, python, bats, parrots, etc. And towards the weathering area were birds tied to perches. The animals seemed well taken care of although I could make a few adjustments. We made a donation and enjoyed it greatly.
I saw the back of the room and it seemed the Staff were not very dedicated to their job. Most of them, I saw sitting down and the young volunteers were working extremely hard cleaning the owl stalls. I also witnessed a young volunteer almost in tears being yelled at by a woman, whom cursed as well saying the volunteer had better get her "behind" in gear. I love working with children and have a deep passion in working with all ages, but this is NO way to treat young volunteers.
The overall experience was amazing, but the Sanctuary does not have the right to treat children in such a manner. Where I come from, this would be considered a hostile work environment and the woman who yelled would be fired right away or at least face a consequence. On your website it states they gain opportunities, but I doubt being yelled at is one of them. I would like to survey several young volunteers to look into how they are being treated. According to the Labor Laws of Missouri, the entertainment/work industry requires breaks and rest periods for youth workers as well. A youth can NOT work more than 5 hours with out a meal break and an additional 15 minute rest period (Which counts towards the work/volunteer time) is required after 2 hours of continuous work for youth.
In conclusion, the behavior of 2 staff members I have experienced was stomach twisting and inappropriate. Please reconsider the amount of pressure on young volunteers. But my granddaughter and I did enjoy the nature trails and wildlife and how informative and helpful the staff was. This place would be better off returned to U.S Army as the area of munitions depot.