MARCH 2017
A publication of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums
Parting with Plastics
Reducing Disposable Plastic in Our Operations
- GREEN PURCHASING AND INVESTING
- SUSTAINABILITY SPARKS
- BY THE NUMBERS
Climate Change and Going Green in 2015
Adopting Green Purchasing and Investing Strategies
ENGAGEMENT, CREATIVITY AND ACTION Sustainability Programs Engage Staff
Interns and Volunteers
March 2017
Features
- 20
- 24
- 30
Parting with Plastics: Reducing Disposable Plastic in Our Operations
Disposable plastics are
Green Purchasing and Investing
Sustainability Sparks Engagement, Creativity and Action
Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited facilities tie reduced purchasing of carbonproducing electricity to concerns about global warming and the
acidification of oceans.
Others are making packaging changes to reduce their contributions
to landfills and to address
the dangers to wildlife that are posed by improperly discarded plastic.
What do team building, cost savings and urban gardening have in common? They are all outcomes of sustainability programs and initiatives at Association of Zoos and Aquariumsaccredited facilities that have successfully engaged staff, interns and volunteers. everywhere and can have devastating impacts on wildlife. Since mass production started in 1950, plastics have permeated our world at a frenetic pace with roughly 300 million tons manufactured worldwide in 2013.
BY WANDA EVANS
BY EMILY BRYANT
BY TOM PRICE
- 7
- 16
- 60
- Member View
- Departments
11 Reintroduction
ABQ BioPark released 54,000 Rio Grande silvery minnows in 2016
15 By the Numbers
Climate change and going green in 2015
40 Faces & Places 43 Calendar 45 Exhibits 46 Announcements 49 Advertiser Index 60 Births & Hatchings
7 Conservation Spotlight
Utah’s boreal toads are taking conservation to the classroom
16 Research
8 Art
12 Grant
This month’s selection of what has been published
Elementary school students create, auction sculptures inspired by
Denver Zoo exhibit
Mystic Aquarium Receives grant for collaboration with Marine Science Magnet High School
17 Green
Detroit Zoological Society recognized for sustainability efforts
9 Conservation
Drought prompts Tennessee Aquarium to launch rescue of endangered Barrens topminnows
13 Conservation Grants
About the cover
Pink-backed Pelican
Fund Update
Conservation through
coexistence in Kenya’s
South Rift Valley
14 Green Tales
10 Animal Health
program involving voluntary
ultrasound and x-ray
Data drives progress and we need your help
A proactive training VISIT US ONLINE aza.org
Editorial policy: Connect is published by the
Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), a
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of the month. Articles submitted for Connect do not necessarily reflect the opinions and policies of AZA.
Mission: Connect is a forum for promoting AZA’s mission by highlighting zoo and aquarium trends, industry initiatives, conservation efforts and member achievements.
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Copyright policy: All items appearing in Connect are copyright of AZA. Permission to reprint items must be obtained by contacting AZA’s Publications
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Deadline for artwork is the 10th of the month preceding publication. Rates and mechanical requirements are available upon request.
EDITOR
Tim Lewthwaite
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Lisa Cadigan, Cadigan Creative
ADVERTISING
Gina Velosky
(301) 562-0777, ext. 254, [email protected]
EDITORIAL BOARD
|
Thom Benson T e nnessee Aquarium
|
Julie Larsen-Maher Wildlife Conservation Society
|
Tim Lewthwaite Editor
The Art of Communication
|
Kristin L. Vehrs Executive Director
Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited facilities have public relations, marketing, education and communications teams skillfully plying their trade throughout the year—educating a wide range of audiences about the vital role our facilities play in communities, wildlife conservation and animal welfare.
Whether it is on social media, in the
President and CEO
Dan Ashe
Executive Director
Kristin L. Vehrs
General Counsel
Jack Keeney
press, in classrooms, on grounds or in print, these professionals must navigate an ever changing landscape to ensure our key messages resonate with our diverse audiences. One key to success is to be open to innovation and to be aware of what might touch people in new ways.
Last year, the Smithsonian National
Zoo participated with the Washed Ashore project to exhibit a series of dramatic, even
Chief Operating Officer
Jill Nicoll
Senior Vice President of Conservation and Science
Debborah Luke, PhD
Senior Vice President of External Affairs
Rob Vernon
Senior Vice President of Finance
Phil Wagner
SAFE Project Manager
beautiful, sculptures that were created from trash that has been collected from our nation’s shorelines. is powerful art form delivered a strong message about plastic pollution in our oceans and waterways. Other facilities have used poetry, music and art to supplement more
Jackie Ogden, PhD
Vice President of Animal Programs
Candice Dorsey, PhD
Vice President, Conferences and Membership
Melissa Howerton
Vice President of Congressional Affairs
Jennifer Keaton
Vice President of Accreditation Programs
Denny Lewis
traditional methods of communicating with our guests and other wider audiences.
Vice President of Federal Relations
Steve Olson
For a full listing of AZA’s staff, visit www.aza.org/staff
Many of these efforts have involved partnerships with other cultural institutions.
