Did you know that at the Phoenix Zoo, over 272,000 plastic straws and 192,000 plastic lids are used each year? That’s roughly enough plastic to create a chain of lids and straws from the Phoenix Zoo to the San Francisco Zoo.

Most of you are probably familiar with some of the challenges that plastic creates for the environment. The most definitive issue is that plastic does not biodegrade and is therefore maintained in the environment for, what’s estimated, hundreds of years or even permanently if it’s buried in a landfill with no exposure to the ultra-violet rays from the sun. When the plastic hangs around, any chemicals contained within it can leak into ground water sources and can also be picked up by animals that mistake the plastic for food. Plastic can also end up in our waterways and eventually in the ocean. You may have heard of “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” essentially a floating landfill in the ocean. All of the trash dumped in the ocean is carried by currents to this area and there it remains to not only be a giant eye-sore but, more importantly, causes chemical and safety hazards for the aquatic life that move through the area.

The good news is that we can start making a positive impact by reducing the amount of plastic that we use every day. With this in mind, starting June 1, 2012, the Phoenix Zoo has decided to take a major step and will stop using plastic straws and lids in our concession areas. Just think of how much plastic we’ll be keeping out of the landfill each year!

You’ll still be able to purchase our kids meal cups with the reusable straw and lid, however, single use straws and lids will no longer be available. We’re excited to give our dedicated members and guests an opportunity to help us make a significant positive impact. We appreciate your support and understanding.

It’s a year’s pass to a fun place with the family AND –

It’s our family holiday tradition of Zoo Lights AND -

It’s admission to a water park, special member previews, and exciting events AND –

It’s discounts on the Safari Train, Stingray Bay, the carousel, and even discounted or free admission to over 160 other zoos and aquariums worldwide, AND –

It’s the place our sons came to for school dioramas and science fair inspiration, AND –

It’s the Early Childhood Breakfasts that engaged my grandson’s imagination and connected the two of us with mutual amazement at the abilities of animals, BUT –

Our membership to the Phoenix Zoo extends well beyond our single family and so far beyond the valley.

Funny how I skimmed past the Zoo’s vision and mission statements in the 90’s “Arizoo” magazine and the current member magazine “Wild Times” until I started volunteering to write feature articles for the Zoo e-news in 2005. Well, maybe not so funny, because there are so many interesting articles that catch my attention. But as Zoo members, it was our vision and mission, too, though we never realized how hard or in how many places our membership monies were working while we were having fun at the Zoo.

Now I know we’re part of a community dedicated to improving people’s lives through interaction with nature and excelling in conservation, education, exhibition and recreation. We help provide a healthy, safe, stimulating and respect-filled home to over a thousand individual animals. We supply classroom resources to educators http://edventures.phoenixzoo.org/teachers.html , send animal experts and animals all over the state to classrooms, clubs, senior centers and community organizations, teach tens of thousands of children who come to the Zoo for family programs, school field trips, guided tours, workshops, and exciting home-schooling adventures, and even provide homework help at http://edventures.phoenixzoo.org/pHomeworkHelp.html

My membership dollars are at work ensuring healthy and satisfying lives for the individual animals in the Zoo’s collection, but they’re also busy in Arizona and around the world funding and helping research and conservation efforts, too, around the globe. “As zoos struggle to define what they are supposed to be and do, they’re finding an ever-greater role in saving animals in the wild,” says Michael Hutchins, director for conservation and science at the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. “Zoos are becoming protectors rather than collectors of wildlife.”

http://www.phoenixzoo.org/learn/conservation_efforts.aspx

http://www.phoenixzoo.org/learn/conservation_efforts_detail.aspx?ARTICLE_ID=100637

And as Zoo members, that’s what we all are, too! My heart as a mom and grandma, my passion as someone who cares about the world, and my thanks go to the Phoenix Zoo for making us part of something so much greater than we could ever do on our own.

About the author ~ Rose is a Program Assistant for the School and Family Programs at the Phoenix Zoo

Your Phoenix Zoo is front page news today!

The Arizona Republic featured an article highlighting our 47 years of historic conservation efforts with the Arabian Oryx! The article is also available online:

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2010/11/15/20101115oryx-phoenix-zoo-jordan.html

Front Page of the 11/15/2010 Arizona Republic image from newseum.org

The Tamer has finally arrived at Shaumari. We spent the morning setting it up and training the staff on how to use it. In order to keep the animals as calm as possible, the staff will need to take the next few months to slowly accustom the animals to the presence of the Tamer until they are no longer nervous about being near or within the chute system. Once they get to that point, the staff will be able to run the animals through the chute, restrain individuals in the tamer for the common veterinary and husbandry procedures, and manage the herd with a minimum of stress and without any of the associated risks of anesthesia.

After the training with the tamer, we drove around the perimeter of the reserve in order to get a better look at the issues with the fencing. Due to the habitat degredation outside of Shaumari, the watershed system (known here as a Wadis) around Shaumari is no longer functioning as it should. The desert landscape is essentially barren of vegetation compared to what it would naturally look like. This lack of vegetation is allowing for large amounts of water run off to travel freely across the ground, as it is no longer being slowed down and absorbed by the vegetation and root systems. These floods bring with them huge amounts of soil and debris that are essentially washed down from further up the wadi basin. When this debris encounters the Shaumari fence line, it builds up against the fence eventually burying the fencing. This has been a huge area of concern for Shaumari since they are relying on the fencing system to keep the animals within the reserve. Unfortunately, it is a problem that will have to be managed for the time being rather than fixed as there is too much destruction of habitat outside of the reserve at this point to correct the problem quickly.

This afternoon, we visited one of the near by desert castles, known as Amra castle. It was built as a hunting lodge / bath back in the 8th century. It was impressive to see the size of the huge stones that were used to build this structure prior to the invention of any modern machinery. The amount of time and effort that was put into its construction was amazing. The ceilings and walls of the interior were painted with various scenes depicting the area flora and fauna that was present around Amra at that time. It depicted a much different habitat than is present now, including forests with herds of different antelope species, multiple bird species, camels, and even monkeys. Although the images have faded and chipped over time, they are still amazingly detailed.