Category — Conservation

With thousands of residents, commuters, and visitors passing through Cincinnati every day, we can’t afford to make a bad impression, especially when visitors are coming to visit the Zoo. You can make a difference by getting involved with our friends at Keep Cincinnati Beautiful this Saturday. Volunteers will be picking up litter and landscaping flower beds along the highway during the 2012 State Roadway Cleanup – an event that is good for our city, and great for the environment! The Cincinnati Zoo will have their own team of volunteers cleaning up a site along I-71.

 WHEN: Saturday, March 31st, 2012 from 10 AM – 1 PM. Registration will begin at 9:30 AM. If you want to join the Zoo’s team, let them know at check in! Coffee and a light breakfast will be provided, along with some friends visiting from the Zoo!

WHERE: Meet at Union Terminal (1301 Western Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45203) in the SE parking lot.

FREE STUFF: Volunteers will receive a free ticket to the Cincinnati Zoo and an official event t-shirt! KISS 107 DJ Jare will also be helping volunteers and giving away prizes, so bring your friends!

AFTER PARTY: Keep Cincinnati Beautiful and KISS 107 are hosting an after party from 1 PM – 3 PM at Cincy’s on 6th. Let us know if you plan on attending so we can hook you up with free appetizers!

To register or for more information, contact gogreen@cincinnatizoo.org

SPECIAL THANKS TO KCB’s SPONSORS & PARTNERS: United Dairy Farmers, Ohio Department of Transportation, Cincinnati Zoo, Cincinnati Museum Center, & Ohio Department of Natural Resources

The proper disposal of electronic waste has become a major concern of businesses large and small.  This FREE seminar this Thursday at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is designed to help business and nonprofit leaders learn best practices for safe and responsible electronics disposal and recycling.  The seminar is presented by 2trg, in partnership with the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Green Umbrella & the City of Cincinnati’s Office of Environmental Quality. We hope you can join us! The seminar takes place this Thursday, March 29th from 3:30-5:30pm.

Our special guest speaker is Mike Enberg, the e-Stewards Enterprise Manager with the Basel Action Network based in Seattle, Washington.  Founded in 1997, BAN has become the leading global source of information and advocacy on toxic trade and international hazardous waste treaties.  It has developed market-based solutions that rely on the highest standards for globally responsible recycling and rigorous independent certification to those standards.

Mike will address the following topics relevant to all businesses and organizations:

• Current e-waste disposal regulations
• Best practices for creating an electronic waste recycling program for your organization with an emphasis on protecting assets and limiting risk
• Differences in the two accredited e-waste recycler certification standards: R2 & e-Stewards
• Why businesses and organizations should work with certified recyclers
• Participation in the e-Stewards Enterprise program

Learn more about sustainable practices from the Cincinnati Zoo, hailed as “the greenest Zoo in America”; 2trg, who recently earned the prestigious e-Stewards and R2 certifications; Green Umbrella, the region’s sustainability initiative; and the City of Cincinnati’s Office of Environmental Quality, responsible for the Green Cincinnati Plan.

Space is limited for this seminar so please RSVP today at: http://technologyrecyclingseminar.eventbrite.com/. Admission and parking to the Zoo is FREE for seminar participants.

We have a post from a guest blogger today, one of the Zoo Academy high school students:

Hello, my name is Aimee Huff. I am a senior at the Cincinnati Zoo Academy. Yes, you heard me correctly, the Zoo Academy. Not many people know a school like that actually exists. It’s amusing. The Zoo Academy has been run for over 30 years! And not a lot of people know about this amazing and unique program. The Zoo Academy offers a lot of opportunities and gives you personal experience with what keepers in the zoo go through and what tasks have to be done each day. It offers more than a typical high school offers. If you haven’t heard the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is ranked as one of the best zoos in the country! How cool is that?

I’ve learned so much and had great experiences here at the Zoo Academy so far. One of the experiences that I will always keep with me is watching Suci the Sumatran rhino receive an ultrasound. It was an experience that was emotional, yet joyful at the same time. Dr. Roth went through a lot of tribulations to get Suci to ovulate successfully. I had the opportunity to see Dr. Roth in action. Since I was only a student, there wasn’t much I could do, but stand there in amazement. Dr. Roth had a lot of equipment set up. It was like a miniature version of a hospital. They were doing an ultrasound on the Sumatran rhino because as you must know, Sumatran rhinos are on the brink of extinction, and the Cincinnati Zoo wants this species to live on. Especially, here.

Sumatran rhino with baby (Photo: Dave Jenike)

Holding the rhino in one place for a series of hours is a serious matter and tough work. So, in order for them to get Suci to cooperate, they treated her with yummy fruit and veggies. I remember asking one of the keepers if I could pet her while he was feeding her; he said no because that would probably irritate her. And they obviously did not want that happen. During the series of tests, I also remember Suci secreting a lot of vaginal liquid. We weren’t sure if she was urinating or if she was actually ovulating. So Dr. Roth asked one of the keepers to collect some of the liquid she was secreting all over the floor in her enclosure.

I have also been able to work with my favorite animal at the Cincinnati Zoo. Can you guess what it is? You guessed it, the red panda! I was really happy to have the opportunity to work with the red pandas. I chose to do my yearlong project on the red panda and being in that lab made it easy and convenient for me to collect and gather information about the animal.

Here's a picture I took of a red panda. (Photo: Glen Schulte)

You’re probably wondering why I would do a project about red pandas. I chose to do a project about these animals because not only are they my favorite creature in the Cincinnati Zoo, but they are also the most vulnerable ones as well. Red pandas are on the brink of extinction because their land is being destroyed and due to climate change. Climate change is proceeding faster at higher elevations, and this could possibly destroy their region. The red panda is an animal that is most likely to be ignored in zoos because they are most active in the winter when there aren’t a lot of people at the zoo. I feel that we should protect them because red pandas are just too unique and important to their habitat.

Red pandas like to climb trees! (Photo: Connie Lemperle)

So, I came up with an idea of creating a class for kids ages 8 to 11 that offers information about these animals to raise awareness. I made up activities and a song for the group of kids. The class is scheduled for March 3^rd. It’s advertised on the Cincinnati Zoo website and people who are interested can sign up online or go to the information desk in the Education Center. I will get to help with the class. I am hoping more kids sign up. I’m really excited about this!

Thank you Zoo Academy,

Aimee Huff