Micke Grove Zoo hosts wildlife presentations for anniversary events

Micke Grove Zoo turns 60 this year, and to kick off the celebrations, it’s hosting a series of presentations about wildlife around the world. The first presentation from the Nature Conservancy will be this Saturday.

“It’s a new thing we’re trying. It’s kind of a lead-in to our anniversary,” said Kevin Hertell, zoo and interpretive services manager at Micke Grove Zoo and Oak Grove Regional Park.

The goal of the series is to promote the work that environmental organizations are doing to protect wildlife and their habitats both locally and around the world. Each presentation will last about 30 minutes; they will be held at 11 a.m. each Saturday through Aug. 5, ahead of the zoo’s big anniversary party.

The presentations are open to anyone who buys a ticket for the zoo.

“If you’re in the zoo, it’s a free talk,” Hertell said.

While the organizations will share their missions — including how they’re helping animals around the world — they will also share any work they’re doing in San Joaquin County and how Micke Grove and other zoos help them protect wildlife, Hertell said.

Zoos work to protect endangered species and prevent extinction with breeding programs and other rescue work.

Without nonprofit groups working to save those animals’ native habitats, zoos couldn’t release them back into the wild, Hertell said.

Groups like the Nature Conservancy and the Sierra Club also give people a way to get involved with the natural world in their own backyard, he said. The presentations will be: • The Nature Conservancy’s California chapter, which is based in Sacramento, will offer a presentation this Saturday. The Nature Conservancy helps to preserve several habitats throughout California, including sandhill crane roosting and feeding areas in the California Delta.

• The Northern California Herpetological Society will visit the zoo on July 8. The society was established in 1982 and is devoted to the conservation, education, rescue and rehabilitation of reptile and amphibian species.

• The Delta-Sierra Group, the regional chapter of the Sierra Club, will present on July 15. The Sierra Club was founded 125 years ago by John Muir to protect and conserve Yosemite National Park and other wild places.

• World of Wonders Science Museum will be at the zoo on July 22. The WOW, based in Downtown Lodi, is a hands-on science museum that also hosts programs such as Science Night Live!

• The Stockton Astronomical Society will visit on July 29. The local stargazing group’s goal is to “promote astronomy and have fun in the process.”

• Stanislaus Wildlife Care Center will give the final presentation on Aug. 5. The center, with the help of a team of volunteers, rescues and rehabilitates wild animals that have been injured.