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Greenprint: Ghosts, Goblins and Going ‘Green’ this Halloween

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Halloween is right around the corner, and we’ve found a way to make it both spooky and sustainable. Take a look at what we’re doing to “green” our Halloween and see what you can do at home.

The Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) is preparing for Zoo Boo, our annual Halloween hoopla at the Detroit Zoo during three weekends in October. The events will feature acrobats, story tellers, magic acts, jugglers, live music, extreme pumpkin carving demonstrations and of course, Halloween displays along the “unlucky” 13-station trick-or-treat trail. As part of our Green Journey, trick-or-treat bags will not be provided at the events; guests are asked to bring their own reusable bags. In addition, many of the displays will be made with reusable and repurposed materials such as plastic milk jugs and old tires. We also will have a surplus of pumpkins from Zoo Boo that will be provided to the animals during our annual Smashing Pumpkins event – this year planned for October 10 and 20. Any leftover straw will be donated to local animal shelters to help keep the animals warm in the winter.

You can have a sustainable Halloween at home, too! Here’s how:

  • Support Local Farmers. When it comes to picking that perfect pumpkin to carve, go local. Choosing to buy from nearby farmers not only generates income for the local economy, but it also reduces the amount of carbon dioxide polluting the air. When you purchase from a grocery store, your produce has been shipped from hundreds —sometimes thousands — of miles away, creating more greenhouse gases than your trip to the farmers market. Detroit’s Eastern Market is a great place to start looking for homegrown produce; many communities host farmers markets as well.
  • DIY Your Costume. Packaged Halloween costumes from the store are expensive and are often only worn once. Grab a friend and spend a day going through each others’ closets to see if there’s anything that can make a good DIY costume. Or visit a thrift store to find affordable costume items that can be used again and again.
  • Preserve Your Pumpkin. Before you scoop out the inside of your jack-o-lantern and throw it away, think of all the different things that could be done with it. Pumpkin spice recipes are all the rage right now, and there are so many ways you can try it yourself at home. You could roast the pumpkin seeds for a salty snack, or bake some delicious pumpkin muffins or a pumpkin pie.

    During our Smashing Pumpkins events, we use the leftover pumpkins from Zoo Boo to provide animals with a festive snack and make sure their habitats are engaging. In addition to pumpkins, the animals receive gourds, cornstalks and other seasonal treats from local Michigan producers. While we are appreciative of those who inquire about donating their own leftover pumpkins, we aren’t able to accept them. Instead, we recommend composting leftover pumpkins. We compost any leftover pumpkins using our anaerobic digester, which converts animal manure and other organic waste into methane-rich gas to help power the Zoo’s animal hospital. Learn more about how to compost at home here. Guests can come and watch the chimpanzees, polar bears, giraffes and many other animals eat, play with, roll around in and smash their pumpkins during Smashing Pumpkins.

Doing your part toward making the Earth a better place doesn’t have to be scary. Every effort counts when making sure that all of us – humans and animals – have a place to call home for years to come.

Trim Your “Waste” at Home

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Americans produce a staggering 258 million tons of garbage every year, with each individual throwing out nearly 4.5 pounds per day, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2017 Infrastructure Report Card. What’s even more mind-blowing is the fact that Michiganders are among the biggest culprits – our recycling rate is just 15.3 percent, according to the Michigan Department of Quality. We can do so much better than that.

Solid waste has contributed greatly to the rising levels of greenhouse gas emissions, which is having catastrophic impacts on wildlife and wild places around the world. Moreover, many creatures mistake unnatural waste as food and can end up swallowing or becoming trapped in it, which often leads to serious injuries or deadly consequences.

If we all did our part to be more mindful in the choices we make in our daily lives – including reducing the amount of waste we produce – we could lighten our impact on Earth. Consider the following actions:

  • Switching from single-use items (disposable water bottles, cutlery, plates, etc.) to reusable items such as wood, metal or glass.
  • Recycling items properly to prevent them from sitting in a landfill.
  • Only purchasing foods you know you will eat.
  • Choosing a reusable fabric bag for grocery or leisurely shopping.
  • Opting out of receiving magazines you no longer read, or junk mail.
  • Composting food waste to naturally fertilize your soil.
  • Reusing items you already have. For example, save that old pickle jar to store loose change!

