Potter Park Zoo Showcases Environmental Conservation in Celebration of Earth Day

Potter Park Zoo is proud to participate in Party for the Planet; North America’s largest Earth Day celebration.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) presents the 5th annual Party for the Planet, featuring environmental education activities and animal encounters with a focus on conservation. Potter Park Zoo is joining more than 120 zoos and aquariums across North America in observing Earth Day.

“It’s very important to us here at Potter Park Zoo to protect the Earth whenever possible. As committed as we are to the preservation of animals, we must be to environmental conservation as well,” says Potter Park Zoo Director Gerry Brady.

Enrichment items will be given to animals on Saturday, April 23 in the afternoon. Enrichment activities are a unique outlet for zoo animals to express their natural behaviors. Items can be anything from paper bags to children’s toys, and hidden treats inside challenge animals to use creative methods to retrieve them. Many of the enrichment pieces that will be given to animals this Saturday are made by Potter Park Zoo’s BIG Zoo Lesson kids as part of their classes.

In addition to enrichment, Party for the Planet will exhibit conservation demonstrations throughout the zoo, and collect old cell phones and athletic shoes for recycling purposes. For more information on this event, visit www.potterparkzoo.org

Potter Park Zoo is located at 1301 S. Pennsylvania Ave. within Potter Park along the Red Cedar River in Lansing, Michigan.  The zoo is open daily year-round, summer hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call (517) 483-4222 or visit www.potterparkzoo.org.

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