Posted by Woodland Park Zoo Communications
| Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo |
Woodland Park Zoo is pleased to announce a subsidy of $ 7.15 million from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies (MACP) to promote and expand the Zoo’s advancing empathy initiative promoting empathy for animals related to zoos and aquariums (AZA) accredited organizations.
This three-year grant continues the ZOO’s long-term partnership with MACP and organizations across the country to build strong empathetic relations between people and animals through research-based effective empathy practices, while reinforcing the Zoo’s mission to save wildlife and inspiring everyone to conservation a priority in their lives.
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| Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo |
Emerging behavioral science shows that there are social and emotional components to change our behavior. Feeling empathy is an often overlooked but necessary step between learning about the need for change and intervening on another behalf. Empathy allows humans to connect their concern to animals’ well -being to the importance of acting in caring ways, including preserving the environment on which both humans and animals depend.
“Millions of people visit AZA accredited zoos and aquariums every year. We believe that the building of empathy is among the most powerful tools in our toolbox for galvanizing care and compassion for animals,” said Alejandro Grajal, PhD, President and CEO of Woodland Park Zoo. “Bringing humans and animals is a congenital strength in our field. By giving close meetings with animals, our institutions are uniquely placed to help visitors feel empathy for wildlife, increase understanding of how animals are cared for and encourage visitors to actively participate in our wildlife protection efforts.”
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| Photo: Annie Kwan/Woodland Park Zoo |
Woodland Park Zoo’s leadership in the promotion of empathy experience and best practices in the zoo and aquarium community spans more than a decade. In the heart of this effort today is the advancing preservation through Empathy (ACE) for Wildlife ™ Network, which began with 20 founding of AZA-Axkredited partners in Alaska, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin. The network has since expanded to 27 network partners organizations in 13 states and has grown to include more than 550 participating professionals across five continents. Founded and led by Woodland Park Zoo, with philanthropic financing from MACP, ACE facilitates Wildlife Network The professional collaboration and catalyzes accredited zoos and the capacity of aquariums to develop, implement and measure the effect of empathy programming. (For a complete list of participating network partners, see below)
With this new round of appropriations financing, ACE for Wildlife Network will continue to identify and convey effective empathy practices -such as Woodland Park Zoo’s KEA enrichment program with Zoo’s KEA TEPTEP and Jean Luc, where guests learn about these very intelligent parrots, their food and enrichment preferences. Visitors enter the feathers of the birds to think about the animals’ perspective and needs and make supplies to make them smart puzzles to hide treats. By observing KEA as they explore, play and problem solving, guests can relate and build a sense of connection to these birds, and this connection is critical of promoting empathy.
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| Photo: Annie Kwan/Woodland Park Zoo |
“We are so proud of this innovative society of zoos and aquariums leading our field into a new era with relationships between humans and animals, while in total affecting more than 17.5 million zoo visitors and program participants over ACE for Wildlife ™ Network Partners,” said Marta Burnet, PhD director of Advancing Empathy at Woodland Park Zoo. “Our development of leading empathy programs and rapid reaction evaluation of their influence equips our institutions to more deeply engaging visitors in conservation efforts, while consistently using new learning to our practice. Ultimately, our holistic goals are to strengthen our guests’ empathy muscles through connections with animals, nature and each other.”
During the three-year grant period, Woodland Park Zoo’s advancing empathy initiatives again $ 3.6 million to the network’s basic partners who are already developing pioneering programs and continuing to expand their influence across our field nationally and internationally. For example, Racine Zoo used a previous grant to develop a virtual expensive meeting program that allows school children to meet, learn about and name a Madagascar -sier cockroach -the most popular and often highlighted was named Georgia by a group of children. Giving an animal a name is an important method of promoting empathy because it helps to individualize the animal. Zoo staff uses empathy best practice during these educational meetings-including to describe Georgia’s unique personality traits and engage students in perspective-taking can build positive attitudes to underrated species.
Thanks to Grant -Financing from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies offers ACE for Wildlife Network free resources and effective empathy building practice online at www.aceForwildlife.org.
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| Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo |
About Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies
Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies (MacP) provides meaningful help to society, art and the environment. Based in Minnesota, the MACP umbrella is over two supplementary funds: Margaret A. Cargill Foundation and Anne Ray Foundation. Rooted in the guidance of our founder, Margaret Cargill, we engage in strategic partners to support work that makes a lasting difference for society, with special attention on overlooked causes. Our global funding spans seven domains connected through common strategies and approaches: animal welfare, art and cultures, disaster relief and improvement, environment, inheritance and opportunity, quality of life and teachers and students. The collective assets of MacP place it among the largest philanthropis in the United States.
This new grant supports Woodland Park Zoo’s vision of reintroducing zoos through its strategic plan 2018 to 2025. With the goal of being a catalyst for preservation, Woodland Park Zoo has carried out a bold $ 110 million forests for all comprehensive fundraising campaign to bring its strategic plan to life already supported by more than 110,000 donors with generous Visit www.zoo.org/forestforall to learn more about the forests for all campaigns.
List of ACE for Wildlife Network Partner Organizations: Akron Zoo, Alaska Sealife Center, Blank Park Zoo, Como Park Zoological Trek Wildlife Park, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Racine Zoo, Red River Zoo, Roosevelt Park Zoo, San Diego Wildlife Alliance, Seattle Aquarium, Saint Louis Zoological