An important aspect of the Detroit Zoological Society’s mission is to lessen our impact on the environment and create a more sustainable future. To do this, we have made it a priority to reduce the waste we generate at the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Center. As a part of our award-winning Greenprint initiative, we are keeping 60,000 plastic bottles out of the waste stream annually by no longer selling bottled water on Zoo grounds. We are also selling reusable animal-themed bags in lieu of providing plastic bags at Zoo concessions. We do not provide plastic straws with fountain beverages, and we have made the conscious effort to use eco-friendly cutlery at the Arctic Café, which is one of only four restaurants in Michigan that is “green-certified”. In an effort to turn waste into energy, we were the first zoo to construct an anaerobic digester, which converts more than 500 tons of animal manure and food scraps annually into renewable energy to help power the Zoo’s Ruth Roby Glancy Animal Health Complex. The byproduct from the digester is used to create compost called Detroit Zoo Poo, which is available for purchase at Zoo concessions.

Our annual 21-and-older fundraising event, Sunset at the Zoo, is part of this zero-waste journey. The VIP Party and champagne welcome have been waste-free for the past two years. We also have volunteers stationed at various locations throughout the Zoo during the event to help guests learn what items that might otherwise go in the trash can be recycled or composted.

Becoming a waste-free organization is a journey, and these are just a few steps we’ve undertaken, with many more to come.

Greenprint: Using Compost to Fertilize Gardens

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Spring fever has officially set in and naturally, one of the things on many people’s minds is gardening. We recommend incorporating “gardener’s gold” as you prep your plots this year: Composting can help you save money while also reducing waste and improving the quality of your soil. As you work on cleaning up your yard, you can add the materials to a compost bin and toss in your organic food scraps – they’ll naturally decompose to create a nutrient-rich fertilizer that will help you grow healthy plants.

There are many benefits to composting:

  • Reduce landfill waste. Nearly 30 percent of the garbage that is sent to Michigan landfills could actually have been composted.
  • Decrease the amount of greenhouse gases produced by food waste sent to landfills.
  • Improve soil quality by adding compost to gardens.
  • Reduce the use of chemical fertilizers.
  • Save money – use your own compost instead of purchasing fertilizer from a store.

How to compost at home:

  1. Choose an area in your backyard with good drainage and shade.
  2. Start the pile with a layer of twigs or mulch as a base.
  3. Add a thin layer of “green” materials, e.g., fruit and vegetable peelings, grass clippings or weeds.
  4. Cover with a layer of “brown” materials, e.g., dry leaves, twigs, paper or straw.
  5. Moisten your compost pile.
  6. Repeat steps 3, 4 and 5.
  7. Turn the pile every four to six weeks.

*Avoid placing meat or dairy products in compost.

You’ll be able to use the compost in your gardens in three or four months. If you’d like to speed up the process or don’t have room for an outdoor compost pile, you can purchase a batch-style composter for under $100 at most hardware stores. These bins can be placed on decks and take up less space in your yard.

For more in-depth information on the benefits of composting as well as detailed instructions on how to compost, you can refer to https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home and www.howtocompost.org.

We’re breaking down organic matter at the Detroit Zoo on a much grander scale! More than 500 tons of waste is generated annually by the animals that live here. So, in order to reduce our ecological footprint and move closer to reaching our goal of becoming waste-free, we constructed an anaerobic digester on Zoo grounds. Anaerobic digestion is a process by which plant and animal materials are broken down, producing a methane-rich gas. This renewable energy will be used to power the Ruth Roby Glancy Animal Health Complex at the Detroit Zoo, saving us $110-120,000 a year in energy costs. By diverting manure and food waste from the landfills, we are also reducing the greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change – methane and carbon dioxide – in the atmosphere. The remaining nutrient-rich material will be used as compost to fertilize the gardens throughout the Zoo’s 125 acres.

Next time you are at the Zoo, check out our new sign detailing the anaerobic digestion process and contemplate the impact of keeping 55 wheelbarrows of manure each day out of the landfills!

Join us on our Green Journey and begin composting this spring! Take a look at the many other steps you can take to help us create a more sustainable future by downloading our Shades of Green guide.

