After taking the Animal Science and Natural Resource program at 916’s Career and Tech Center, Justin Breister started volunteering in the classroom and improving/maintaining the animal facilities. In the last four years, Justin has been building, painting, cleaning, or helping out wherever he can.
“I like to create things for the program and help whenever possible. The animals here are great to work with and are the main reason I keep coming back.”
Animal housings, playpens, stands, and planters have been designed and built by Justin and his Dad, Jim, an engineer at 3M. Over the years, they have built rabbit houses, a guinea pig playpen, mobile planters, bird cages, etc. He is creating/building a chinchilla habitat, a new aviary, and replacing the greenhouse gravel flooring.
Justin says his favorite creation so far is the mobile ladder stand he built for his favorite animal, Carmen, a parrot who is the unofficial mascot for Career and Tech. He made the ladder stand move so when the staff is teaching about Carmen; they can move him with ease. Carmen loves his stand so much that he has started to chew on the ladder.
Cindy Landers, the Animal Science and Natural Resources teacher said this about having Justin as a volunteer: “Justin is an asset to this program. He is willing to take on any task I ask of him, and we often brainstorm ideas for future projects.”
Through the Animal Science and Natural Resources program, students will gain a competitive advantage in helping animals and the environment by exploring animals and plant sciences. Many will get a jump start on a career in Minnesota ecosystems like water, soils, forestry, and wildlife. Learn more about the program here.