Volunteer Updates:
Volunteer Appreciation Week:
It’s time for us to Celebrate you and Kick off the season! During Volunteer Appreciation Week we will be hosting a few exciting events and we want to make sure that you Save the Date! We will be hosting Volunteer Open Houses and Volunteer Social Hours twice during that week and you are invited! The Dates for the Volunteer Social Hours can be found below:
Social Hour Dates/Times:
Sunday, April 16th 1:00pm-3:00pm – Treetops
Thursday, April 20th 2:00pm-4:00pm – Frisch’s Theater
Please feel free to come and visit with other Volunteers! This will be a great opportunity to meet some of our new faces and enjoy some light refreshments!
In the 2 Hours Before each Social Hour Events, we will host an Open House around the Zoo. There will be opportunities, chats and tours exclusively for Volunteers all around the Zoo! As time gets closer, I will post a schedule with all the events and opportunities available during the Open House! Keep an eye on the Update for more information!
Please fill out the Click on the Link Below to RSVP for these events!
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Continuing Inspiration Chats:
Save the Date 4/13 11:30am _ Mandy Pritchard, Insectarium Team Leader
I hope you can join us next week for a chat with Mandy Pritchard, Insectarium Team Leader. Mandy has graciously offered to chat with all of us about what is going on in the Insect Department. Tune in to hear fun stories and updates about the residents of the Insectarium. You won’t want to miss it!
I will send a reminder e-mail with the Zoom Link on Thursday Morning!
Ryan Dumas’ Chat Recording:
Did you miss Ryan’s chat a few weeks ago, no worries, the link to the recording can be found below. Ryan was so entertaining and gave such good information, you really don’t want to miss it!
Click Here to Watch and Listen
Ryan mentioned some YouTube Videos in his chat, I have included them below! Enjoy!
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Opportunities:
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Dublin Zoo Trip
There are 4 Spots that have just opened on our upcoming Zoo Trip to Dublin. If you are interested, click on the Image above to review the flyer.
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Uniforms:
There will be some new uniform items available in the Online Shop later this month. The online store is open from April 10th- April 23rd 24 hours a day. This year we will have an eco-friendly/sustainable line of items for you to choose from. There will be samples of new eco-friendly items for you to see in the purchasing warehouse Mon-Fri 8am to 3pm for two weeks starting April 10th. (Sizes M.XL,1x,2x,3x) to assist with your fit questions.
https://www.ourcompanyshop.com/cincinnatizoovolunteers/shop/home
All Zoo logo items are final sale and not returnable or exchangeable as they are a custom order. Any issues that are on the vendor side will be corrected if you make us aware two weeks after delivery.
Delivery is expected the week of May 22nd.
*You are NOT required to purchase New Uniform Products, this is completely OPTIONAL.
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Have You Seen This:
Check out some recent articles found in Horticulture Publications! Our Volunteers made the Cover Photo!!
Zoo Updates:
Best of Cincinnati
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Tunes & Blooms every Thursday Night in April
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Easter Celebration _ April 8th
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Spring Season is Wild
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ZooTales Podcast – A Double Dose
Senior Horticulturists Paul & Tosh chat about their favorite plants, early blooms this year and more in this new episode of Cincinnati Zoo Tales!
Cincinnati Zoo Keepers Ellen, Keri Ann and Sarah update everyone on Harley and Reggie’s unbelievable success stories in this new episode of Cincinnati Zoo Tales! Listen here:
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Healthcare Worker Appreciation Day
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Elephant Trek Update
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World Water Day
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1st Ever Busching/Morgan IECC Scholarship Recipient
Two entomologists, Milan Busching (1951-2022) and Randy Morgan played integral roles in the establishment and continued success of the World of the Insect. It is to honor Milan and Randy that the Busching/Morgan IECC Scholarshipwas created. Beginning this year and awarded annually, this scholarship will send an aspiring greater Cincinnati entomologist to the Invertebrates in Education and Conservation Conference (IECC).
