No one else has this job in our County government but her! Meet Savannah Simpson, Park and Recreation’s senior aquarist. You may be thinking, what’s an aquarist and how does one become one? We asked Savannah that (plus more), so we’ll let her take it from here.
How did you get into this work?
I’ve been with Mecklenburg County for just over a year. I became interested in aquatic biology and reptiles at a young age always watching Steve Irwin on TV with my dad. I grew up playing outside and catching frogs, toads, lizards — you name it! By the time I went to college, I was dead set on studying marine biology and environmental science.
I began volunteering at my local aquarium at the time (North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher), interned there and then just kept coming back until they hired me. I loved being able to work with animals of all different species and engage the public in conservation as much as possible. It is hard for people to be passionate about protecting and wanting to conserve things they have never known or heard about before, and places like us make it a very accessible possibility to learn.
Is there a typical day for you? What does it look like?
I’d say no day is really typical as with animals they always have their own plans. I have a standard routine I follow, where I go to certain nature centers on particular days of the week. I go to each of the four centers at least once a month, but mostly one or more times a week. My first priority is managing the fish tanks and their daily care, but I also help with all sorts of other animal care. Vet visits, new acquisitions, “surplusing” of fish (quite a few of our fish have had babies, so we have to send them to other facilities), routine tank maintenance, water quality and water changes, diet preparation, food ordering, etc. There’s a lot that goes into maintaining a healthy population of animals! My goal is not only to maintain, but set them each up to thrive, as they all serve as community ambassadors and help bring nature and conservation to guests every day.
Some days I dive in the tank at Quest, which is our largest aquarium at 6,000 gallons, to scrub the décor, siphon up waste, clean the glass and anything else that might need fixing up. I spend a lot of time focusing on water quality and clarity. I also get to do some training with a lot of our larger fish, like the longnose gar, channel catfish and our largemouth bass. Training the fish involves a lot of patience! Our gar are target trained, which means when I put their target in the water (a PVC pipe with some blue tape on it), they know to swim up to the target and touch it to get their food.
The point of training is to make their life (and my life) easier, allowing me to get good visuals to monitor their health and body condition closely, as well as prepare them to be caught in the event they need to be evaluated by the vet or moved for any reason. It improves their welfare and helps manage stress levels.
Why is your job important to what the County does?
All the fish in our nature centers are local to Mecklenburg County. My job is important because a large part of what nature centers do is help the community experience nature in all sorts of ways. I am one small piece of that puzzle, but I get to make sure people who have never held a fishing pole or been out in a boat still have the chance to see some of the cool fish that live in their backyard.
I like that I can interact with guests and teach them about what’s going on with the fish and what their behaviors mean. Education is a HUGE part of conservation, and that is what matters most to me!
What’s something people don’t understand or sometimes misunderstand about what you do?
My job is a lot more than just feeding the fish! I manage water quality (pH, ammonia, nitrite nitrates and more) and maintenance on over 10 systems, which includes cleaning the tank itself and water changes and filter maintenance. Tanks don’t always just run smoothly once you start them up, they require constant upkeep. Things break! A lot! But it is just part of normal aquarium wear and tear so it’s always a new experience every day.
It is a very adaptable position and I learn and grow every single day! I also take care of a lot of behind-the-scenes tasks with the overall County collection, like food ordering for all the critters, figuring out what new animals would fit in the collection, tons of laundry and filling in gaps where people need me to be. I am always on the move, but I wouldn’t have it any other way! I work with a great team of people who provide the care for the reptiles and amphibians when I’m not there. They are AMAZING!
Is there anything else you think people should know about your work?
Animal care in any capacity requires a lot of hard work, sometimes weird hours, a lot of passion fatigue, and long, hard days. We do this work because we love it and love bringing animal interaction and conservation messaging to places it might not have been before. I love the work I do and am always looking for ways to improve and do more. I appreciate every single person who comes through the doors of our nature centers, who makes this work possible!