POTTSVILLE, Pa. — The children at Trinity Episcopal Church in Pottsville had an engaging last day of summer reading camp. On Friday morning, they learned about animals with the Red Creek Wildlife Center.
"Now, Zazu's story is very different from the other animals I talk about today. This bird, from head to toe, is perfect. There is absolutely nothing wrong with him except for the fact that he has no idea he is a bird," explained a Redcreek Wildlife handler to students.
Red Creek Wildlife Center workers found Zazu knocking on doors with his beak in Pottsville. They believe he was raised with humans and abandoned. Zazu isn't the only animal participating in this lesson. Children also got to meet a redtail hawk, a screech owl, and even a Virginia opossum—just some of the animals they read about during the church's summer reading camp.
"Every year we have a theme, and this year our theme is the environment, so we cover all different aspects of the environment, the sky, the trees and flowers, the animals, and so today they were able to bring the animals that a lot of the children wouldn't normally get to see," said Barbara Tokarz, Summer Reading Camp Coordinator.
Camp coordinators want to ensure that kids don't fall behind on their reading skills during the summer, so they plan memorable lessons.
"A lot of these animals we actually do read about in books, and they don't get to see wild animals up close, you know, you hear of them, and you might see them outside in passing, but to see them up close and learn about them I think that's really important," added Kayla Murrell, a parent of summer reading camp student.