Bonus: ZooCast Hiatus

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INTRO (00:00)

*Music- you and me the adventure me and you to the zoo*

EMILY BISHOP: Hello and welcome to the Sedgwick County ZooCast, where we are inspiring respect and conservation for wildlife and wild places through caring, connecting and conserving.

I’m your host Emily Bishop, and today on the ZooCast, we’ll be sitting down with Sedgwick County Zoo’s Director of Marketing and Communication, Jennica King, and Marketing Manager Chelsey Schartz to talk about this podcast’s past and its future.

Today’s episode of the ZooCast is a little different than the average episode. This is the final episode of the Sedgwick County ZooCast that I will be hosting.

For the past seven months, which on paper doesn’t seem like very long, but as a lived experience for me feels like a substantial amount of time, I have had the honor and privilege of hosting the Sedgwick County ZooCast.

I have been its head researcher, writer, and producer. I have loved having the opportunity to bimonthly sit down and talk with a Zookeeper about an animal, and sharing that conversation with all of you listening at home. I loved learning new things about the animals we share our Earth with- and I did learn something new every episode. I hope you did as well.

I’m really going to miss the ZooCast and all of you listening at home. If you have ever left a review of the series, or submitted a question to us on Instagram, or left a comment when we’ve shared a new episode- know that I have read what you have written and I appreciate you taking the time to do so.

Whether this is the first episode you’re listening to, in which case you’ve really chosen a weird one to start with, or you’ve been with us since the very first episode, thank you for listening. A podcast can only flourish if it has a dedicated audience. And the Sedgwick County ZooCast has a truly wonderful audience.

So, keep listening to learn how you can get involved in nature photography, how we can connect on social media, and how you could become the next host of the Sedgwick County ZooCast.

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INTERVIEW WITH THE MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION TEAM // WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE ZOOCAST? (02:14)

BISHOP: Thank you for joining us today on the Sedgwick County ZooCast.

JENNICA KING: Thank you for having us.

BISHOP: So, if just to get started, you want to introduce yourself? Talk about who you are and what it is you do here at Sedgwick County Zoo.

KING: I’m Jennica King. I’m the Director of Marketing and Communication. This is my second time on the podcast. So, I’m very excited to be here. But really sad to talk about what we have to talk about today.

CHELSEY SCHARTZ: I’m Chelsey Schartz, and I am the Marketing Manager here at Sedgwick County Zoo. And this is my first time on the ZooCast.

BISHOP: Welcome. So…

KING: Thank you.

BISHOP: Do you guys want to talk about why we’re here?

KING: Yes

SCHARTZ: No.

KING: We’re not incredibly thrilled to have to say goodbye to you, Emily. While we’re excited for your new journey and this new adventure that you’re going on, we’re very sad to lose you. We’re also sad for our listeners to not be able to hear from you anymore.

We do want to let our listeners know that Emily is moving on. She’s moving across the country to take advantage of new opportunities and she’s going to be amazing wherever she lands, and we’re very excited for her. But we did want to give our listeners a heads up that Emily’s leaving. We are going to be finding someone to hopefully fill her shoes and keep the Sedgwick County ZooCast going once she’s gone. But there might be a little bit of a lag as we search for that special someone and get things going from there.

BISHOP: Should we like, call to action? Like, if you think you have what it takes to be the Heir Apparent to the Sedgwick County ZooCast Throne, then…

KING: Find us on LinkedIn and look for the job opening.

BISHOP: There we go. I’ll… If it’s been posted before I leave, I’ll link it in the description of this episode. And if not, that’s the first step to see if you’re qualified is if you can figure out how to find the job on LinkedIn or on the Zoo’s website.

KING: Yeah, exactly. Minimum qualification- be able to find the job description.

Yeah, so we will be hiring a new Communication Coordinator for the Zoo. And the ZooCast is just a little piece of what Emily does here at the Zoo. And if you follow us on social media, and you’ve seen links to our blogs, Emily has done some really great writing and other projects. And we’re sad to lose her.

BISHOP: Yeah, I’m sad to go. If there was a way I could do both, I would. But unfortunately, they haven’t created a way to be in two places at once yet, so not yet.

KING: Not yet.

BISHOP: Maybe. Maybe this is what will make the scientists do that.

KING: This is what finally… finally tips the scale.

BISHOP: Yeah.

Chelsey, do you have anything you want to add?

SCHARTZ: I don’t know what to say.

BISHOP: Okay.

KING: Chelsey is still in denial that it’s actually happening.

SCHARTZ: I don’t think it is. I think I’m going to come in next week and Emily is still going to be at her desk and everything will be as normal…

BISHOP: I don’t know… Usually I have like, a script and a set of questions I ask, but I don’t have that this time. We’re just going off the cuff…

SCHARTZ: So, what was your favorite podcast to record?

BISHOP: Oh, I feel like I’m like a parent. And I have to be like, “I love them all equal.” I don’t know.

I’m partial to the Kingfisher because that was the first episode I did. So, you know that… That’s what really got the ball going.

KING: That was a good one.

BISHOP: Yeah, I liked the fruit bat episode because I like bats. Sorry, every other animal at the Zoo. The fruit bats are kind of my favorite. And that was our Halloween special. And Halloween is my favorite holiday.

