Conservation At the Zoo

There are two really COOL things about this exhibit. Unlike most traveling museum exhibits, the Green Revolution has virtually no carbon footprint since all plans are sent digitally and all materials are repurposed.  A part of the exhibit features green businesses and local “eco-heroes.”  This has brought much awareness to green jobs and partners who benefit the environment locally.  Plans are underway to add additional components to this exhibit.

Polar Bear Passage

The Polar Bear Passage is a Green Building, which means Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards were followed during its design and construction. Under these standards builders were guided to use recycled materials, materials manufactured locally, or materials that carried a third party green certification. Plants have even

been placed on the perimeter of the exhibit to enhance insulation, which keeps the environment cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

You can see Nikita & Berlin dive into the pool, amuse themselves with enrichment items, or lazy around on the rocky terrain. The pool is maintained at 65 degrees to make them feel more at home. They also have access to a behind the scenes climate-controlled building, where they are trained and where they sometimes go to take a break from the

public. The Polar Bear Passage is a show-stopping attraction that educates people about the preservation of polar bears in the wild. Polar Bears are starving in the Arctic. They rely on sea ice to hunt and they travel long distances to get food by swimming from sheet to sheet. Due to global warming the ice is melting at rapid rates. This is one of the reasons the Kansas City Zoo decided to bring the conservation message of polar bears to the masses.

Helzberg Penguin Plaza

Helzberg Penguin Plaza features a 100,000 gallon cool pool for cold water penguins and a 25,000 gallon warm wet area laced with sand for warm water penguins. The Kansas City Zoo will acquire 4 types of penguins which would include Humboldt, King, Gentoo, and Rockhopper species. Each exhibit provides child-friendly and magnificent

views showcasing these extraordinary black and white birds in a recreated natural environment including snow for the cold water feathered friends.

Upon approach, guests will travel over a map of the Southern Oceans depicting where each of the world’s 17 species of penguins is located. The Southern Oceans Gallery entry area provides views of five exhibits. These exhibits connect all oceans through a colorful coral reef aquarium, floating moon jellies and a mesmerizing 1500 gallon schooling fish aquarium.

The designs for this 15 million dollar world-class exhibit included efficiency and LEED certification.

Recycling

With the help of Deffenbaugh Industries we placed a recycling container next to every trash can on Zoo grounds.  This increased the amount of materials recycled by 18%.

On Zoo ground each year we recycle:

1.25 tons of glass

5,616 cubic feet of plastic, paper and cardboard

23,868 cubic feet of herbivore poo into compost

1.2 tons of compost distributed to gardens in the Zoo and throughout the metro

          Items we recycle

                   Aluminum Cans

Light bulbs

                   Computers

                   Cell phones

                   Batteries

                   Bi-metals such as iron, steel and wire

Cooking Oil

Corrugated Cardboard

Glass

Manure

Motor Oil, Paint and Solvents

Paperboard, office paper, magazines

Printer and Toner Cartridges

Tin Cans

Zoo Manu/Composting

Animal Enrichment

Many items can be reused or recycled as animal enrichment. Items that may seem like trash for us,  shredded paper, cardboard boxes and tubes, fire hoses, plastic buckets or cups, 55 gallon plastic barrels, sheets, towels, blankets, and  phone books, are treasures to our animals. They are given these items as part of enrichment activities and they love the special treat.




Compostable Concession Items

In 2012 our on-site restaurants and snack bars were serving 15% compostable and recyclable products. In 2013 we are determined to do better. By making product changes we will change that percentage to 50% by May of 2013 and by early 2014 our goal is to be serving above 80% compostable and recyclable items.

As part of our partnership with Pepsi, we are serving Aquafina in a new PET designed bottle. It reduces the amount of plastic associated with water bottles by 50%. It is also the lightest PET container on the market. In addition, the bottle , cap, label and bulk packaging are all 100% recyclable.