First Friday Update – September Edition
Remember to check in on the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month for Volunteer Updates!
There is no question that the Volunteers at CZBG are the BEST in town! We are working on a unique way to Appreciate and Celebrate all of you! More details on the way, be on the lookout for your invitation!
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Don’t forget to Log your Hours in MVP. Do you need a quick refresher course on logging your hours? Click Here
Zoo Updates:
Wrapping Up Asian Elephant Awareness Month
August was Asian Elephant Awareness Month and the Zoo had some really great material and insight on Elephant Trek. Check out the article, video and Podcast with Val that wrapped up the month.
Click Here to Learn More about how the Cincinnati Zoo Steps Up for Asian Elephants at Home and Across the Globe.
Click Here to watch a Short Video about Asian Elephants in Cincinnati and India
Click Here to Listen to the latest Zoo Tales Podcast with Keeper Val and learn about our Elephants and the Elephant Program. You do not want to miss Val’s insights and stories!!
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Who needs a Feel Good Story?
Check out this wonderful story that was on People.com about our very own Princess Fiona and how she is still inspiring people all over!
Click here to Read the Heart-Warming Story of Baby Fiona
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Wild Wednesdays at Cincinnati Children’s
We have been doing bi-weekly Zoom calls with Cincinnati Children’s since May. The Wild Wednesdays series allows us to bring animals to patients, since they can’t come here and we can’t physically come to the Zoo to see the animals.
Click Here to Read the Article
**Don’t miss the link in the article about the way CZBG has adjusted the way they participate in the Creature Connection Program.
Click Here for the CreatureConnection Program Article
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Did you know that our very own Scott Beuerlein writes 2 columns for each issue of the bi-monthly Horticulture Magazine?
One of the columns, an interview column called Garden Views, in 2020 and serves as a vehicle for introducing green industry professionals who influence the direction of horticulture by way of education, introducing new plants, ideas to gardeners. This month Steve interviewed his boss, and your acquaintance. Steve Folz! Why should you read this article? Here is what Scott had to say about Steve:
“Steve is well-known and admired throughout the country and he is particularly respected for his plant knowledge, which is both extremely wide and very deep. There are a lot of people who know perennials, or trees, or annuals, or bamboo, or tulips, or whatever else, but there are not many like Steve who is expert in all of them. Across the board. Likewise, there are a ton of people who know plants or horticulture from books. Or from Facebook. Or from that one dude who is all the current rage. Steve knows all that stuff too, except maybe Facebook which in particular seems to cause him trouble, but Steve couples all that erudite learning stuff with many, many, many years of real, hardcore, true life, disappointing, appalling, mind-blowing, down and dirty, truly disgusting, sometimes soul crushing, and seriously unhealthy experience. God’s honest experience. Yep. And most of that was right here at the Cincinnati Botanical Garden & Zoo.”
Click Here to Read the Steve Foltz Interview
Plant & Animal Updates:
National Honeybee Day
August 21st was National Honey Bee Day! When we plant wildflowers, orchards, and other flowering plants, we support pollinators such as honey bees. They depend on the nectar of a variety of plants for their survival and we depend on honey bees for our survival too! Without their pollinating abilities, many nutritious plants wouldn’t reproduce.
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Let’s Have some Fun:
Have you seen what is blooming around the Zoo? Do you know the names of these beautiful Plants?
Match the Photo of the Flower to the Name
(Answers can be found at the bottom of the page)
Spider Lily ◊ Butterfly Bush ◊ Hydrangea “Invincible Ruby” ◊ African Marigold ◊ Tuberous Begonia ◊ Sedge ◊ Blazing Star ◊ Fan Flower ◊ Caladium ◊ Salvia “Moulin Rouge” ◊ Rudbeckia “Goldstrum” ◊ Ornamental Onion ◊ Wild Senna ◊ Anemone ◊ Canna Lily and Coleus ◊ Crape Myrtle
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The Rumors are True!
A Male Hippo is coming to Hippo Cove! We don’t have a lot of information right now, but as more information is available I will update the “Handsome Hippo” Post! Hopefully I will have more information to share next week!
Click Here for Hippo Updates
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August 26th was World African Painted Dog Day!
The African Painted Dog (also called African Wild Dog) may be the most endangered carnivore in Africa, with less than 5,000 remaining in the wild. Like other Predators, they have been persecuted for hunting livestock and its habitat is shrinking as the human population grows. They are also susceptible to diseases spread by domestic dogs like rabies and distemper. The Cincinnati Zoo supports the Botswana Predator Conservation, an organization that protects African Painted Dogs and encourages human-carnivore coexistence in Africa.
Click Here to See a Video of our African Painted Dogs in Action
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Zoo Birthdays:
Ajani Jo is 1!
Ajani Jo celebrated his 1st Birthday on August 21st! Black Rhinos are critically endangered, so every birth is significant for the survival of their species. He celebrated with his Mom, Seyia, and a special cake and treats donated by Simple Truth including all his favorite produce like watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, sweet potato and his Mom’s ultimate favorite…GRAPE JELLY!!!