– Rachel Handbury is the manager of sustainability for the Detroit Zoological Society and oversees the award-winning Greenprint initiatives.

GreenFest – A celebration of Earth Day

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“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall

For nearly 50 years, millions of people around the globe have been celebrating Earth Day. Held annually on April 22, Earth Day represents the birth of the modern environmental movement and a worldwide demonstration of support for environmental preservation. As a leader in sustainability, guided by our award-winning Greenprint initiatives, the Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) annually holds GreenFest at the Detroit Zoo as a celebration of Earth Day. This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday, April 22, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The event is free with Detroit Zoo admission and includes a variety of engaging activities as well as a sustainability tour – complete with 10 stations that showcase our Green Journey. Upon arrival, guests will be given a “passport” that can be stamped at each of the stations. The passports were created by DZS staff using recycled millage signs and can be taken home and used as a journal.

These stations will provide guests with information about our anaerobic digester – the first zoo-based system of its kind that will annually convert more than 500 tons of manure into electricity that will power our animal hospital – as well as permeable pavement, bird-strike reduction, vehicle maintenance, recycling and native-species gardening, among others. In addition, we will be sharing information on how visitors can incorporate these initiatives at home. For example, not everyone can build an anaerobic digester in their backyard, but many can choose to compost their food scraps; we will provide information on how to start doing so.

The first 3,000 guests who complete the sustainability tour will receive a reusable bag to help them as they join us on our Green Journey. There will also be a station for folks to take our Green Pledge – several pledges will be selected in a raffle to win a Detroit Zoo reusable water bottle.

GreenFest will also include chemistry demos, worm composting education, zookeeper talks, and much more.  Additionally, a travelling art exhibition by ArtRoad Nonprofit will be unveiled during the event, illustrating the impact of plastic pollution in the Great Lakes.

Attendees who bring a cell phone for recycling to GreenFest will receive a reduced admission price of $9. Admission is free for DZS members.

The DZS will also host Green Day at the Belle Isle Nature Center on April 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Green Day will feature crafts, games, storytelling, zookeeper talks and exhibits by local conservation groups.

Both GreenFest and Green Day events are initiatives of the DZS Greenprint, a strategic plan to refine and improve green practices and facilities at the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Center, incorporate sustainability in all policies and programs and improve green literacy and action in the community.

– Rachel Handbury is the manager of sustainability for the Detroit Zoological Society and oversees the Greenprint initiatives.

Greenprint: Striving to be Waste Free

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What is ‘Zero Waste’?

The concept of “zero waste” is one that promotes not only reusing and recycling materials, but more importantly, the prevention of waste and the use of product designs that consider the entire life cycle of an item. Zero waste maximizes recycling, minimizes waste, reduces consumption and ensures that products are made to be reused, repaired or recycled back into nature or the marketplace.

Image courtesy of Ana Wyssmann

It is best to think of zero waste as a goal rather than a hard target, providing guiding principles for continually working towards eliminating waste. An effective guideline for reducing waste is as follows:

  • Refuse what you do not need.
  • Reduce what you do need.
  • Reuse what you can.
  • Recycle what you cannot refuse, reduce or reuse.
  • Rot (compost) the rest.

Why commit to a goal of being waste free?

Increasing diversion and pursuing zero waste allows us to conserve valuable resources and reduce environmental impacts. When materials are not reused or recycled and are instead sent to the landfill, valuable resources are wasted and greenhouse gasses are emitted into the atmosphere. Compostable materials that are sent to landfills, such as food scraps and yard trimmings, produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is up to 72 times more potent than carbon dioxide. By implementing zero waste actions into our daily lives, we can significantly reduce these emissions.

Image courtesy of Alan Levine

How to practice zero waste at home:

  1. Say no to straws.
  2. Use a reusable water bottle.
  3. Use a reusable bag.
  4. Pack your lunch with reusable containers.
  5. Recycle.
  6. Use handkerchiefs/cloth napkins.
  7. Compost food scraps.

Image courtesy of the Toronto Environmental Alliance

There are countless ways to reduce waste; these are just a few examples. The best way is to follow the “refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot” mantra … starting with refusing. Not only will you be closer to your waste-free goal, you will probably feel less cluttered in life.

