Conservation Hero

Conservation Hero

Conservation Hero

You can be a hero for wildlife wherever you are! From the plains to the coast and beyond, join us and our partners as we combat pollution, deforestation, and climate change to protect wildlife habitats at home and beyond. Already a Conservation Hero? Pass on your wisdom by sending your story to Educate at educate@omahazoo.com for a chance to be featured in our conservation newsletter! 

 

Initiatives

The easiest step you can take to become a Conservation Hero is right in front of you! Take part in the Zoo's year-long 'Do Not Feed the Landfill' campaign to lessen your impact on our wild systems by signing a pledge to live more sustainably. You can also help restore ecological health for wildlife at home and beyond by participating in a lake, river, or stream clean-up, or helping scientists monitor native and endangered species during a zoo-led Bio Blitz event.

Do Not Feed the Landfill Campaign

Conservation begins with you! Get started by pledging to the Zoo's year-long 'Do Not Feed the Landfill' campaign to prevent trash from entering our wild systems. You can pledge as an individual, a family, a class, a club, or a business. Throughout the year, the Zoo will partner with local organizations and heroes like you to build happier healthier habitats for wildlife at home and beyond. A little goes a long way! 

 

Take the Pledge

Keep our oceans plastic-free by downloading these smartphone wallpapers to remind yourself to Bring Your Own reusables

When plastic enters our landfills, it can be carried by wind or rain into our global watershed. These animals are the faces of those impacted by plastic pollution in our oceans. Take your pledge to help! 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Lake, River and Stream Clean-ups

Summer Solstice Clean-Up

Friday, June 23rd, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Levi Carter Park, 4405 Carter Lk Shr Dr, Omaha, NE 68110
Where will you be in midsummer? Why not become a champion for wildlife? Join us and our partners for a community clean-up  at Levi Carter Park to keep our local waterways clean and participate in activities that Leave No Trace. All supplies and equipment will be provided by the Zoo and Keep Omaha Beautiful. Just bring yourselves and come at your leisure. What better way to spend the longest day of the year than by helping out your natural neighbors?

Red, White and Zoo 

Wednesday, July 5th, 10:00 - 11:30
Deer Park, Omaha, NE 68107
After the fireworks are done, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium ask for your help in keeping our oceans and waterways free of debris. Grab your friends, family, and neighbors and clean the paper and plastics from fireworks and festivities left behind. Plastics and paper from fireworks find their way to rivers and streams and ultimately the ocean so you can make a difference this independence day! Join us and our partners to collect and count the pieces of trash around Deer Park Neighborhood. Together, we can save our oceans! 
For questions or to register, contact The Education Department at (402)-738-2092 or educate@omahazoo.com 

Monarch Tagging

Monarch butterflies migrate over 2,000 miles every from their wintering home in Mexico to their breeding grounds in the northern United States. To gain a better understanding of their populations and migration patterns, citizen scientists tag the super generation of monarchs, who are on their way back to Mexico, from late August through September. Monarch tagging is conducted in conjunction with Monarch Watch and the University of Kansas who manage all the data collected during the tagging and monitor migrations.   
2023 Dates and Times for Monarch Tagging at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium:
Saturday, August 26th, 1:00-3:00 pm 
Saturday, September 9th, 1:00-3:00 pm
Saturday, September 23rd, 1:00-3:00 pm
Events are open to the public and free with membership to the Omaha Zoo or paid admission. Staff will be on-site for the duration of the times listed. Registration is not required, supplies are limited.
Contact the Omaha Zoo Education Department at (402)-738-2092 or educate@OmahaZoo.com for questions. 

Citizen Science Programs

Become a champion for wildlife by teaming up with your friends, family, and fellow community members for a citizen science project. With any citizen science effort, you engage in the process of collecting and sharing observations from the physical world. By contributing information of your own, you are helping researchers fill gaps in their data and perhaps giving them valuable insight from a particular area they may not have been able to study on their own.

City Nature Challenge

City Nature Challenge 2023

City Nature Challenge is finished for the year. A special thank you to all of our partners and all who participated! 

   

CITY NATURE CHALLENGE 2023 RESULTS ARE IN!

 

Private Workshops

Private Workshops for groups or families are available by reservation three weeks in advance. Groups must have a minimum of 10 participants with a minimum age of 6 years old. The cost is $20/person unless reserved with another education program then adults are free. Cost includes supplies and equipment use. Workshops can be reserved any day of the week and run for 2 hours in length.
 
Contact the Education Department at (402) 738-2092 or Educate@OmahaZoo.com to inquire about topic availability and reserve your spot today. 

Amphibian Conservation

Amphibians are vital to the ecosystem and research. Frogs and toads, for example, act as exterminators, controlling populations of insects such as mosquitoes, which may carry West Nile Virus and Malaria. Currently, skin secretions from some amphibians are being used in the pharmaceutical industry to help treat specific conditions, including cancer. Also, amphibians are called indicator species which means that they are an organism whose presence, absence, or abundance reflects a specific environmental condition.
 
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, together with other zoos and organizations, have launched the Amphibian Conservation Initiative to address the decline of amphibians on a global scale. This initiative includes the establishment of facilities and the training of staff, capable of quarantining amphibians and carrying out captive breeding programs. Once threats have been lowered or resolved, the offspring of the amphibians will be released back into the wild.
 
This workshop will look at threats as well as opportunities to restore populations not only abroad but in your own backyards. Hands-on experiences will be available during weather-appropriate times of the year. Tours of research facilities and/or discussions with experts are possible on a conditional basis.   

Butterfly Conservation

Approximately 3% of butterfly species are threatened with extinction. Monarchs have declined 85% in two decades. This decline in butterfly populations is attributed primarily to habitat loss due to urbanization and agriculture. As populations continue to decrease, a growing need to monitor species more closely is developing. Because there is little distinction between some types of butterflies, identification and classification proves to be a challenge. Very few Lepidopterists (scientists who study butterflies and moths) exist; therefore, monitoring population sizes and ranges of butterfly species is a daunting task.
 
This workshop will illustrate the different types of butterflies concentrating on Nebraska natives and looking at challenges and opportunities, as well as introducing participants to sampling techniques (weather permitting). Tagging and sampling are weather-appropriate activities, but techniques will be illustrated and explained during off-seasons. Expert visits and facility tours are available on a conditional basis.   

SECORE Conservation (SExual COral REproduction)

Coral reefs are declining worldwide due to global warming, ocean acidification, sedimentation, eutrophication, African dust storms and mechanical damage, just to name a few. There is a reproductive bottleneck that is making it increasingly difficult for these corals to reproduce sexually in the wild. SECORE has become the main coral reef conservation project in zoos and public aquariums around the world. Coral Reef Conservation on the Island of Curacao is a collaborative effort among public aquarium professionals and researchers. This collaboration links research efforts and excellence in coral reef husbandry, education, and conservation.
 
The mission of SECORE is to develop techniques for the sexual propagation of critically endangered corals. The goals are three-fold.
  •  to reproduce these corals sexually as to enhance genetic diversity.
  •  to use these sexually reproduced corals, growing in flow-thru systems, for coral reef restoration research efforts by planting them back onto the reefs at different sizes.
  • and, to monitor these corals at the outplant sites and in the flow-thru systems for growth and survivorship.
This workshop will help illustrate the importance of this collaboration and propagation methods of the partner organizations as well as show the techniques involved. Join researchers as they talk about their work and show coral planula as they grow.   

 

Resources for Workshop Topics