And then… I don’t know, I really like the bonus episodes. Like no offense to the full-length interview episodes- those ones are really fun to do. But I do really enjoy the bonus episodes and being able to kinda flex my researching and creative writing skills to put those together. I’ve been… I’ve enjoyed all of it. Not a not a bad episode amongst the bunch.

KING: That’s really true.

BISHOP: It’s been… it’s been a really great opportunity to just kind of create stuff.

Do you guys have a favorite ZooCast episode?

SCHARTZ: Honestly, my favorites were also the bitesize bonus episodes because you got really creative with them.

BISHOP: Thank you.

SCHARTZ: They were great.

KING: Yeah, I liked those too. Alizeti’s podcast was my favorite because it was such a fun conversation to sit in on. So, that- that one’s been my favorite. But honestly, they’re all … They’re all great.

BISHOP: If you haven’t listened to every episode of The Sedgwick County ZooCast yet, do that during the hiatus to hold you over.

KING: Exactly.

BISHOP: The McCord’s box turtle bonus- we got quoted in People Magazine because of that.

KING: That was really exciting.

BISHOP: Yeah, so that’s definitely a career highlight for me is having my little name printed in People Magazine’s online edition….

All right. I don’t know- I need a stronger note to end on.

SCHARTZ: We could like, bid a farewell.

BISHOP: That seems very sad.

SCHARTZ: I mean, it’s what’s happening though.

BISHOP: It is.

SCHARTZ: Yeah.

BISHOP: Yeah…

Am I allowed to like, self-promote?

KING: Yeah, go ahead.

BISHOP: Oh, okay.

KING: Find Emily on…

BISHOP: Find me on Instagram @BishopByline. I’m trying to grow my following there. I need to get clout.

KING: Tell them why you need the clout.

BISHOP: I need to get clout because…

I feel like this episode, you know, we’ll see how much gets edited down. But I’m usually very much reading off of a script and I’m very calm. So, this is perhaps the ZooCast’s audience first peek behind the curtain into the real Emily.

But you know, I love zoos, but I just in general love  tourist attractions. And in Florida, which is where I am moving, Universal Orlando is opening a new theme park in 2025 called Epic Universe. And there’s a section of that theme park that’s going to be Universal Monster themed. And I love the Universal Monsters. And I need to get there before anyone else; I need to be one of the first people to see that.

But that will only happen if I get invited to the media event. And that will only happen if I have a substantial online following and have established myself as an internet creator with a lot of clout. So, if you want to help me achieve my dream, follow me on Instagram @BishopByline.

SCHARTZ: Can do.

BISHOP: Do you guys want to promote your own social medias so that it’s equal? Chelsey does some wonderful wildlife photography.

KING: That’s true.

BISHOP: She is part of this group called Girls Who Click. Do you want to talk about that?

SCHARTZ: Girls Who Click is an organization where women inspire younger- other younger women to do nature photography. A lot of the other ambassadors are, you know, they specialize in animals in the Arctic, or they specialize in underwater photography. Things that aren’t just your normal run out there with the camera.

BISHOP: If people want to take a look at your wildlife photography, and see what you’re doing or even reach out to you for advice or as a mentor, where can they find you online?

SCHARTZ: They can find me on Instagram @ConservationChelsey, and that’s where I post all of my, my fun stuff that I do, whether that be here at the Zoo or out and about.

BISHOP: Jennica, do you have anything you want to promote?

KING: No.

BISHOP: I guess as an ending note… if you’ve- for my listeners at home, for our listeners at home, if you’ve ever listened all the way through an episode and in the outro when I say, “thank you to the Marketing and Communication Team,” this is the Marketing and Communication Team. Plus Steve, who isn’t here. He’s here with us in spirit.

KING: He actually is down the hall.

BISHOP: He is down the hall. We could grab him…

SCHARTZ: Eh

KING: He’s fine.

BISHOP: But this is the Marketing Communication Team and if you would like to be become its newest member, find us online, find us on LinkedIn, and on the Zoo’s website. And if you think you have what it takes to be the Heir Apparent to the ZooCast Throne, I encourage you to apply.

I’ve had a wonderful time working here. It’s been a lot of fun. This was like, my first real job out of college and the things I have learned while working here, the opportunities I’ve had are so incredible, and I feel so privileged and fortunate to have worked here for as long as I did.

SCHARTS: Oh, you’re gonna make me cry.

KING: I’m gonna cry too.

SCHARTZ: I need to walk out.

BISHOP: Okay, then do it.

KING: We will miss you very much.

BISHOP: I’ll miss you guys too. I’ll send you postcards.

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OUTRO (10:44)

BISHOP: Thanks for listening to the Sedgwick County ZooCast.

This podcast is recorded on the traditional land of the Kiowa, Osage, Wichita, and Ute people, who have been stewards of the land since time immemorial.

This episode was researched, written, and produced by me, Emily Bishop.

I’d like to give a special thank you to everyone who has ever been a guest on this podcast. I would not have been able to make this series a reality without your help and I truly cannot put into words how grateful I am.

Thank you to the Sedgwick County Zoo’s Marketing and Communication Team.

And a special thank you to our Zoo Members, whose support makes this podcast possible. If you’re interested in becoming a Zoo Member, visit scz.org/membership.

Be sure to give us a follow so you never miss when we upload new episodes.

Thanks again for listening. For the last time, I’m Emily Bishop, and this has been the Sedgwick County ZooCast.