CAMP DIRECTOR- Nicole Santeramo (Thuja): Thuja has always known that she wanted to work with children and wildlife. As a child her friends often called her house the "zoo", sharing her home with rabbits, fish, newts, turtles, dogs and cats, just to name a few! From a young age she recognized that animals were sentient beings and that their lives were just as important as our own. Thuja's love of wildlife created a sense of curiosity and a desire to obtain knowledge about the environment. She attended many camps as a child, which allowed her the opportunity to appreciate and interact with nature. Being a "city kid" she was painfully aware of the lack of green space, and looked forward to the rural camps every summer.

After high school, Thuja decided to pursue a career in healthcare. She developed a passion for working with children as a 2nd year nursing student, spending her breaks in the children's wards teaching them whatever they wanted to learn. Years later she became a Dental Hygienist and has been working in the field of pediatric dentistry since 2003. In 2009, Thuja travelled to Ecuador twice to volunteer her professional services, working extensively with indigenous children in the Amazon Rainforest. She has also been involved with the Street Youth Clinic in Toronto providing dental hygiene treatment and education to homeless youth.

Thuja has also been working at Jungle Cat World as a Wildlife Educator, allowing her to share her knowledge and passion for environmental issues with the public, striving to inspire a love for nature and a desire to protect it. Recently she has teamed up with COTERC (Canadian Organization for Tropical Education and Rainforest Conservation) to educate school age children about various environmental issues and to promote rainforest conservation. Thuja is currently working on a project to provide free dental treatment to children in Nunavut, which will be followed by another trip to South America in 2010.

CAMP DIRECTOR- Alec Simpson (J-Raf):

J-Raf has always been fascinated by mother nature and all her inhabitants, including ourselves! With nature nuts for parents and a country home for most of his youth, he was destined for either raising chickens or wildlife conservation. Although his retirement plans are up in the air, he chose the latter!

Given his passion for adventure, a healthy addiction for the outdoors, and an unrivaled grace in full gallop, J-Raf fit in very well when he worked at Zoo Camp in 2007 as an Activity Counsellor. Recently finished with his Guelp University studies in Wildlife Biology, he was thrilled to get a chance to bond with campers and share his knowledge and passion for nature and conservation with everyone at camp. Once that epic summer was over and everyone went home, J-Raf wasn't sure what to do.

He had learned so much from the kids at camp, and was so inspired by their passion, that he felt he had to make a move to protect animals and conserve our wild spaces. He moved on to work and volunteer for a variety of non-governmental organizations, zoos, and national parks advocating for conservation and animal welfare in any way he could. From sharing wildlife stories with people visiting Canadian National Parks, promoting sustainable business, and assisting with media events at the Toronto Zoo, to working long days rehabilitating domestic and wild animals with the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA), he has kept pretty busy... but then his sense of adventure got the better of him....

J-Raf branched out and decided to travel abroad to help with the conservation of iconic tropical species. He visited the Canadian Organization for Tropical Education and Rainforest Conservation (COTERC) Research Station in Costa Rica to briefly help out with their marine turtle nest monitoring surveys. Shortly after, he found himself in the Belizean jungle where he assisted with an extensive project examining jaguar genetics and population density. With a newly acquired passion for cold bucket showers and huge cockroaches, he is currently hoping to lend his expertise to an Orangutan Health Project deep in the primary rainforests of Indonesia!

MALE ACTIVITY COUNSELLOR- Position available:

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