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Host Jody Gienow
You may recognize her as one of the hosts of the Hinterland Who’s Who (HWW) television vignettes. But Jody Gienow’s career in wildlife education began decades ago – at age two-and-a-half to be precise – when, much to her mother’s horror, she ran up to a stranger in a provincial park to take a water snake out of his arms. As a teenager, she volunteered at a zoological facility, “picking up exotic poop,” as she puts it. Later, while employed as a zookeeper and taking care of endangered lions and tigers, she soon noticed that few people realized that there were native species at risk in their home provinces, too. Gienow has since invested her accumulated knowledge into something tangible for kids and animals. She and her husband Dale founded and co-direct the Muskoka Wildlife Centre, a last hope for permanently injured and displaced creatures native to Ontario. “It’s not a rehabilitation centre or a zoo, but rather a long-term care facility for animals unable to survive in the wild,” she says. “Our number one goal is wildlife education.” As owners of the largest wildlife outreach program in Canada, Gienow and her husband were originally hired to bring animals to HWW events. Instead she was hired as host. “I probably smelled of moose dung,” she jokes, but it was most likely the smell of authenticity HWW sensed. She was called a few weeks later and told she got the part. While working on HWW’s vignettes, Gienow most enjoyed creating the Atlantic Whitefish video. “It was wonderful to see conservation efforts first hand at the fish hatchery where they are being bred and raised for eventual re-introduction,” she says. But her favourite vignette in general is the monarch butterfly. “It is the species I most admire,” says Gienow. “From egg to pupae to butterfly the magic of their life cycle never ceases to amaze me.” Gienow brings authentic wildlife experience to her role as one of HWW’s hosts. As a co-director of a wildlife centre she’s seen – and handled – quite a bit, including Woodrow, an orphaned beaver with a fractured skull and no front teeth who looks – and speaks – to Gienow as a he would a mother. “He’s happiest on my knee because of the trauma he’s gone through,” says Gienow. Besides wildlife, Gienow’s interests include pottery, vegetable gardening, and she spends as much time as she can with her son. He is one reason why she is pleased that HWW was re-launched in a kid-friendly way. “There is such a positive national impact that can be made by a conservation initiative that reaches so many through television and the internet,” she says. When Gienow isn’t in Muskoka, she’s travelling with her animals giving wildlife seminars to young people. “I’m most happy when surrounded by children,” she says. “Their minds are like sponges and they bring hope for change.”
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