We are excited to announce that Grace Ames, a sophomore at Miami University has been selected as the 1st recipient of the Busching/Morgan IECC Scholarship. This July, Grace will attend the conference with World of the Insect Keepers April Pitman and Michelle Griesinger and Curator of Ectotherms Winton Ray.
The IECC is held annually in Tucson, Arizona and brings together people from across the entomological community to experience paper presentations, specialty workshops and field trips that are blended together to create a one-of-a-kind curriculum. It is our hope that by attending the IECC aspiring entomologists like Grace will build connections across the entomological community and identify potential career paths.
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Excellent Feature on Animal Excellence!
Shout out to Cat Razal and Angie Reed for sharing the unique work that they do to ensure that animals at the Cincinnati Zoo live their best lives!
Click Here to Learn More and Listen to the Clip
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Hops is a Level 1 Certified Green Restaurant®!!
Alongside Basecamp Café, Hops has now been certified as a green restaurant from the Green Restaurant Association! We are still working hard to advance this certificate to the next level but are thrilled to be green! Great big thanks to our team for working so hard to meet our sustainability goals. We couldn’t achieve the status of “Greenest Zoo in America” without the continuous efforts of everyone here at the zoo. Thank you all for your support!
Find out more about the GRA here.
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Earth Month sculptures going up 4/10
Art & Ecosystems
Earth Month at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
April 11 to April 30, 2023
Art & Ecosystems celebrates Earth Month at the Cincinnati Zoo by exhibiting 18 sustainability- themed sculptures. These works, made of recycled and upcycled materials, build on the Sisters of Charity’s vision to “live lightly on this Earth”.
Sculptor Tom Tsuchiya and the Cincinnati Zoo conceived this exhibition highlighting work by students of Mount St. Joseph University’s Art & Design class on sustainable sculpture. This class is co-taught by Brandon Lowery and Tsuchiya.
In addition to the works by the 14 MSJ students (13 Art & Design students and 1 Chemistry with a Sustainability minor), Tsuchiya’s recycling receptacle sculptures are on exhibit. Tsuchiya states, “This exhibition is an affirmation of artists’ tremendous imagination to transform trash into beautiful and thought-provoking work- art and ecosystems indeed.”
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Living Lands and Water_Ohio River Clean Up
I was lucky enough to join several Zoo Staff Members and Players and Staff from FCCincinnati yesterday to do an Ohio River Clean up.
We teamed up with the incredible organization, Living Lands and Waters, to collect over 4,000lbs of Trash in just a couple hours. Headquartered in East Moline, Illinois, Living Lands & Waters is a 501 (c)(3) environmental organization that was established by Chad Pregracke in 1998. Since the organization was founded, Living Lands & Waters has grown to be the only “industrial strength” river cleanup organization like it in the world. Spending up to nine months a year living and traveling on the barge, the Living Lands & Waters crew hosts river cleanups, watershed conservation initiatives, workshops, tree plantings and other key conservation efforts.
Click Here to Learn More about this incredible Organization
Plant & Animal Updates:
Hippo Bloat Update
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Amiry Update
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Tanzi Update
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Manatee Appreciation Day
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Chicks Galore
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Welcome Kip, the Baby Gibbon
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Aruba Island Rattlesnakes
Birthdays:
April 2nd – Rico’s Birthday
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March 28th – Bubba’s Birthday
Just For Fun:
4/4 is World Rat Day!
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Dragon-headed Katydid
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Eastern Screech Owl
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Red’s Opening Day Fun
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Bowyer Update:
Volunteers are working on “plug growing” of Asclepius Synaca (a variety of milkweed) for future plant sales and browse for the Zoo animals. Once the seeds sprout in the square containers, they are individually transferred to their own individual cells for growing into more mature plants. Once they establish solid roots, they will again be transferred to pots for plant sales or placed out for browse growing.
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Beetle Larvae:
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March 25th is Stork Day!
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Rozi & Daisy
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March 23rd – National Puppy Day
Happy National Puppy Day to the cheetah companion puppies that call the Cincinnati Zoo home – Moose, Daisy & Remus.
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March 20th – World Frog Day
-There are over 6,000 different species of frogs.
