Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy. During the program, the children got acquainted with two ducks.
lessWinsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy. During the
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Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy. Above preschoolers meet Macchu, a white chinchilla, under the watchful eyes of Evers.
lessWinsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy. Above
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Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy. Above, Evers holds
lessWinsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy. Above, Evers
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Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy. Above, a child holds one of the visiting animals.
lessWinsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy. Above, a
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Winsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy. Above, Evers talks about Choncho, an African bullfrog.
lessWinsted students learned about treating animals and people with respect and kindness Tuesday, as they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy. Above, Evers
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Winsted students learn about kindness, respect with animal presentation
WINSTED — Winsted students learned about treating both animals and people with kindness and respect Tuesday when they took in a presentation from Chris Evers, founder and director of Stamford-based Animal Embassy.
Evers showed off a series of creatures — a Mangrove Monitor Lizard, an African Bull Frog, a White’s Tree Frog, two chinchillas, a Wood Duck, a Mandarin Duck and a Red Foot Tortoise — to an audience of preschool students at the Batcheller Early Education Center, adding in facts about the animals and life lessons.
When talking about the chinchillas, he explained how the gray fur of Argentina — one of the two fuzzy creatures — helped her blend into rocks and avoid predators.
Argentina’s daughter Macchu, on the other hand, was born with white fur. Vulnerable to those that would do her harm, she is specially cared for, like teachers and parents take care of the preschoolers, Evers said. He asked the young people to take care of their pets, and love them forever.
The African Bull Frog, Choncho, is big, he noted to the preschoolers. Some might consider him fat or off-putting — but that is his nature, and even if he was overweight, that would be his business, not theirs, Evers said.
He noted that Choncho had skills of his own, including the ability to sleep for a year — an eon to the 3- and 4-year-olds in attendance.
The preschool students were allowed to touch the tortoise and shrieked with delight as the two ducks — best friends raised together, Evers said — flew out to greet them and took a bath.
“Be nice to each other. Can we do that?” Evers asked at one point in the presentation, receiving an affirmation from the young people. “Be nice to animals.”
For Evers, Animal Embassy is a labor of love. He said he always had a passion and appreciation from animals, even in his earliest memory while growing up in Darien. His parents encouraged his budding interest, and at 12, he began volunteering at the Darien Nature Center, embarking on a journey that continues to this day.
“I think I naturally had a fascination and a passion for life,” said Evers.
He said that when he was young, children, in attempting to be mean to him, would instead be cruel to animals — throwing toads in the air and shooting them with BB guns.
“These were children that were doing this. That helped me want to speak for those that can’t speak for themselves even more,” said Evers.
He began to rescue and care for animals at age 17, he said — taking in a seven-foot Burmese Python, which he cared for for the next 18 years.
He founded the Stamford-based nonprofit in 2003, and now employs eight staffers and cares for approximately 200 animals.
Evers holds programs in Connecticut and New York, talking to people of all ages, from the very young to the elderly. The group takes in animals that are referred to the group by people and government officials.
The hope is that young people learn to appreciate and respect animals, he said.
If that can happen — if they can learn to hold these creatures, which are so different than people, in high regard — he hopes they can learn to care for their fellow man, who is much the same, regardless of creed or color.
Evers also teaches students about nature and the interconnected ecosystem, he said — the program offered Tuesday was simplified for the young preschoolers. As an example, he offered up the concept of squirrels — they lose some of the acorns they bury, but, in doing so, plant trees.
“At this young (age), I really want to help the kids appreciate diversity, appreciate life,” said Evers. “I want to empower the kids to want to make a difference.”
In the future, Evers said he hopes to bring the group’s programming to other states and countries, and perhaps offer videos over the internet.
In the interim, it is a pleasure to work with animals, he said. No matter if they kick or scratch or bite, he knows where he and they stand.
“I love working with animals — they’re honest,” said Evers. “They’re not mean — they’re honest.”
Reach Ben Lambert at william.lambert@hearstmediact.com.
