Conservation: The management of natural resources to avoid destruction of species and habitats.
Involves maintaining and protecting habitats, controlling the harvesting of natural populations, and seeking to reduce pollution and other threats to organisms resulting from human activity.

Green Practices at The Toledo Zoo

Paper Reduction
     • Employees encouraged to print and copy 2-sided
     • Many employees have change margins on Word to 1 inch
     • Zoo wide memos now emailed
     • Intranet developed for information exchange
     • Catalog reduction – volunteers calling to remove duplicates from mailing         lists
     • Catalog/magazine recycling
     • Office paper is shredded to be used as bedding for primates
     • Zoo maps are recycled

Vehicle Idling
Zoo has reduced vehicle idling. Employees turn cars and trucks off when leaving a vehicle. Stickers were placed on steering wheels to remind staff to turn vehicles off.

Styrofoam reduction
     • Zoo plate special in Employee Kitchen.
     • Changed from Styrofoam to more environmentally friendly cups and plates         in the concessions areas
     • Employees given coffee mugs to use
     • Summer 2006 – lemonade cups will be made from corn product that         degrades in the landfill
     • Refill cups have coupons to encourage people to reuse them rather than        buy drinks in disposable cups

Light bulbs
     • Have changed many of our lights to compact fluorescent bulbs that use         less energy than regular incandescent.
     • Christmas lights are being replaced with LED lights that use 90% less         energy

Green cleaners
     • Have changed many of our cleaners and chemicals to environmentally         friendly products that carry the green seal.
     • Investigating new lines of green chemicals with the Green Seal

New employee training on conservation practices
     • Written in part time employee handbook

Environmental
     • Shade grown coffee in bakery
     • Shopping bags will soon be sold in gift shop to reduce plastic bag         consumption
     • Zoo Teens:72 outreach conservation projects in 2005 (will soon be 75)
     • Purchasing sustainable seafood

KC and Crew
     • Party in a box – with reusable dishes, silverware, etc.
     • Characters out in the community promoting recycling, etc.
     • Working with KLCB to promote the curbside recycling program

Recycling

Energy Management/Energy Conservation Initiatives
      • Energy savings and feasibility study for the Zoo campus using combined          heat and power co-generation equipment.
      • Electric Peak Shaving Initiative
            o Energy Management and Conservation Group (EMCG) to study ways                to manage and control our energy usage.
            o Electric peak shaving program for Arctic chiller operations.
            o Zoo wide Power Monitoring/Load Shed program. Zoo now has the                capability to shed electric load automatically during periods of high                use.
      • Building Automation System to monitor and control HVAC equipment in         nearly fifty percent of our buildings.
      • Majority of exterior site lighting, including LBC is connected to a software          based management system allowing the Zoo to control lighting operation          times.
      • Master Plan 2020 incorporates a campus Ecology Strategy to make the          Zoo a more sustainable and energy efficient facility
      • Pursuing an option in Masterplan 2020 to replace the aging boilers within          the Aquarium and Greenhouse with combined heat and power
         co-generation equipment.

Zoo Keepers Reuse These Items for Animal Enrichment:
     • Shredded office paper for bedding
     • Cardboard boxes
     • Fire hose
     • Plastic buckets, yogurt cups
     • 55 gallon barrels
     • Cardboard tubes/Carpet tubes
     • Perfumes and colognes
     • Sheets, towels –for orangutan bedding
     • Phone books
     • Feed bags
     • Oatmeal canisters