Saginaw Children's Zoo Subject of Rotary Program
August 28, 2012
By: Stephen Kent
Nancy Parker holds drawing for art work
Nancy Parker, Executive Directory of the
Children's Zoo at Celebration Square in Saginaw, spoke to Rotary about the mission and activities at the Saginaw Zoo.
Opened in 1929, the "
Municipal Zoo" was operated by the City of Saginaw until management was transferred to the Saginaw Valley Zoological Society in 1996, when it became a non-profit organization.
Under the new management the zoo has been making capital improvements to the tune of $600,000 a year. It is now accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), making it one of only 225 accredited zoos nationwide and the fifth in Michigan. It's the only accredited zoo in the north half of the state.
Accreditation means that the zoo meets standards such as Safety and security, animal care and welfare, wildlife conservation, and science education. The zoo participates in species survival plans for smaller animals and exchanges animals with other AZA zoos.
Robin Carea and Gabby
Today the zoo has developed 10 acres and has 16 more to be developed. There are over 160 animals exhibited with an emphasis on an "up close and personal" experience for visitors. The zoo operated a miniature train in the park and has a hand carved carousel.
The vision is "A regional Destination celebrating Nature, Wildlife, and Lifelong Discovery through affordable and engaging experiences". The day to day mission is "To be a resource to the Great Lakes Bay Region through recreation, education and conservation."
As a community based organization, the Zoo promoted learning while having fun in a safe environment. Almost a million people have visited the zoo in the last eleven years.
73% of funding is generated on-site with the other 27% coming from donations.
Nancy was joined by Robin Carey who brought parrot "Gabby", who is used for educational visits. Gabby was very vocal and illustrated well the type of visits made by the Zoo.
CLUB NEWS and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Rob Clark reminded everyone to work with their teams to get auction items for the 20th anniversary International Night to be held on Thursday, October 11 this year, from 5:30 to 9:00 pm at the Doubletree. Check the club's International Night
web page for teams and other information.
Tim Holsworth reminded everyone that the club's
Golf Tournament us fast approaching on
September 17 .
If you are going to play please contact Tim as soon as you can. If you have questions
LINK to the Golf page on the club web site.
Jerome updated the club on the Paul Harris statue planned for the Depot. Do-All helped get a park bench shipped to the sculptor so that the statue can be positioned.
Remember how to contribute to the clean water campaign and contest:
Put SILVER in OUR JUG ---
PUT BILLS (and checks) in the MORNING JUG
DATES TO REMEMBER
The Annual Golf Outing will be held September 17. See the announcement and info page at
RotaryBayCity.org
or see Tim Holsworth for details.
International Night,
Sea to Shining Sea,
is scheduled for October 11, 2012.
Upcoming Programs
(See the official schedule at
RotaryBayCity.org )
Sept 4, 2012: 10 Minute Rotarian
Sept 11, 2012: Chamber of Commerce JoEllen Strieter will talk about the Chamber's Education Partnership.
Sept 18, 2012: Anatoliy Lotarev Exchange Student from Spain visits club.
Rotary is an intimate affiliation of carefully selected business and professional people,
having as its objective the promotion of high ethical standards in private, commercial
and civic life, and dedicated to the ideal that the basis of all worthy endeavor is unselfish service.
Current and past
DISTRICT DISPATCH newsletters are available on the District site shown in the LINKS section below.
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