“Sustainability
Lessons from Natural Disasters”
Donna M.
Schaeffer and Cynthia Knott Eck
Marymount
University, Arlington, VA 22207
Patrick C.
Olson
National
University, San Diego, CA
|
WHO |
The Alabama
Gulf
Coast
Zoo, Gulf Shores Alabama 300 animals including lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, macaws and
more. ·
petting
zoo ·
reptile
house ·
aviary ·
daily animals shows (seasonally) . The Zoo Foundation, Inc. |
||
|
WHAT |
The “world’s first environmentally sustainable zoo built from
the ground up!” ·
LEED-certified
buildings ·
daily
operations ·
educational outreach. |
||
|
WHERE |
|
|
WHEN |
June, 1989: Zooland
Animal Park, a private enterprise, is opened by Joey Ward 1991: The Zoo Foundation, a non-profit
organization, is founded and the Ward family donates 17 acres 1994:The Erie Meyer Foundation and the
Ward family donate an additional 13 acres 1997: Hurricane Danny 1998: Hurricane George causes the evacuation of all animals to
the Zoo Director’s home 2004: Hurricane Ivan 2005: Hurricanes Dennis and
Katrina 2006: local businessman Clyde Weir
and his daughter Andrea Weir Franklin donate 25 acres located 4 miles inland
and on raised terrain “The Little Zoo that Could” airs on
the Animal Planet 2010: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Earth Day, 2011: The Zoo
Foundation announced plans to re-design the world’s first environmentally
sustainable zoo 2012: Ground is broken |
||||
|
HOW |
Buildings: Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) is a voluntary certification program where 100 possible base
points are distributed across five major credit categories: Sustainable
Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources,
Indoor Environmental Quality, plus an additional 6 points for Innovation in
Design and an additional 4 points for Regional Priority. Buildings
can qualify for four levels of certification:
At
present, more than 7,000 projects in the United States and 30 countries,
covering over 1.501 billion square feet, have some level of certification. At
the Gulf Coast Zoo, ·
Structures
and materials used will be non-toxic, natural or organic, biodegradable and
recyclable. Daily
Operations -- ISO 14001: Environmental management standard for waste, water,
energy, etc. Restaurants
and gift shops should ensure that the products sold in both have high ethical
and sustainable credentials. ·
The
zoo will grow some of its own food through hydroponic and aeroponic
gardening. ·
An
array of alternative power sources will be implemented using strategically
placed solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal energy, ultraviolet light, and
propagated algae as a biofuel. ·
The
zoo will supply its own water via captured runoff collection in basins, wells
and reservoirs, ·
Waste
and sewage management will be controlled on-site through composting,
recycling, and incineration. ·
Biodiesel
fuel which will be produced onsite from algae oil from vertical closed loop
algae bioreactors will be used to fuel vehicles and generators, both for
emergency and planned power generation. ·
CO2 from the generators will be captured and
recycled back to the algae farm and portions of the algae biomass will be
used to supplement the diets of zoo animals. Education: The
United Nations has named 2005 – 2014 the Decade of Education
for Sustainable Development. ·
Zoos have a broad appeal ·
Zoos can present environmentally sustainability
information in an enjoyable way and in the context of biodiversity
conservation |
||||
|
WHY |
|
||||
|
Lessons Learned |
1.
A Zoo “campus” is more complicated that the ordinary
work or living campus due to the nature of supporting environments
appropriate for the animals and providing interface environments for people
to learn about the animals. Yet, a Zoo was able to accomplish this goal. 2.
It takes commitment from all stakeholders to make this
work.. 3.
This story teaches that it is important to look for
where one already has advantages with respect to being green and that it is important
to employee these advantages. |
Sources:
Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo to
Utilize Algae Biodiesel. 04 October 2011. http://www.grainnet.com/articles/alabama_gulf_coast_zoo_to_utilize_algae_biodiesel-114955.html
Dickey, Lesley A. The Sustainable
Zoo: an Introduction. International Zoo
Yearbook, Vol 43, Issue 1. Pp.
1- 5.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-1090.2008.00086.x/full
UNESCO. Education for Sustainable Development. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/education-for-sustainable-development