Zoo honored for helping environment
Threatened by shrinking ice caps and the loss of their Arctic habitat, polar bears have become ambassadors for environmental sustainability in many zoos worldwide.
At the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, officials say the behind-the-scenes system used to cool and heat the Polar Frontier exhibit’s 165,000gallon pool, as well as nearby buildings, is just as critical to wildlife conservation.
It’s powered with geothermal energy — natural heat from the Earth and sun — that ultimately reduces the zoo’s carbon footprint.
“I like to call them our ‘solar bears,’” joked Barbara Revard, a longtime employee who became the zoo’s first director of sustainability last year.
The innovative exhibit, which debuted in 2010, is one of many reasons the zoo received a first-of-its-kind award from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency on Monday: a platinum-level Encouraging Environmental Excellence recognition.
The award requires organizations to exceed environmental regulatory requirements. Programs must expand beyond their facilities, positively impacting their local community, region and, in the zoo’s case, the world.
One of the zoo’s international efforts was helping a bonobo sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo study solar power and anaerobic digestion, a natural method of breaking down waste and producing energy. Another was sending watercarrying backpacks to people in Kenya and Namibia, where the zoo has conservation partners.
But local efforts, no matter how small, are just as important, Revard said.
For example, a “My House” exhibit at the zoo teaches visitors about nature, recycling, conservation, wildlifefriendly gardening and using fewer disposable items. Similar messages are emblazoned throughout exhibits at the zoo.
“People may think ‘I can’t do anything to help,’ and that’s just not true,” she said. “All of our actions can influence the environment and animal habitats.”
“If a million people all do a simple action, like flipping off a light switch or recycling, it becomes a great action that reduces our carbon footprint.”
Between 2015 and 2016, the zoo reduced its electricity, natural gas and propane use by 13 percent, saving more than $275,000, Revard said.
Its diversion rate, which measures how much waste is recycled or composted instead of sent to a landfill, also improved during that time. It’s now 73 percent.
Officials hoisted a new flag at the zoo entrance Monday afternoon as a way to encourage conversation about the recent award and sustainability.
“We would like to see other businesses across Ohio and the country follow the lead the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has taken,” Ohio EPA director Craig Butler said.
Washing Systems LLC, based in Loveland, near Cincinnati, is the only other recipient of the platinum-level Encouraging Environmental Excellence award so far. To learn more about the award, go to epa.ohio.gov/ocapp/ ohioe3.