How Jamie Nakatani is saving our world, one plastic bag at a time

Jamie Nakatani has a level of education that would impress almost anyone. She has a Bachelors degree in Animal Biology with a minor in Entomology, an Associates degree in Exotic Animal Training and Management, and plans to complete a PhD in animal behavior after finishing her Doctorate in Veterinary medicine at UC Davis in 2021.

Jamie has been a zookeeper in the past, but one of the most amazing things she has done for animals and the planet we call home is to find a way to tackle the plastic epidemic swelling in our oceans.

 She became aware of the problem in a prerequisite microbiology class for veterinary school. In it, the teacher challenged them to track their plastic waste for the week, and to find ways to combat the waste.

During that week and beyond, Jamie found an abundance of ways to reduce her waste. She swapped out plastic produce bags for mesh, reusable ziplocks for single use, and has even stopped using plastic liners in her trash can by making plastic from her toilet paper and paper towels work instead.

That week sparked a passion inside of Jamie, she wasn’t satisfied with merely reducing her waste, but also wanted to find ways to use her plastic waste, and those of others too, in a productive way.

In the past, her mother had crocheted plastic grocery store bags into water bottle holders, and she decided to use this idea. She taught herself to crochet, and experimented with turning plastic grocery bags into sea animals instead.

Over the course of 3 years, she was able to raise $6,000 for various conservation groups through selling these plastic sea animals in her Etsy store, and has also raised awareness about the problem of ocean plastic.

Why ocean plastic is a big concern

Jamie has good reason to be concerned about the state of the world’s oceans. Every year, around eight million metric tons of plastic waste enter the oceans. Once there, they often kill wildlife from whales and sea turtles to seabird and fish, because they mistake it for food and starve to death with a belly full of plastic.

Wildlife can also become entangled in it, and suffer from the bottom up. Plastic breaks down into microplastics which are ingested by tiny animals such as krill, and toxins build up in their system. These animals are then consumed by animals farther up the food chain, who also absorb the toxins. 

By the time it reaches apex predators such as killer whales, toxins may have built up so much that the animals suffer fertility issues and other problems. 

Plastic is also a serious problem because it’s very hard to clean up once it is in the ocean, and may take hundreds of years to fully decompose.

Without big changes, there may eventually be more plastic than fish in the ocean.

“My biggest concern regarding the future of our oceans is how reliant our society is on plastic. Plastic is so economical to use, most companies are reluctant to switch to more sustainable packaging, which is what needs to happen if we are to really make steps forward in ocean conservation,” Nakatani shared in an interview for the Siren Project.

Inspiring others

Jamie is working hard to help both in veterinary medicine and with the problem of plastic. She is an incredible person, and has benefited animals both wild and tame through her dedication to animal welfare.

We caught up with Jamie to find out more:

How I got interested in cooking:

When I was growing up, both of my parents regularly made dinner despite their busy work schedules, and we always sat down and ate dinner together as a family. They taught me the basics, and I was able to cook for myself during college, but it wasn’t until after college when I started to really enjoy cooking. I had a few go-to recipes that I would rotate through to feed myself, but since starting veterinary school and finally moving in with my long-term boyfriend (now fiancé), I’ve started to really get creative and try new things. 

What is your favorite types of food to cook:

I have really started to branch out and cook new things that I previously was only able to get at restaurants, including Indian, Thai and Malaysian dishes, but my favorite type of food will always be Japanese food. I grew up in a Japanese American household and was surrounded by the Japanese American community of Southern California, so Japanese food is a huge part of my identity and holds a great deal of nostalgia and comfort for me.

How I find time to cook as a super busy veterinary student:

The first three years of vet school were of course filled with non-stop studying, but I almost always made time to cook. I of course made exceptions when big tests were looming, but in general, cooking is the one part of the day when I can just relax and have some time for myself. I put on a TV show or listen to an audiobook, and just cook. During that time, I don’t worry about school, studying or work. It gives me an hour or two to just relax, chop vegetables, knead dough, sauté, or grill. I get to be creative, planning my dishes and figuring out what needs to be prepared first and how I can improvise to make the dish better. 

During the fourth year of veterinary school, things are obviously a bit crazier, and the amount of time available for cooking is dependent on what rotation you are on and the hours you are required to spend in the hospital. When COVID-19 hit, our school was forced to adapt and adopt a hybrid format, where most rotations had students spending one week in the hospital and one week at home in a virtual rotation to minimize the number of people in the hospital while still offering us the clinical experience we need. I took advantage of the weeks on virtual rotations and spent even more time cooking. With so many restaurants closed due to the pandemic, I was craving things like Indian food, Thai food, and Italian food, so I used my extra time to figure out how to make those dishes myself. 