Elle is 6!
Can you believe Elle is already 6 years old? Her birthday was on August 25th! Elle was the 50th gorilla born at the Cincinnati Zoo since 1970. One extremely important facet to the zoo’s wide-reaching gorilla program is our conservation work in the rainforest of the Congo. The Cincinnati Zoo has participated in and supported efforts in the wild to help this critically endangered species for over 20 years.
John is 11!
John, our male African Lion, turned 11 on August 31st! The Cincinnati Zoo provides support for Rebuilding the Pride, a community-based conservation program that combines traditional and modern technology to restore a healthy lion population while reducing the loss of livestock to lions in Kenya’s South Rift Valley. Thanks to this program, lion populations are growing on the Olkirimatian and Shompole ranches. Once down to a low of about 10 known lions in the area, the population is now estimated to be nearly 70. The prides have been producing cubs and new lions are moving in from surrounding areas.
Click Here To learn more about how the Cincinnati Zoo is protecting lions in the wild
Lightning is 9 years old!
Her birthday was on September 2nd and she has so much to celebrate this year! We can’t wait to meet the new addition to the CZBG family!
Did you know that CZBG has put together a “Baby Pool”?
Lightning is due anytime between now and October. Help us guess the correct birth date and time and you will win a private Zoom encounter with mom and baby sloth!*
Each guess is $5 (guess as many times as you like!). Funds raised will be used to care for our sloths and to support our partners at The Sloth Institute in Costa Rica. All guesses must be submitted by September 30, 2021, at 11:59pm.
Click Here to Submit your Guess
Opportunities:
Conservation Chat
Volunteers are welcome to join in on the 3 remaining Conservation Chats. Come hang out at a Happy Hour Event or grab a Free Lunch. These are the upcoming available dates:
Tuesday – September 7th ♦ 5:00pm-7:00pm
- Happy Hour at Mad Tree Brewing
Wednesday – September 8th ♦ 11:00am-1:00pm during your regularly scheduled Lunch Breaks.
- Free Lunch at Tree Tops
- Click Here to RSVP for Lunch
- You MUST RSVP for this event to ensure we have enough food:
Monday – September 13th ♦ 5:00pm-7:00pm
- Happy Hour at Taft’s Brewporium on Spring Grove Ave.
If you can’t make it but have any questions or ideas, Email the Conservation Team!
Plant 4 Pollinators Challenge
All Volunteers have a chance to make a difference for the pollinators in our community. In 2019 the Plant for Pollinator Challenge was started at CZBG. This year Volunteers will have their own Plant for Pollinators challenge with a chance to win a CZBG Pollinator Plant Kit (Valued at $99.99)
Click Here to Learn More
FC Cincinnati Tickets
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With FC Cincinnati’s move to the MLS, their ticket pricing and discount options changed dramatically. They were willing to offer 2 discounted games to our employees & volunteers, and have set up dedicated links to purchase tickets. Tickets are available in sections 229 & 230. Which will allow for Zoo employees, families, etc. to sit near each other.
Click Here to Buy 9/11 Tickets
Click Here to Buy 10/2 Tickets
Volunteer Corner:
Do you have any Volunteer news, photos of your team or an article you would like to share? I would love to include Volunteer updates in future updates! You can send content to me by e-mail anytime!
Friendly Faces:
Americorps
For those that are unfamiliar with AmeriCorps, think of it as the US version of the Peace Corps. Serving those in need and capacity building are at the core of the program. We have launched countless careers and served over 130,000 at risk youth since 2012 through the efforts of this program at the Zoo.
Sarah Elam
Sarah is our new Americorps Program Manager. She comes to us via Lighthouse Youth Services as their Volunteer Coordinator and working with UC’s College of Medicine in several initiatives that served the underserved. She clearly has a long history and demonstrated commitment to Community Service. Add to this, the fact that she is also a former service member with us at the Zoo (2 years ago) and she is a perfect match. Sarah is also a Certified Herbalist and has a budding side hustle creating lip balms, lotions and teas. Her current area of study is Chinese Herbal Medicine.
Meet the 2021-2022 AmeriCorps Team!
Abigail Waugh
Living Classroom Education Access Fund (LCEAF) Public Programs AmeriCorps Member
Abigail is a former Cincinnati Zoo intern who is most excited to help as many people as possible gain access to the awesome and meaningful environmental education programming at the Cincinnati Zoo.
♦ Favorite Animal: Crocodile ♦ Hobbies: Hiking, Kayaking and Archery ♦
Amanda Pace
ZooTeen Engagement Americorps Member
Amanda is most excited to interact with the Teen Volunteers and get to know them!
♦ Favorite Animal: Rhino (but also house cats) ♦ Fun Fact: I LOVE rollercoasters! I’d love to ride all the best rides in the world.
Anna Scholle
Living Classroom Education Access Fund (LCEAF) School Programs AmeriCorps Member
Anna is excited about sharing ambassador animals with students, so that she can see the excitement in their faces upon experiencing an interesting animal up close, and so that I can inspire a passion for wildlife in them from an early age!
