Volunteer Updates & Opportunities
Guess Fritz’s 1st Birthday Weight!
Hi Volunteers! Our Fantastic Fritz will be turning 1 on August 3rd, and we have a fun way to celebrate. The Africa Keepers are holding a contest for Staff to try to guess Fritz’s weight on his first birthday and we wanted to let the Volunteers and ZooTeens in on the action!
We’re inviting all ALL Volunteer and ZooTeens to guess how much they think the big boy will weigh on his big day. To enter your guess, please complete the form below by 31st.
- The closest guess will win an after hours tour of Africa with 4 Guests on August 7th from 6:30-8:30pm! (There will be one Adult Volunteer Winner and one ZooTeen Winner).
- The second closest guess will win a Hippo Prize Package.
*Only one submission per individual. If there are multiple guesses for the winning weight, a winner will be chosen at random from those individuals.
Good luck, and Happy Birthday to Fritz!
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AAZK ANNUAL ART AUCTION 2023
WEDNESDAY, JULY 12th
5:30 – 10PM
Urban Artifact Brewery
This year’s funds go to Mabula Ground Hornbill Project
Art for auction, raffle of art and other items, and merchandise!!
Art auction starts at 7PM and raffle will follow shortly after.
Zoo Updates
Elephant Trek Update
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ZooLaLa – Zero Waste
In the planning process Events, Sustainability, SSA and Park Services collaborated to decide to make Zoo La La a Zero Waste Event for the first time ever, meaning everything that was handed out to guests was either 100% recyclable or compostable and we were able to divert more than 90% of event waste away from landfills.
Park Services collected just over 2600 pounds of material from trash/recycling cans and vendor booths during the event. The Zoo then paid for an ODRC run sorting facility to separate compost, recyclables, and landfill contamination. The feedback from our sorting partner told us that of the 2600 pounds, only 35 pounds was contamination, meaning 98.7% of our event waste was diverted away from the landfill which is an absolutely amazing accomplishment.
We were also able to donate about 1000 pounds of leftover food to a local organization called Last Mile Food Rescue that gets those leftovers to individuals and communities in need.
With that, just over 3600 pounds of event waste diverted away from the landfill to recycling, composting, and food donations. That means our first ever Zero Waste Zoo La La had more than 99% diversion. That is incredible. If we can do it with Zoo La La, we can do it with any event.
CZBG should be incredibly proud of this one, I know I am. Thank you all for everything you did to make this event happen and for all the effort and planning to make it successfully Zero Waste.
Click Here to Watch a Short Video
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ZooTales
Keeper Mark M keeps us updated on skunk and bat-eared fox babies at the Cincinnati Zoo! Learn more about what it takes to care for these babies. Listen here: https://ow.ly/VPtE50OZQo4
Plant & Animal Updates
Our Beautiful Bong, Stevie, gave birth to a healthy baby boy on Tuesday evening, 6/20! The keepers have decided to name him Beaudan as a tribute to his dad, Beau, who died earlier this year. Mom and baby are doing great.
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Newly Hatched Flamingo Chick
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Baby Sloth
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Savanna – June 22nd
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June 19th – Happy Birthday Tanzi
Just for Fun
Swiftie-Mania
Unless you have been completely disconnected, you know that this weekend was HUGE for Taylor Swift Fans in Cincinnati. We also happen to have quite a few “Swifties” here at the Zoo! Take a look at some of the events that have been happening around the Zoo!
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Reds Day at the Zoo
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June 20th – American Eagle Day
Conservation Corner
CZBG Brings Nature to Neighbors
Shout out to Mollie and our Community Engagement and Horticulture Teams for bringing and planting thousands of plants in Irving Playground yesterday morning!
The Zoo and community partners brought 2000 perennials from Rockdale Urban Learning Garden, which were potted by Rockdale students earlier this year, to Irving Playground in Avondale for a mass planting. The playground is on Forest Ave., directly across from the future site of Elephant Trek.
The goal was to plant a giant pollinator garden during National Pollinator Week and was funded by a grant from National Environmental Educator’s Foundation focused on increasing pollinator habitats in urban settings through community engagement. Mission accomplished!
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Elephant Conservation
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Love for our Pollinators
Additional Updates
Job Opportunities…Know Anyone?