Join us for our 21-and-older Valentine’s Day event, Love Gone Wild, on February 14, and observe as we demonstrate our commitment to sustainability by making this a waste-free event for the third consecutive year. The event will feature locally grown and sustainable menu options and will incorporate environmentally friendly practices throughout the evening. Perhaps it will inspire you to throw your next party with zero waste!

– Rachel Handbury is the manager of sustainability for the Detroit Zoological Society, and oversees the Greenprint initiative.

Greenprint: Anaerobic Digester Nears Completion

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The Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) is pioneering an effort to turn waste into energy.

We are nearing completion of construction on our anaerobic digester, a system that will convert more than 400 tons of animal manure into renewable energy to power the Detroit Zoo’s Ruth Roby Glancy Animal Health Complex. The compost byproduct will be used on the gardens throughout the Zoo’s 125 acres, as well as donated to community gardens.

biodigester-rendering-image

No other zoo in the country has an anaerobic digester – the Detroit Zoo is the first to build and implement this system. Thus, a significant amount of research has gone into the planning, design and construction. The DZS has working closely with Michigan State University – graduate students recently completed a survey to determine the biogas potential of animal waste produced at the Zoo, as well as the increase of biogas production with the addition of food scraps. This provides the DZS with a good estimate of future methane generation. Not only is the methane generation great for the Zoo, because we will be able to power the animal hospital with renewable energy; but the methane that would have been released into the environment – which contributes to climate change as a greenhouse gas – will be reduced.

 

The excitement of composting waste is spreading over the Zoo. Animal care staff at the National Amphibian Conservation Center recently installed a batch-style composter in order to compost amphibian bedding and employee food waste – the resulting product will be used in the gardens surrounding Amphibiville.

Batch-style composters are relatively inexpensive and can be implemented in most backyards.  Those with large backyards could consider building their own composting area using wood pallets. The EPA offers great tips for composting at home on their website: https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home.

We’d love to hear about your experiences with composting! Share your stories with us in the comments below.

– Rachel Handbury is the manager of sustainability for the Detroit Zoological Society.

Greenprint: Becoming a Zero-Waste Organization

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The Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) is gearing up for our ambitious goal of becoming a zero-waste organization by 2020! We are currently performing waste and recycling audits to have a better understanding on where we stand. This process is causing us to re-think our consumption and how we can develop a more closed-loop approach, which means that zero waste is created.

One major challenge we will have here at the Detroit Zoo is trying to get our 1.3 million visitors on board with this effort. There’s no better way to do that than to share the new five “R’s”, which is the brainchild of Zero Waste Home.

  • REFUSE – Start by evaluating the items you consume and if they are truly needed – things like bottled water, plastic bags, and paper towels/napkins at home.
  • REDUCE – Purchase goods only when absolutely necessary. At the Zoo we’re replacing less sustainable lighting with LED lighting, which helps us with energy costs, but also reduces the quantity of light bulbs we use.
  • REUSE – Find a creative second life for as many items as possible, even if it’s something that is easy to recycle. It’s always better to reuse a product first – Pinterest has a treasure-trove of ideas for upcycling, many of which are fun for kids.
  • RECYCLE – Always recycle plastic, metal, paper and glass. If you don’t have a curbside option, the state of Michigan has a resource for drop-off locations near you. In addition, recycling and donation bins are popping up all across the state for clothing, books, and even electronics recycling.
  • ROT – Ask your neighborhood recycler if they have composting available or start a compost pile in your backyard.

One extra “R” developed by the DZS Greenprint is REPLENISH — find ways to give back. This could involve anything from joining an adopt-a-beach program or volunteering to help an environmental nonprofit. You can also donate to the Detroit Zoological Society to support our mission of Celebrating and Saving Wildlife.

Join us on our Green journey!

Beth Wallace is the manager of sustainability for the Detroit Zoological Society.

Greenprint: Three Easy Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

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Beth Wallace is the Manager of Sustainability for the Detroit Zoological Society.

