As the author of this article, I am excited to introduce myself, and write about why I love working to try and make real environmental change! My name is Maxine Campisciano, and throughout my childhood I was constantly surrounded by wildlife rescues and adventures in the wild state of Florida, where my father, (and excessive amounts of Discovery Channel and Animal Planet) taught my sisters and I about environmental conservation and the importance of wild places.
Now, with a diverse background in arts, social sciences, research, and early childhood education, my goal is to make knowledge about environmental conservation and animal science accessible to all ages! I began my journey towards environmental advocacy at the age of 15. While enrolled in a visual arts program I created a portfolio dedicated to shedding light on environmental-cultural conflicts. And after graduating from high school, I decided to pursue a more scientific approach to conservation, earning a degree in Cultural and Environmental Anthropology.
Following my studies, I moved to Washington D.C., where I spent a year working at the Smithsonian Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. During this time, I saw once again how important knowledge and exposure is in raising awareness among people who maybe haven’t had many experiences with animals and environmental issues
With this, I shifted my focus to early childhood education to learn how I, as a teacher, could help inspire love for wildlife and wild places. I firmly believe that exposure to animals, wild places, and conservation at a young age is crucial for sparking lifelong passion and interest in protecting and saving the environment.
And now I am here at Call For The Wild, and in my current role as Education and Content Director, I continue to integrate my passion for arts, sciences, and education to try and create engaging content for people of all ages to inspire protecting wildlife and their habitats! I believe that even the smallest action can have a huge impact, and that if we all work together we can make a difference in the health of all species on this planet.