Zoo Academy students at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium are using their senior capstone projects to engage and educate Zoo guests and the community about conservation. Students will be out in the community in the coming weeks and will present their projects in the Zoo’s Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom Pavilion on Friday, May 4 from 1-2:45 p.m.
Seven different student groups were tasked with creating and executing a conservation-focused campaign:
Recycle Your Future
Recycle Your Future was an event hosted at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium on Febraury 24. Zoo guests were encouraged to bring recyclables to the Zoo and learn about the importance of recycling through games and activities.
Green Spree
The Green Spree Movement will be hosting the 2018 Trashion Fashion Show on Sunday, April 29 from
12-4 p.m. at the Bellevue Lied Activity Center in Sarpy County. Done in collaboration with Green Bellevue and the Sarpy County Earth Day, the Trashion Fashion Show gives both kids and adults the opportunity to be creative while using recyclable materials. On their Facebook page, the group shares conservation focused posts, including easy things followers can do at home to become more sustainable.
G2
To create awareness about the increasing issue of plastic pollution, students created an animated video outlining the dangers of single-use plastics to wildlife that was shared at their respective high schools. G2 has also been engaging their peers by asking them to pledge to make a simple change, such as use reusable bags or say “no” to plastic straws, to help the environment.
Blowing Plastic Away
Blowing Plastic Away’s mission is to create awareness about the waste created by releasing balloons into the air. The group introduces bubloons as an alternative to this fun tradition. Blowing Plastic Away participated in the 2018 Earth Day Omaha event on April 21.
Demonstrate, Educate, Pollinate
Focusing on the importance of pollinators, Demonstrate, Educate, Pollinate is teaching the community how to create milkweed seed bombs and solitary bee hives. Visit their booth at Sarpy County Earth Day on Saturday, April 29thto learn how you can help out our pollinator friends!
Team Up to Clean Up has partnered with Diventures, Keep Omaha Beautiful, HyVee and the Papio-Missouri River NRD to bring a community clean up event to Wehrspann Lake on Saturday, May 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Prizes will be given for the craziest find, heaviest amount of trash collected and the best team work. While participants will be collecting trash on land, Diventures will have divers pulling garbage from the lake.
Palm Oil Education
This group’s mission is to bring awareness to the issues palm oil production is having on animal species, such as orangutans, through deforestation. Palm Oil Education promotes companies that use sustainable palm oil products and why they are more environmentally friendly than their counterparts.
Zoo Academy has more than 90 high school students registered for the school year from Omaha Public Schools, Papillion La Vista Community Schools and, new this year, Bellevue Public Schools and Westside Community Schools. Zoo Academy was launched in 1995 as a way for the Zoo and Aquarium to partner with local school districts to advance high school zoology courses. Students are able to explore their desired career paths, receive college credit and complete high school in the process. Omaha Public Schools has been a partner of Zoo Academy since it was established. The Papillion La Vista School district became a partner in 2001.
About Diventures
Diventures is the nation’s largest and fastest-growing scuba and swim center with six locations across four states. Diventures is dedicated to providing concierge-level customer service and community support. Visit www.diventures.com for more information.
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