Posts Tagged ‘Backyard Wildlife Series’

Jan
01

New Year, New Program!

Posted by Leigh in Classes/Programs, Featured

Two of the Children's Zoo bats having a snack

Two of the Children's Zoo bats having a snack

Just in time for the new year, we’re starting a new program!  Maybe you’ve brought your kids to Camp Zoofari, or attended a Safari School class with your preschooler.   If you’ve ever wished there was a zoo class for you, you are in luck!

Our new Backyard Wildlife Series is for adults and teens, and offers an opportunity to learn about our native Texas wildlife, have a unique animal experience at the Zoo, make something for your feathered and furred neighbors, and contribute to conservation – all at the same time! 

Each month the class will be themed around a project.  Our first project, on January 9th, is a bat house.  We’ll discuss the bats of Texas and visit the Children’s Zoo bat colony.  And if bats aren’t your thing, we have a new project each month.  Maybe frogs, butterflies, or hummingbirds are what you’re interested in – we have upcoming projects for those critters, too!

Registration is for up to 2 people, and each pair will take home a completed project.  The proceeeds from this collaborative effort between the Children’s Zoo and the Education Department will be donated to a related Texas-based conservation organization.

If you are interested in learning more, or want to register, make sure to check out our Backyard Wildlife Series webpage.  Hope to see you there!

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Nov
25

Neighborhood Wildlife

Posted by Leigh in Classes/Programs

The Harris Hawk is native to Texas.

The Harris Hawk is native to Texas.

 Texas is home to a huge variety of wild animals and plants.  As the largest state south of Canada, we are the meeting point for many habitat zones; prairie from Oklahoma, pines from Louisiana, desert and mountains from New Mexico, and brush country from Mexico.  We also have habitats unique to the state, like the Edward’s Plateau region near Austin.

With all these different habitats, we get to claim a LOT of different animals as native species!  Many of our wild neighbors are on exhibit at the zoo - cougars, alligators, rattlesnakes – but the best place to see Texas native species at the Houston Zoo is in the Children’s Zoo.  With the exception of the domestic species (and our bats) everything on exhibit in the Children’s Zoo is native to Texas!

The Houston Zoo also participates in several conservation projects in Texas; there are endangered species here, too.  There are many ways that you can get involved in local conservation, and one of them is a new adult and teen program you can take at the zoo!

Texas Tortoises are seasonally on exhibit in the Children's Zoo.

Texas Tortoises are seasonally on exhibit in the Children's Zoo.

The Backyard Wildlife Series is a collaborative effort between the Children’s Zoo keepers and the Education Department.  This program will highlight local species and conservation efforts, while at the same time helping you to make your own backyard more wildlife-friendly.  The first project is a bat house, on January 9 at 1pm.  The proceeds from these programs will be donated to related Texas-based conservation initiatives.

So if you want to learn more about the native animals that share Texas with us and improve your own backyard habitat at the same time, check out the Backyard Wildlife Series.  And if you want to see some native animals up close, make sure to stop by the Children’s Zoo on your next visit!

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