recycle

Greenprint: Three Easy Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

/ detroitzoo / Leave a comment

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

/ detroitzoo / Leave a comment

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