During rotations with long hours, when I have been spending 13-14 hours per day in the hospital, cooking has not been an option. I am beyond lucky to have a fiancé who is able and willing to cook or pick up food so that there is always something for us to eat for dinner and take to work or school the next day. However, before I was fortunate enough to have him living with me, when I was very busy, I would make large casseroles or a pot of curry that would last me several days so that I didn’t have to cook during the week.

My advice to other vet students (and vets) who think that they are too busy to cook:

For those veterinary students and veterinarians who are too busy to cook or think that it is a chore you just don’t have time for, I would encourage you to set aside an hour or two on the weekend to do meal prep. You can make simple things like a casserole or a batch of pasta and divvy them up into reusable containers so that you have an easy-to-grab meal to take to school or work. Preparing multiple meals ahead of time can save you money, time, and stress when you are running around all day saving animals’ lives.

If I wasn’t a going to be a vet what would I be?

I would be a zookeeper. I knew I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was just 3 years old – my mom always likes to tell the story of how I came home from preschool saying that I wanted to be a vegetarian, which she thought was very strange because I didn’t (and still don’t) like most vegetables.

When pressed, I told her that I wanted to help all the sick animals, and she concluded that I actually wanted to be a veterinarian. I pursued that goal for my whole life, but just before college I was knocked off track by a veterinarian who seemed to be very bitter and unsatisfied with his life.

I knew I still wanted to work with animals, so throughout college I took every animal-related opportunity I could find – I majored in Animal Biology and minored in Entomology, worked in a nematology lab, volunteered at the local wildlife rehabilitation center, and worked as an animal caretaker monitoring sheep and cattle post-surgery. I decided I wanted to be a zookeeper because I would get the human-animal interaction I craved, I would get to work outside, and unlike the veterinarians, the animals wouldn’t be afraid of me. I volunteered at the Santa Ana Zoo for a year and a half until I was finally hired as a zookeeper.

Shortly after, I was accepted into the Exotic Animal Training and Management (EATM) Program, which is a two-year program dedicated to formally teaching students all the aspects of animal training, behavior, animal diversity, and educating the public about wild animals.

While in the EATM Program, I was drawn to all the animals with interesting medical cases, which made me reconsider my interest in veterinary medicine. I also met two amazing veterinarians, Dr. Leah Greer and Dr. Cynthia Stringfield, who both showed me that veterinarians can be kind, patient teachers, and can build beautiful relationships with their patients if they choose to put the time and effort into it. They both encouraged me to apply to veterinary school and reassured me that the field of veterinary medicine is full of options and opportunities, and as a veterinarian you can create whatever path you want for yourself. 

Most agonizing career decision I ever made 

The most agonizing career decision I ever made was just after I was hired as a real zookeeper. I had spent the last year and a half volunteering and working to be hired, and it had finally happened.

Just two weeks after I started officially getting paid, I found out I had been accepted to the Exotic Animal Training and Management (EATM) Program. The EATM program accepts students on a lottery basis because they are affiliated with a community college and must accept anyone who has completed the prerequisites, and I had already been rejected the year prior because I had not been selected in the lottery.

I was torn between the paying job I had worked so hard to get and the opportunity to further my formal education. My parents and boyfriend were supportive of both paths, but what ultimately helped me make my decision was my boyfriend’s almost simultaneous acceptance into law school. I saw him working hard to improve himself and it made me want to do the same.

Although the EATM program was the most difficult two years of my life, it made me a stronger person and a more skilled animal trainer, and ultimately led to me returning to the path of veterinary medicine. I am grateful for the experiences I gained as a zoo volunteer, the few months I spent as a real paid zookeeper, and the skills I gained in the EATM program because it all eventually led me back to veterinary medicine and showed me the kind of veterinarian I want to be.

What is my mission in life:

 My collective experience over the last 13 years since I started college has led me on a long and winding, yet increasingly clear path. I have done everything from washing beakers and shoveling goat poop to performing surgery and publishing my first paper in a scientific journal.

All these experiences cultivated my passion for behavior and training in zoo animals, as well as a desire to push the field of animal welfare forward through research. I have been the bridge between zookeepers, veterinary staff, and animal care management, and I intend to continue to use a similar interdisciplinary approach to facilitate progress at any zoo I work in.