Not only is it an ongoing endeavor to create new enrichment opportunities for our ambassador animals, it can also be a challenge to have ample budget set aside to meet new enrichment goals and replenish supplies for current programs. That is where the creativity of zoo staff, combined with the generosity of zoo visitors, came together to give the Akron Zoo ambassadors a holiday season to remember. 

Akron Zoo hosts an annual holiday lighted display event called Wild Lights, which brings guests out to enjoy the festivities of the season, all while seeing the zoo’s habitat animals in a different light (pun intended) at night. The zoo’s gift shop also sees an influx of customers looking for unique gifts during this event. In 2019, gift shop staff approached the ambassador team with an idea - to place a Giving Tree in the gift shop during Wild Lights to raise money for enrichment supplies for the zoo’s ambassador animals. Education staff jumped at this opportunity, and got to work developing a list of enrichment items ranging in price from $5-$20, for each of the animals. Gift shop and education staff then worked together to create ornaments, which had a photo of an ambassador animal and listed the enrichment item on that animal’s “wish list,” along with the cost. Zoo visitors could simply bring the ornament to the gift shop counter and the value of the ornament they purchased went into an account specifically set up for this project. 

During the course of the 2019 Wild Lights, the Giving Tree raised nearly $1,000 in only 5 weekends. Education staff wanted visitors who had supported the animals to know what their purchase had meant, and so worked with the Marketing Department to put together a series of social media posts that highlighted the ambassadors engaging with their new loot. Staff may have had a bit of fun building a huge fort maze out of newly purchased waffle blocks for chinchillas Kristoff and Olaf. This social media effort saw great response, from the number of views and likes to the positive comments, including comments from some who wanted to donate to the tree even after the event was over. 

And so now we embark on the 2020 holiday season…the pandemic will limit attendance at Wild Lights, which means zoo staff will work that much harder to still provide a holiday to remember for the animals. We’ve added a virtual component to the Giving Tree for those who may not venture out this year. The pandemic has changed our lives, but not altered our spirits, and the Akron Zoo education staff has worked each day to ensure that the ambassador animals don’t realize they are in the midst of a crisis. The Giving Tree truly gives to all involved - the ambassadors, the staff, and the zoo patrons who feel a personal connection to the animal they supported, in a time where heartfelt connection is precious.