Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Woodland Park Zoo is committed to sustainability and continues to push the boundaries of what is possible. Currently, over 80% of waste at the zoo is diverted from landfills each year and our goal is to achieve 90% diversion from landfill by 2022. The purpose of a waste audit is to measure our current waste and increase compost and recycling diversion while simultaneously reducing/eliminating contamination. The last zoo-wide waste audit was conducted in 2013, which occurred before the roll-out of public tri-sorting stations and before Seattle’s food packaging ordinances were implemented. To understand how to help keep more waste out of landfills, the zoo’s Green Team organized a zoo-wide waste audit in 2019 to assess our waste streams. The waste audit was possible through the sponsorship of  Waste Management  and  Cedar Grove  as well as the zoo staff and volunteers who sorted through 95 bags of garbage, recycling, and compost! Meghan Sawyer, a member of the pu...

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Don't get pinched! This Saint Patrick's Day, make sure you are green inside and out. Take this quiz to see where you land on the zoo's green'o'meter. While we're in the mood to rock all shades of green, let's see just how  green  you really are. Take the quiz at http://www.bit.ly/greenasgreen  Good luck! Are you as green as a waxy monkey frog? Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo.

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications Zoo Doo compost is ready for Spring Fecal Fest. Photo by Ryan Hawk/WPZ. Get your hands on the most desired poop in Seattle. Woodland Park Zoo’s Spring Fecal Fest is here. The annual poop event attracts local gardeners to enter the lottery to purchase the exotic, highly-coveted Zoo Doo and Bedspread that Dr. Doo, also known as the “Prince of Poo,” the “GM of BM” or the “Grand Poopah,” has been piling all winter. Entries are accepted through March 17. What goes in must come out, and what comes out is great for your garden! Photo credits: Elephant by Dennis Dow/WPZ, Giraffe by Ryan Hawk/WPZ, Zebra by Ryan Hawk/WPZ, Oryx by Dennis Dow/WPZ, Hippo by Mat Hayward/WPZ. Pick up where the animals left off. Zoo Doo is the richest, most prized compost in the Pacific Northwest. Composed of species feces contributed by the zoo’s non-primate herbivores such as elephants, hippos, giraffes and more, Zoo Doo is perfect to grow your veggies a...

Posted by: Kirsten Pisto, Communications Hey northwest green-thumbs, spring is just around the corner, which means it’s time for Woodland Park Zoo’s Spring Fecal Fest ! This beneficial pile of Zoo Doo will work wonders for a garden! Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Dr. Doo, also known as the “Prince of Poo,” the “GM of BM” or the “Grand Poopah,” has been collecting our highly coveted Zoo Doo or Bedspread all winter and now is your chance to enter a bid to purchase the gardener’s delight! Zoo Doo is the most exotic and highly prized compost in the Pacific Northwest. Composed of species' feces contributed by the zoo’s non-primate herbivores such as elephants, hippos, giraffes and more, Zoo Doo is perfect for growing veggies and annuals. Bedspread, the zoo’s premium composted mulch, is a combination of Zoo Doo, sawdust and large amounts of wood chips. Bedspread is used to cushion perennial beds and woody landscapes including rose beds, shrubs and pathways. ...

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Holidoo is available now in ZooStores. Photo by Woodland Park Zoo. The zoo’s very own Dr. Doo has been hard at work specially crafting a limited edition blend of Holidoo for the holiday season. Unlike the typical Zoo Doo compost featuring manures of nearly two dozen zoo herbivore species, the All Elephant Poo Holidoo is made up exclusively of the “end products” of the zoo’s elephants’ manure and bedding—the biggest and richest composting materials at the zoo. ZooDoo — a work in progress. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. Got a gardening enthusiast in your life? Holidoo makes the ideal present. Or that person who seems to have everything? Bet they don’t have Holidoo! Holidoo's source. Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo. The festively packaged Holidoo product is available exclusively during the holiday season only at the ZooStore in jumbo-sized, 4-gallon containers ($20). Traditional Zoo Doo compost is also availabl...

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications The fall season is just a month away, which means it’s time for Woodland Park Zoo’s Fall Fecal Fest ! The annual poop event calls for you local gardeners to enter your bid to purchase the highly coveted Zoo Doo or Bedspread that Dr. Doo, also known as the “Prince of Poo,” the “GM of BM” or the “Grand Poopah,” has been piling all summer. Zoo Doo is the most exotic and highly prized compost in the Pacific Northwest. Composed of exotic species feces contributed by the zoo’s non-primate herbivores, Zoo Doo is perfect for vegetables and annuals. Bedspread, the zoo’s premium composted mulch, is like Zoo Doo but with higher amounts of wood chips and sawdust. It’s the perfect mulch for perennial beds and woody landscapes such as native gardens, rose beds, shrubs, tree rings or pathways. Entries start today! For a chance to purchase Zoo Doo or Bedspread, send in a postcard from September 1 through September 23 only. You...

Posted by: Kiley Jacques, Senior Rose Gardener If ever an opportunity arises to visit the “bowels” of the zoo, take advantage of it. And when we say bowels, we mean it! It is there you will find Mr. Jimmy Bucsit flipping, and forking, and hauling, and hosing, and performing all kinds of other duties required to keep those famous piles of poop percolating in the Zoo Doo yard. It is for that work—25 dedicated years of it—that Jimmy was honored this month with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Washington Organic Recycling Council . Jimmy Bucsit (middle) poses with Woodland Park Zoo's current Dr. Doo, Dan Corum (left) and the zoo's first Dr. Doo, Jeff Gage (right). Many of our visitors have experienced the fun of Fecal Fest and purchased our well-known Zoo Doo, and increasingly popular Bedspread. Well, it is thanks to Jimmy and his 25 years of commendable service that we are able to provide such unique offerings. It is with his help that we are able to create and maintain a...