♦ Favortie Animal: Horses, but all others are a close second! ♦ Fun Fact: When I was a kid, I was a VIP at a Jack Hanna event and got to eat dinner with him. ♦
Bridget Reilly
Community Impact AmeriCorps Member
This is Bridget’s second year as a service member here at the Zoo. She is the most excited to build relationships rooted in environmental stewardship and conservation impact with community members.
♦ Favorite Animal: Harbor Seal ♦ Fun Fact: Bridget has a short story published in Ireland ♦
Jillian Petrina
Living Classroom Education Access Fund (LCEAF) SchoolPrograms Americorps Member
Jillian is the most excited for working with a variety of animals and learning and conservation so I can share this knowledge with young and passionate minds.
♦ Favorite Animal: Sea Turtles ♦ Fun Fact: My fascination with snakes started from a young age, I used to catch them in my granny’s backyard and try to sell them as pets for a dollar in the driveway. She wasn’t too happy once she found out. (For Records sake, she never completed a sale.) ♦
Jordan Hubrich
Living Classroom Education Access Fund (LCEAF) Public Programs AmeriCorps Member
Jordan is most excited to work closely with different animals as well as to further the education efforts and give back to the community.
♦ Favorite Animal: Peregrine Falcon or Humpback Whale ♦ Fun Fact: I write stories — mainly speculative and magical realist fiction ♦
Leslie Hacker
Living Classroom Education Access Fund (LCEAF) Public Programs AmeriCorps Member
Leslie is most excited to work with children from our community – introducing them to topics that are important and exciting to me as well as simply getting to know them.
♦ Favorite Animal: Meerkat ♦ Fun Fact: Leslie traveled the country for a year. We lived out of a 20-foot 1975 RV. This trip was the catalyst for stepping back from my previous career and being here with AmeriCorps today! ♦
Mallory Fox
Living Classroom Education Access Fund (LCEAF) Public Programs AmeriCorps Member
This is Mallory’s second year as a service member here at the Zoo. Mallory is most exited to make more connections with LCEAF students who attend our programs!
♦ Favorite Animal: Elephants ♦ Fun Fact: mallory’s wongspan is larger that she is tall. ♦
Margaret Janz
Living Classroom Education Access Fund (LCEAF) Public Programs AmeriCorps Member
Margaret is most excited to teach kids about the environment and the animals.
♦ Favorite Animal: Can’t Choose, but insects and ungulates top the list ♦ Fun Fact: Margaret’s favorite song of all time is “The Monster Mash” ♦
Morgan Ealy
Living Classroom Education Access Fund (LCEAF) Schools Programs AmeriCorps Member
Morgan is most excited to meet and network with new people!
♦ Favorite Animal: Bottlenose Dolphin ♦
Upcoming Zoo Events:
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September 11th-September 17th – First Responder’s Week
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September 11th – Bowyer Farm Plant Sale – Plant for Pollinator Kits On Sale
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September 18th – Deaf Zoo Day – Hearing Speech & Deaf Center (HSDC)/Community Services for the Deaf (CSD) is partnering with the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden for a fun-filled, family friendly event!
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September 24th – Zoofari
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September 25th – Bowyer Farm Plant Sale – Fall Plant for Pollinator Kits Available
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October 9th – Bowyer Farm Plant Sale- Fall Plant for Pollinator Kits Available
In Case you Missed it:
Did you miss this information in the August 20th Update?
New Vocabulary:
In the link below you will find the most recent version of our guide to using vocabulary that reflects the Cincinnati Zoo’s commitment to Animal Excellence. This document was created by the animal leadership and PR teams and includes some words that should always be replaced with alternatives and others that are okay in certain circumstances.
Click Here to View the Vocabulary
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TB Tests:
After COVID Delayed our annual On-Site Testing, it is finally time to get scheduled for that annual TB Test. TB Tests are required for Volunteers who directly work with our Animals. There is an option to Test On-Site September 13th-17th as well as an option to test Off-Site at one of the TriHealth Occupational Health Locations.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure when you schedule your appointment You must have your TB test read 48-72 hours after it is administered. If you do not, you may need to take it all over again, so PLEASE plan accordingly
Click Here for All TB Test Information & Forms
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Are you Looking for another way to support More Home to Roam?
CZBG is Proud to partner once again with Rookwood Pottery.
Proceeds from these ornaments will benefit Elephant Trek! The Elephant Ornament – inspired by iconic Rookwood Artist, Kataro Shirayamadani’s original design made in 1934 are available for Pre-Order Now! Click Here For More Information
Answers to the “What’s Blooming Quiz”
- Hydrangea “Invincible Ruby”
- Caladium
- Rudbeckia “Goldstrum”
- African Marigold
- Wild Senna
- Canna Lily and Coleus
- Crape Myrtle
- Anemone
- Spider Lily
- Ornamental Millet Stalks
- Ornamental Onion
- Salvia “Moulin Rouge”
- Butterfly Bush
- Blazing Star
- Sedge
- Tuberous Begonia
- Fan Flower
- Million Bells
Brittany Garera-Stapleton