Collaborations with like-minded organizations can amplify our messages and help us reach new audiences.
AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums are trusted voices on wildlife conservation and animal welfare issues, but we cannot stand pat, the work we are involved in is too important. Communication done well is an art, and art done well is a powerful form of communication.
AZA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chair
|
Dennis W. Kelly Director, Smithsonian National Zoological Park
Chair Elect
|
Jim Breheny Executive Vice President and General Director, Zoos and Aquarium, Wildlife Conservation Society, Jonathan Little Cohen Director of the Bronx Zoo
Vice Chair
Gregg Hudson | Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer,
Dallas Zoo Management, Inc.
Past Chair
|
Steve Burns Director, Zoo Boise
Directors
Dennis Kelly
Director, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
Jim Anderson | Executive Director, Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo Bob Chastain | President & CEO, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Suzanne M. Gendron | Executive Director Zoological Operations and Education Ocean Park Corporation Chris Gentile | Director, Western North Carolina Nature Center Christopher Kuhar, PhD | Executive Director, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo John Lewis | Zoo Director, Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens Steve Marshall | Zoo Director, El Paso Zoo Adrienne Rowland | Director, Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay Peggy Sloan | Director, North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher
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Conservation Spotlight
Utah’s Boreal Toads: Taking Conservation to the Classroom
By Chris Schmitz
In Salt Lake City, Utah, Utah’s Hogle Zoo’s biggest local conservation program is monitoring the state’s amphibian populations, particularly boreal toads (Anaxyrus boreas). Boreal toad populations have declined severely in the last two decades from habitat disruption, disease and
Increasing Awareness to Protect Toads
Few people in Utah have ever seen these toads, or know about their existence until they visit them at the Zoo. Toads are oſten not considered charismatic, particularly by people who have never seen one. Since
- climate change. ey are currently waiting to Hogle Zoo’s education programming
- for the health of Utah’s dwindling water
supply. Additionally, they serve as a direct conduit to encourage participants to protect be listed under the Endangered Species Act.
In addition to field monitoring and is strategically aligned with the Zoo’s conservation programs, the Zoo has made a
- citizen science programs, Utah’s Hogle Zoo
- dedicated effort to include ambassador toads wetlands and to participate in the Zoo’s
houses 40 toads in partnership with the Utah in all of its programming. is is bringing
Amphibians of Utah, FrogWatch USA™, and boreal toad surveys.
e Zoo has specifically designed two outreach programs to increase toad awareness: a statewide second grade outreach program called Habitat
Division of Wildlife Resources in its Center for Boreal Toad Conservation. Located in a specially-designed off-exhibit breeding facility, these toads may be a part of a future recovery effort. greater attention to this oſten overlooked and underappreciated species.
e toads provide a link to create empathy for wildlife and also tell a story about their role as an indicator species
Investigations, as well as the Wild Aware Utah school and community outreach programs. In 2016, these programs reached 22,995 participants and introduced them to this rare and charismatic mini-fauna. For those participants who are not impressed by their looks, the fact that boreal toads smell like peanut butter has been instrumental in creating amphibian champions.
With Habitat Investigations, the aim is to spark students’ natural curiosity and sense of wonder by providing exciting opportunities to practice science skills while gaining a deeper understanding of scientific concepts. Focused on the characteristics and adaptations of the plants and animals that reside in Utah’s desert and wetland habitats, it provides the opportunity to discuss local conservation issues. On a recent evaluation a teacher wrote, “We live in a rural area where resources can be limited. It was great that students were able to have this hands-on experience and see live animals that live in Utah. ey felt super special to have the Zoo come to their class. ey learned a lot about the scientific process and how to help conservation efforts.” Feedback indicates that very few program participants have ever seen or heard of a boreal toad until a Zoo visit.
e Wild Aware Utah programs reach a more diverse audience and the toads help to promote the idea of coexistence, specifically allowing the Zoo to highlight how beavers are essential to Utah’s future: maintaining healthy forests, ensuring fresh drinking water and providing critical habitat for boreal toads. Again, very few of the participants have knowledge of this once-common toad prior to participating in the programs.
Art
Elementary School Students Create, Auction Sculptures Inspired by Denver Zoo Exhibit
Five fiſth grade classes from Timber Trails Elementary School, in Castle Rock, Colo., recently created sculptures inspired by Denver Zoo’s traveling exhibit “Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea,” presented by CH2M, and auctioned them for good causes. e exhibit, which ended its Denver run on 16 January, featured 15 large-scale sculptures of sea-life made almost entirely from debris collected on beaches. e auction took place at the school’s Showcase Night and raised more than $700 to be split between e Washed Ashore Project and the nonprofit Stand for Trees. creating drought and other difficulties for the species which live there. e students and teachers who participated in the project said their hope is for the artwork to continue to raise awareness about pollution and human behavior.
