Reid Park Zoo Community Demonstrates Commitment to Conservation
Thank you to everyone that has joined in July’s Plastic Free EcoChallenge! Out of the 741 different teams that have signed up and are participating in the challenge, the Reid Park Zoo is currently ranked number 6!
As the challenge goes into its final weeks, we want to celebrate the great conservation work our community has done so far this month. As of July 19, our team has reported picking up 562 pieces of litter, volunteering 134 hours of their time, and preventing up to 821 plastic straws from going to the local landfills, as well as taking other actions to change our perception of single-use plastics being convenient.
EcoChallenge.org is an online platform that encourages people to make small or large lifestyle changes that impact our surrounding communities. They create different, smaller challenges that focus on things like food production and distribution, transportation and emissions, and avoiding single-use plastics altogether. The idea is to create fun and interactive challenges that help drive all of us to lead more sustainable lifestyles. The Plastic Free EcoChallenge is no exception.
With fun prompts and different types of plastic-free challenges, this platform makes it easy and fun to compete with each other and get your entire family involved, even your pets!
Here’s what some Reid Park Zoo team members had to say about their experiences in the EcoChallenge so far:
“Today in my dog’s world, we took one of her puzzle balls with holes in it, some extra fabric I had lying around and some dog treats. We wrapped the dog treats in the fabric, put those in the ball and let her have at it. Reusable entertainment for hours!” — Maeghan Fasciola
“I thought taking my own container to dinner for leftovers would make me look crazy. Turns out people think I’m a genius! And lunch is already packed for the next day 😁” — Deb Oebker
“This has been such a fun challenge for me. I’ve been wanting to go plastic-free for a long time.” — Phillis Blanchard
In two years, more than 60,000 people from 101 countries have participated in the program and this month, Reid Park Zoo, its employees and community account for 356 of that 60,000. We are only 19 days in and our teammates have had some great things to say!
If you would like to join our team and help change the world one challenge at a time, sign up here!