Owner of exotic animals teaches kids about nature

Kim White Photo credit The Natural Naturalist

By Rachel Pierson

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Kim White has always had a love for nature and animals.

"Even when I was little, my mom would joke and say that she knew something was up because as a two year old, she heard me talking in the bathroom to somebody. And I was talking with a dead mouse," she recalled.

"My dad was a traveling salesperson for a corrugated box company and one of my favorite things to do when he came home was sit in the driveway in front of his car, because they had all those old grills, and I would look to see what bugs he'd picked up."

White turned a passion for animals into a career, spending almost 20 years as an educator at the Brookfield Zoo.

About six years ago, she started her own business, the Natural Naturalist.

She explains the title: “When somebody is just good at something as a young child, you say they're a natural, and a naturalist is just somebody who is interested in the natural world and wants to keep learning about it.”

Now she's on a mission to teach the next generation to connect with the world around them.

Patagonian cavies Bucky and Jelly Bean Photo credit Rachel Pierson

She does so with the help of her many animals, from Patagonian cavies to turtles and tortoises and an African Grey parrot.

"How many other grandmothers do you know that have a colony of Madagascar hissing cockroaches as pets?"

Through education courses, White says her focus is on teaching kids about empathy and trying to develop their love of nature.

"I love seeing those moments where something kind of clicks and they get excited about something or when they want to tell me [about] something that they saw in nature," White said. "Do you know how many Rollie Pollies I've seen? And I love it."

The Natural Naturalist, making a difference by helping kids discover the world around them.