Fozblog

Deck your halls green this holiday! Part 2

Here's more great eco-friendly holiday tips from Babara Lucks and the City of Springfield's Public Works Department.

Food waste from Halloween through New Year's is the highest of any time during the year.

• Before you prepare holiday meals, take a head count and adjust the amount of food accordingly to avoid waste.
• Be creative with left-overs.
• Dispose of grease properly so it doesn't create sewer line problems.
• Never pour grease down the drain.
• Pour grease into a metal or glass container and place in the trash. A lid is required on a container holding liquid grease. Containers of solid grease do not need a lid.
• Scrape food and grease from dishes and pans prior to washing.
• To receive a copy of the "Fat-Free Sewers" brochure, contact Randy Lyman, Public Works Department, Sanitary Services Division, 417-864-1921.

On Monday, we'll write the third post of this series about holiday trash.

Zoo names 2008 Earth Heroes

It's the zoo's Earth Day celebration today - Party for the Planet. And, we announced our 2008 Earth Hero Award recipients this morning.

Dr. Alice (Jill) Black is an assistant professor in the Department of Geology, Geography and Planning at Missouri State University. She is instrumental in educating preservice teachers and preparing them to inspire their students about science.

Sue Schuble is a retired teacher/coach who volunteers with numerous environmental organizations - Greater Ozarks Audubon Society (who nominated her for the award), the Springfield Conservation Nature Center and here at Dickerson Park Zoo.

Watch in the coming weeks for "This Week at Dickerson Park Zoo" podcasts including interviews with each of these Earth Heroes about their projects and involvement in Earth-friendly activities.

Kids Art Goes WILD!

Art students at Hickory Hills Middle School and Glendale High School joined Dickerson Park Zoo's Year of the Frog campaign by creating art based on frogs. The students' creations are showcased for public display in the lobby of the City of Springfield's Busch Building (city offices), 840 Boonville, for the month of April. Thanks also to Borders Bookstore for loaning frog and amphibian books to include with the display.

SPS AIMS and Zoo Team Up

Later this week, DIckerson Park Zoo will welcome students from Springfield Public Schools' AIMS program for one in a series of zoo encounters.These students will learn about zoo careers by shadowing zookeepers, the veterinarian and education staff members.

Read more in a posting online by The News-Leader.

Commentary highlights struggles for elephants in the wild

emagazine.com published Samantha Grasso's commentary "The Plight of the Elephant. She describes challenges facing wild elephants in Africa and Asia. While poaching remains a serious threat, disease, loss of habitat and human-elephant conflict all affect populations of wild elephants.

According to Deborah Olson, executive director of International Elephant Foundation, of all of these challenges, human-elephant conflict may be the most widespread and difficult to manage. Dickerson Park Zoo proudly supports conservation efforts in Sri Lanka to reduce human-elephant conflict.

Welcome Friends of the Dickerson Park Zoo's Elephants

Tonight (March 31), during the City of Springfield's budget hearing, one of the speakers was Stephanie Stenger Montgomery. Besides representing her family, which are long-time donors to Friends of the Zoo, the zoo's non-profit support organization,Stephanie represented the newly formed Friends of Dickerson Park Zoo's Elephants. We are grateful for the support from this group and look forward to working with them in the future.

Elephant Calf Nisha Shows Symptoms of Herpesvirus

Dickerson Park Zoo celebrated the birth of Nisha in July 2006. It is with heavy hearts we announce today that late yesterday afternoon, Nisha began showing symptoms of a typically fatal elephant herpesvirus.

This isn't a new experience for the elephant staff at the zoo. We've seen this virus before. Luckily for one calf - Chandra - the staff developed an experimental treatment that was successful in saving her.

However, other calves with this virus - here at DPZ and at other zoos around the world - haven't been so fortunate.

Dickerson Park Zoo's elephant staff of well-trained professionals is consulting with veterinarians and experts across the country. They are spending 24 hours a day with Nisha. Please keep the keepers and Nisha in your thoughts.

If you would like to send your well-wishes to Nisha and her zookeepers, please click on the comments link below or send an e-mail.

Do YOU recycle?

Of all the actions we can take that make a positive impact on the environment, recycling is one of the easiest for everyone - regardless of age - to do. Many trash services provide curb-side pick up of recyclables for a nominal monthly fee. And, municipal collection centers in Springfield and surrounding communities collect items for free.

Today is American Recycles Day! Show your spirit by making a commitment to recycle if you don't or recycle more if you do. Visit the America Recycles Day Web site for more on recycling. And, while you're at the site, take the pledge to do more.

If you don't recycle at home, now is the time to start. If you do recycle, look around - are there other household items you can recycle. Clothing, home decor, working-but-unwanted appliances all can live second (or third, or fourth) lives through resale and charitable stores (who often provide free pick-up service). Home electronics can also -- and should -- be recycled. Check out Springfield's Computer Recycling Center for the list of items they accept.

Here at Dickerson Park Zoo, we recycle paper, aluminum, plastic and cardboard. Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Co. has provided bins for us to place throughout the zoo for our guests to deposit the 20-ounce soft drink bottles they purchase from the vending machines.

A different twist on recycling is our composting program for herbivore manure. Our elephants alone produce nearly a ton (yes, a TON!) of manure a day. This manure, combined with waste from the hippopotamus, hoofstock, and other animals, is composted and sold in the spring and fall as ZooDoo.

DPZ Reaccredited by AZA

At the annual conference of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums this week in Philadelphia, Dickerson Park Zoo received a renewal of its accredited standing. As an accredited institution, Dickerson Park Zoo is one of only 216 institutions to carry this designation.

Accreditation involves a thorough review of every facet of an institution: animal care, husbandry and veterinary practices and policies; education programming; staffing; financial stability and more. Once accredited, each facility must go through to the review process at least every five years.

An accreditation review includes an in-depth written application and an on-site visit by a team of industry professionals. When you visit a zoo or aquarium, look for the "Accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums" logo as your assurance that a facility upholds the AZA standards which exceed other local, state and federal regulations.

This Week at Dickerson Park Zoo - Aug. 14, 2007

Show Notes:
:09 Introduction
:25 New Exhibit
2:08 Animal Feature
4:31 Art Gone Wild! Photo Contest
5:27 Fall Z.E.B.R.A. Classes

Right click here to Download TWDPZ_81407.mp3 (6504.45K)p>