Funds raised were donated to e
Washed Ashore Project and Stand for Trees to support their missions. Donations to Washed Ashore go toward creating aesthetically powerful art that educates a global audience about plastic pollution in oceans and waterways and sparks positive changes in consumer habits. Stand for Trees takes action to protect forests and endangered species, as well as combat climate change. Students chose to donate to Stand for Trees aſter watching videos created by the organization and being inspired by their work.
Developed by the nonprofit group e
Washed Ashore Project, the exhibit is meant to create awareness about ocean debris and plastic pollution though art. Opened in late September 2016, this was the first time the exhibit came to Denver, as well as the first time it was be hosted by an inland, noncoastal zoo.
With the help of the aromatic and charismatic boreal toads, the Zoo is reaching visited the exhibit last fall to kick-off their earth
More than 100 students from the school thousands of Utahns and is making a positive difference for Utah’s wildlife. As the education programs and boreal toad field conservation efforts co-evolve, the Zoo will continue to evaluate how best to connect with and motivate students and adults to take action for conservation across the state.
For more information on Wild Aware
Utah, visit www.wildawareutah.org.
science unit and learned how humans and pollution impact the environment. Students also studied energy sources and how to make changes that lessen the human footprint.
For their final project, the students used recycled materials to create sculptures similar to those in the exhibit, but depicting environments and animals in Colorado that are affected by human impact. One classroom portrayed how climate change
Chris Schmitz is the director of education affects mountains, specifically how the at Utah’s Hogle Zoo.
decreasing length of present snow pack is
Conservation
As they siſted through the grubby catch of each seine net haul from the puddlethin water, however, the team found just a handful of Barrens topminnows. Worse yet, they were disconcerted to discover plentiful Western mosquitofish, a hardy invasive species which preys on Barrens topminnow young. Mosquitofish had not been found in this tributary before.
“e presence of Mosquitofish getting in these upstream headwater habitats is pretty disheartening,” said the Tennessee Aquarium’s Assistant Curator of Fishes Matt Hamilton, whose involvement in the Barrens topminnow recovery program dates back to 1999.
Once mosquitofish begin to reproduce, he said, the demise of the Barrens topminnows will become an almost foregone conclusion.
“It’ll be a numbers game at that point,” he said. “Mosquitofish numbers are going to increase, and the Barrens topminnows are going to decrease. ese topminnows are a short-lived species, so it won’t be long until they are gone.”
Drought Prompts Tennessee Aquarium to Launch Rescue of Endangered Barrens Topminnows
When environmental conditions become bad enough to place an entire species’ survival at risk, conservation scientists sometimes resort to bringing an entire wild population into human care to create an “ark population” to safeguard against the possibility of extinction.
For the Barrens topminnow, conditions couldn’t get much worse. be practically no water here,” Dr. Kuhajda said. “I don’t have a lot of hope. is was by far the healthiest population of Barrens topminnows anywhere. is is pretty cataclysmic.”
Despite its diminutive size and limited range, the Barrens topminnow is part of a delicate ecosystem. Ensuring its survival is
Within the Southeast, many such captive populations and propagation programs soon will be housed at TNACI’s flagship freshwater field station near downtown Chattanooga. is state-of-theart facility on the banks of the Tennessee River opened on 27 October 2017 and
Aſter months with little to no rain, the
Middle Tennessee stream that serves as a vital habitat to one of the last remaining wild populations of endangered Barrens topminnows had all but dried up. e once sparkling water had been reduced to a series of stagnant pools connected by an anemic trickle of murky water.
Aſter monitoring the ecological impact of the region’s exceptional drought for months, representatives from the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute (TNACI) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service visited this critical stream on a farm north of Manchester, Tenn., to determine how bad conditions were and whether a rescue effort was warranted. crucial to preserving the natural balance of the already serves as the headquarters for entire waterway, said Clay Raines, Tennessee Aquarium reintroduction biologist.
“All we know for sure is that the more species you have, the more stable the ecosystem is,” he said. “You lose that chain, and no one can say, for certain, what those foundational species are—who’s most propagation programs for Southern Appalachian brook trout and lake sturgeon.
Aſter two and a half hours of work and dozens of seine hauls, the field team recovered just 64 Barrens topminnows, an amount that previously could have been acquired in a single net drag. ese important and who’s least important—in that individuals were placed in bags of clean, ecosystem. We have to value all aquatic life equally and preserve what we can.”
e Middle Tennessee stream system, a tributary waterway of Lewis Creek, once contained hundreds of fish and served as habitat to a large percentage of the two remaining wild populations of Barrens topminnows known to exist. oxygenated water and taken to a TNACI facility as part of a new ark population.
“Without taking this last-resort action, this population would be gone forever,” said Dr. Kuhajda. “Now there’s hope to keep this genetically distinct population intact with the long-term goal of re-establishing a healthy population here again.”
As he looked out on the drought-ravaged scene, however, Tennessee Aquarium Aquatic Biologist Dr. Bernie Kuhajda realized the situation was even worse than anticipated.
“I thought it’d be dry. I had no idea there’d
