Page 15 - Tropic Magazine Issue 31

TROPIC • UP FRONT
Jodie Creek
Wildlife Educator
Zoo to You
From podcasts to personalised
birthday parties alongside her
daily grind delivering wildlife
education to students,
Jodie Creek lives and breathes
all things Australian animals.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
Tropic delves into the daily routines and habits of a local identity.
6:00am 12:30pm
Rise and shine. I wake hearing the Arrive home, put all the animals back
calls of birds, usually the butcher bird into their enclosures and make my
who has the most beautiful call. first big meal of the day – usually lots
I can hear the dogs snoring still, one on of stir-fry veg with chicken or fish and
my side of the bed and the other on
sometimes noodles. While eating I
my husband’s. answer emails and do invoices, book
work, marketing and all other business
7:00am stuff. This includes creating videos
After I jump out of bed to make sure for my online version of Zoo to You:
the kids are up, my husband’s dog Australian Wildlife Education. I also
often jumps in and takes over! I do lock in some podcast interviews for
a lap of the house to open doors, my show, Wild Chats, and confirm the
turn fans on, place some essential weekend’s upcoming birthday
oils on and head outside to say good party shows.
morning to my animals – including my
crocodile! 4:00pm
Once the kids get home we talk about
8:30am the day and have afternoon tea.
I make myself a coffee and head into Then they do homework or play outside
my garage-turned-animal house. with our neighbours, while I get to
Here I say good morning to everyone cleaning and feeding all the animals.
… yes, I talk to the animals, they are I’ll also do the animals’ food prep and
my family after all. I turn lights and check the roster on who needs to be
heaters on, check the fish tank and put in the sunning pit outside.
make sure everyone is happy Freddy our bearded dragon loves the
and healthy. I then do another hot sun daily.
lap outside checking on turtles,
crocodiles, birds and mammals. 6:30pm
Time to sit down for dinner;
8:45am my favourite time of the week as we
I prepare my animals for our all chat, complain, argue and laugh.
wildlife shows. I usually take a Then it’s time to clean up – when
crocodile, python, lizard, Papuan everyone seems to have something
frogmouth and squirrel gliders, more important to do – before sitting
however it depends on the topic as it down with a glass of red and finishing
could be marine or insects. I gather my a conversation with my husband that
animal friends, my resources and pack started three days ago.
the car, travelling anywhere around
Cairns, the Tablelands, Innisfail, Tully 9:30pm
or even as far north as Daintree. Bedtime – but only after checking the
animals one last time, especially if
11:00am it’s raining!
If I have an early childhood show, this
is usually finished around 11. If it’s a
school visit I’m typically there all day
as I like to tailor a series of shows for
individual classes. In between sessions MORE: zootoyou.com.au
I will catch up with work on my laptop.
15 • tropicnow.com.au