We work hard to celebrate the Earth Detroit Zoological Society Greenprint logoyear-round through the Detroit Zoological Society’s Greenprint initiative, and with Earth Day approaching, we are hoping you’ll join us on our green journey! Below is a list of actions we plan to take at the Zoo that we invite you to consider in your own lives:

Plant a tree at your home, or at a nearby park. This fun activity provides your family with a memorial and a tradition to follow for decades while giving back to the environment. Did you know that a single tree can absorb 10 pounds of air pollutants a year, and produces nearly 260 pounds of oxygen? That’s enough to support two people!

Spring clean with eco-friendly cleaning options both inside and out. Switch your surface cleaners to non-toxic and environmentally sensitive products that are better for the Earth and your family. For yard clean up, consider creating a compost pile or mulching leaves. And if you plan to minimize the clutter in your home, donate your products to a local organization and always try to recycle what you aren’t able to donate.

Join us for GreenFest on April 18 and 19, which is free with Zoo admission. Those who bring in an old cell phone for recycling receive a discount on admission – tickets are only $8 per person for each cell phone donated. The Zoo-wide celebration includes earth-friendly crafts, an endangered species scavenger hunt, zookeeper talks and exhibits by local conservation groups.

Follow the Detroit Zoo on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and share with us what you and your family do to celebrate Earth Day!

– Beth Wallace

Greenprint: Wild for Zero Waste

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Beth Wallace is the Detroit Zoological Society’s manager of sustainability.

On Valentine’s Day, we celebrated our love for the environment at the Detroit Zoo with a debut of our zero-waste efforts during Love Gone Wild.

This event served as a great starting point for our ultimate goal of becoming zero-waste Zoo-wide by 2020. When all was said and done, we diverted more than 300 pounds of product from the landfill and made a long-term investment into reusable products that will help us on our green journey.

We followed the philosophy of the three R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) as we planned the event. We made sure that everything purchased had the opportunity to be reused or recycled, and evaluated where we could reduce our consumption.

Here are some ways we reshaped our thinking to have a successful event:
• We ditched disposable and focused on reusable. In lieu of paper plates and plastic cups, we invested in china, used cloth napkins and did away with things like stir sticks and straws.
• Succulent centerpieces. Instead of cut flower displays, members of the Zoo’s Green Team hand-made succulent planters that our guests could take home as gifts. The plants consisted of cuttings from the Zoo’s Greenhouse; upcycled mason jars served as planters, and the dirt was actually compost made from animal waste.
• Menu management. The feast we served our guests was a specially designed menu with compost-friendly options to ensure that nothing went to waste. The little waste we did have was food we could not compost.

We are working to create waste-free zones on Zoo grounds and at future events – we will take what we learned during Love Gone Wild to ensure their success. We hope you will join us on this green journey. Consider this: Try going waste-free in your home or work for just one day and leave us a comment about what you discovered.

– Beth Wallace

Succulent - small

Greenprint: Three Stars for Arctic Café

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Beth Wallace is the Manager of Sustainability for the Detroit Zoological Society.

The Detroit Zoo’s Arctic Café has earned a three star-rating from the Green Restaurant Association!

To achieve this recognition, our partners 073at Service Systems Associates revitalized an older building into a green paradise by incorporating more eco-friendly practices, from increasing our organic food options and managing water usage with low-flow features to using cutlery made from potato starch and soybean oil and upgrading to energy-efficient heating and cooling.

Green RestaurantThe Arctic Café is one of only a handful of zoo restaurants in the country to obtain this green certification, and we’re already well on our way to achieving the fourth and final star.

Changes we made in the Artic Café that you can make at home:

  • Energy Efficiency: Change 106out incandescent lighting to CFL or LED to decrease your energy usage and save money on your monthly bills.
  • Water Efficiency: Cut your water use in half by adding low-flow screens to your current water fixtures or, as you replace old systems, upgrade to all low-flow water fixtures.
  • Reduction in Waste: Contact your local curbside collection company, or your landlord, to see what kind of recycling and compost services they offer. Sometimes companies will add additional options once they hear customers have interest.
  • Sustainable Food: Consider locally grown and organic foods first. This helps the local economy and minimizes your carbon footprint.

080Are there things you’ve already done in your home to lessen your environmental footprint? Tell us your experience; was it what you expected, surprisingly easy or a big money saver?

Learn more about our green journey.

– Beth Wallace