Posted by: Christy Cheever, Development This summer at the zoo we are teaching guests about the environmental benefits of eating locally, and in an earlier blog post we talked about how we also try to feed our animals locally produced food as well. But where the food comes from is just one part of this sustainable story--we're also very involved in where it goes. As animals process their food, their bodies take in the vitamins and nourishment they need to live and thrive. The rest ends up as waste. And at the zoo, that’s the makings of some prized material… Zoo Doo . Zoo Doo is finished, dark and rich compost with some woody material remaining. Woodland Park Zoo creates nearly 1 million pounds of compost each year saving $60,000 per year in disposal costs. The zoo’s non-primate, herbivore animals’ manure is used for this process. This includes the elephants, hippos, zebras, giraffes, gazelles, and oryx among others. The Zoo Doo process begins when fresh manure and straw bedding are...

Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications Dr. Doo, also known as the “Prince of Poo,” the “GM of BM” or the “Grand Poopah,” has been piling Zoo Doo deeper and higher all winter. What does this mean? It means the annual Spring Fecal Fest is here, the time of year when local gardeners scramble to purchase the highly coveted Zoo Doo or Bedspread. Zoo Doo is the most exotic and highly prized compost in the Pacific Northwest, perfect for vegetables and annuals, composed of exotic species feces contributed by the zoo’s non-primate herbivores. See how Zoo Doo gets made in this clip from the PBS show Biz Kid$ : For a chance to purchase Zoo Doo or Bedspread, send in a postcard from March 5 – 20. You can enter both the Zoo Doo and Bedspread drawings, but separate postcards are required. For Zoo Doo, mark your postcard “Zoo Doo.” For Bedspread, mark your postcard “B.S.” Entry cards will be selected randomly for as many entrants possible. Dr. Doo will contact the lucky drawn entries o...

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications We just heard the great news that an episode of public television’s Biz Kid$ featuring Woodland Park Zoo’s own Dr. Doo and our Zoo Doo program won a prestigious Environmental Media Award in the category for Children’s Live Action. Here’s the segment on Zoo Doo from the now award-winning episode “The Green Economy & You.” You’ll follow the whole Zoo Doo process, from poop scooping, to the compost yard with Dr. Doo, then see the finished product. Dr. Doo talks the business side of what comes from the backside of our zoo animals! If you’re in the region, you can catch the full episode when it re-airs Saturday, November 7 at 10:30 a.m. on KCTS 9 . Biz Kid$ is an Emmy Award-winning financial education series broadcast on more than 330 public television stations.

Posted by: Rebecca Whitham, Communications Fall is around the corner, which means it’s time for Woodland Park Zoo’s annual Fall Fecal Fest. Garden enthusiasts and Zoo Doo loyalists, get ready to enter a drawing to purchase the highly coveted Zoo Doo. The pungent piles of poop make up the richest, most highly aromatic and exotic compost in the Pacific Northwest. This year there is less Zoo Doo to go around, making the lottery more competitive. How do you get your hands on this precious poop? Dr. Doo is accepting entry cards for Zoo Doo or Bedspread (a composted mulch made from the manures and bedding of the zoo’s non-primate herbivores) from September 11 through September 25 only . Entry cards will be randomly selected according to supply and demand. Dr. Doo will contact the lucky drawn entries only. The Fecal Fest traditionally sells out. The rules: Only one postcard per person is eligible for the drawing. Phone orders will not be taken. Send a standard postcard to Zoo Doo, Woodland P...

It’s time for the Fall Fecal Fest —your chance to get your hands on our highly coveted Zoo Doo. Why would you want to do that? Garden enthusiasts know that Zoo Doo, made from the manures of the zoo’s non-primate herbivores, is the richest, most exotic compost in the Pacific Northwest . Also available is Bedspread, a composted mulch that is like Zoo Doo but contains higher amounts of wood chips and sawdust. Zoo Doo is so popular, we have to hold a lottery to decide who gets it. If you want to enter the lottery, send a postcard—postmarked from September 5 through September 20—to: Zoo Doo, Woodland Park Zoo, 601 N. 59 th St. , Seattle , WA 98103 . Include the following information: Name Day/evening phone numbers Preference: Zoo Doo or Bedspread Amount of Zoo Doo or Bedspread you’d like to purchase (anything from a garbage bag to a full-size pick-up truck load) Weekday or weekend preference for pick-up Pick-up dates begin October 4 through October 19. The lucky winners lo...

KIRO tv recently visited the zoo to film an iWitness Video presentation of lucky Zoo Doo lottery winners picking up their loads of rich, composted Zoo Doo. For those of you not in the know, Zoo Doo is the waste-products left from the zoo's herbivores (elephants, giraffe, hippo, gazelle and many more) that is gathered up and composted into an incredibly rich and fertile soil additive coveted by gardeners. The original idea for Zoo Doo came about more than 20 years ago when costs for disposal of the animals' waste was getting expensive, so it was decided to compost it back into a usable product for on grounds. The idea grew and now each year we host a Fall and Spring Fecal Fest that people can enter a lottery to win loads of the fecund fecal fallout. Now it's also recognized that this is a great way to reduce landfill and bring in a little extra money as well. To view the video http://www.kirotv.com/video/14312341/index.html To read more about Zoo Doo, visit this section of o...