Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by: Kate Neville, Corporate and Foundation Gifts Officer Photos by Kate Neville/Woodland Park Zoo I slouch lower in the boat and pull my hat further down over my face. It’s hot. The relentless tropical sun sends rivers of sweat down my neck…and we still have several hours to go before reaching our destination. This boat ride is the last leg of a two-day journey from Lae to the village of Ronji, a remote community in Papua New Guinea’s Morobe Province. My traveling companions are Woodland Park Zoo's  Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program Director Dr. Lisa Dabek, and TKCP staff members Benjamin Sipa, Karau Kuna and Mikal Nolan. We’re traveling to the coastal village of Ronji to participate in a ceremony celebrating the community’s new bridge and field office. TKCP helped construct the bridge and office at the community’s request, thanks to support from Conservation International, the German Development Bank and Woodland Park Zoo. I glance back to the stern, where the captain...

Posted by: Kate Neville, External Relations Save the date! Next Thursday, June 23, the Seattle Foundation is promoting GiveBIG , a communitywide day of online giving to local non-profits. On this day, gifts to Woodland Park Zoo made through the GiveBIG event will be stretched by the Seattle Foundation. This is especially exciting because every dollar will go towards our Campaign for More Wonder More Wild that will not only support our ongoing commitment to animal care, conservation and education, but also help us to build a new, naturalistic exhibit complex for tigers and Asian bears. Our community needs more wonder. Our world needs more wild. Here’s how you can help make that happen: 1) On June 23, from 7:00 a.m. to midnight, visit the zoo’s page on the Seattle Foundation website 2) Click the red DONATE NOW button and make a donation to the zoo through our Seattle Foundation page (this is the only way your gift will count towards the GiveBIG event) 3) Funds...

Posted by: Kate Neville, Development Here’s your chance to help us save endangered turtles—all you have to do is cast a vote! Woodland Park Zoo has been selected as one of three local conservation organizations to participate in the 2009 Patagonia Voice Your Choice Program . From September 24 through October 24, customers at the downtown Seattle store will learn more about each of the three selected organizations. Customers can then vote for their favorite organization. Grants will be awarded based on the voting—First place: $2,500, Second place: $1,500, and Third place: $1,000. Proceeds from this program will go to Woodland Park Zoo's Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project , a collaborative, grass-roots effort to restore Western pond turtle populations in Washington state. Funds will help cover the costs of Woodland Park Zoo's headstarting program, in which baby turtles are reared in captivity, then released into the wild when they are large enough to be safe from predators. ...