-A group of frogs is called an army
-Frogs are considered “indicator species”, which means that they are very sensitive to changes in their environment such as pollution. Because of this, healthy frogs oftentimes mean a healthy environment!
Conservation Corner:
Cincinnati Zoo aids drought-stricken Kenyan region
What happens when the river runs dry? Cincinnati Zoo aids drought-stricken Kenyan region.
- Kenyan pastoralists, their livestock and wildlife are struggling from a severe drought in the South Rift Valley.
- The Cincinnati Zoo praises and partners with this region where people, elephants, lions and other wildlife coexist without boundaries.
- Just as the zoo is providing resources to the Kenyan region, it is asking for help from Cincinnatians.
Distraught hippos hide in bushes or frantically run around looking for water.
But there is no water within which they can submerge themselves.
People, cattle and wildlife share shallow, shrinking pools sprung from deep holes dug into an otherwise dry Ewaso Ng’iro River. It is the river that supports life in this part of Kenya, the South Rift Valley.
Mothers, their breastfed infants and older children are dehydrated and malnourished. And of course the livestock are dying, with about 60% wiped out so far.
Click Here to See the Enquirer Story *You will need to be a Subscriber
Click Here to See the Information on the Zoo’s Website
Update from 3/27:
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A New Partnership
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Manatee Conservation & Crystal River
Channel 19 News was at the Zoo this past weekend covering a story about Manatee Conservation and a partnership with Crystal River.
Click Here to Watch the Channel 19 Segment
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Cheetah Outreach – Update From the Field
The Cheetah Outreach Trust is responsible for placing livestock guarding dogs in cheetah ranges in South Africa as a form of conservation by reducing human-wildlife conflict. They also do camera trapping on farmland to monitor predators such as painted dogs, hyenas, and leopards and relocation of problem predators.
Over the past two years, they have been monitoring all the livestock dogs that they have placed to see their success and where they can improve on placements. COVID-19 really took a toll on the ability of Cheetah Outreach to fund the placement of dogs, so CZBG’s financial support came at an important time for them. Cheetah Outreach will monitor the dogs and troubleshoot if there are any issues to ensure a successful placement. For example, in 2022, puppy Jade was placed on a farm where the farmer had been having issues with goat loss. Jade did a great job bonding with the goats but was being naughty chasing all the farmer’s chickens. Cheetah Outreach helped address these behavioral issues and now she’s not chasing chickens but doing a great job protecting her goats! The farmer even reported seeing a single male cheetah on the farm not too long ago, leaving his livestock alone (picture of ‘good girl’ Jade to the right).
All of the placed dogs are monitored for a year and corrections such as this are made; if after a year the dog is still not working out, they will remove the dog. Since 2005, however, 84% of the 373 placed dogs have been successful! CZBG’s support of this program is helping cheetahs and people continue to coexist peacefully in South Africa, and just last year, Zoo support sponsored the placement of a dog aptly named, “Chili Dog.” We love him as much as we love our chili here in Cincinnati!
Staff Update:
Amanda Weisel – Senior Elephant Keeper
As some of you may know, Amanda Weisel, Senior Elephant Keeper, was surprised with health issues earlier this year. Her friend, and fellow Zoo Employee, Marjorie Barthel asked that I share this information with the Volunteers since she has had many of you reach out. Below is a link to a Go Fund Me page that Marjorie has created to help Amanda and keep us all updated on her progress. There is no pressure to contribute to the Fund, but we wanted to make sure the link was shared so you can have access to updates. Please keep Amanda in your thoughts as she goes through this difficult time.
Reminder: Please don’t share this information on any Social Media
https://www.gofundme.com/f/amanda-weisel-good-shepherd-farm
In December of last year Amanda recorded a ZooTales Podcast talking about Good Shepherd Farm. If you would like to hear more about it, I have included the link below:
Click Here to Listen to Amanda’s Podcast
Reminders:
Now that the Season is back in Full Swing, make sure that you are logging your Volunteer Hours! If you need a little reminder, I have included a link below to a tutorial: