Palm Oil Derivatives . . .

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. . . or why shopping is so difficult if you really care about rainforests and orangutans.

As soon as I learned from Rick LoBello at the El Paso Zoo about the destruction caused by palm oil "farming", I began reading labels a bit more carefully whenever I go shopping. I stopped buying products that have palm oil in them. What I have become more aware of is the extent to which palm oil derivatives make their way into hundreds of thousands of products on store shelves.

Just click on and enlarge the chart above. Want a more complete list, go HERE and scroll down.

Palm oil has many applications:

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So what some may ask. Why should anyone care about rainforests and orangutans?

It's like cigarette smoking. We all know that smoking causes lung cancer and other diseases. Rainforests are the lungs of the earth. Destroy our lungs and it will eventually destroy us even here in the Chihuahuan Desert. Deforestation also destroys the homes of indigenous people (thus putting more stress on urban and national economies) and native species. We depend on rain forests for food and pharmaceuticals.

Our immediate concerns are all good ones: relationships, paying bills, our jobs, etc. What is hard to grasp and appreciate is the interconnectedness of our biosphere. All that lives here and now share evolutionary stories. It's just not human species or the day to day concerns that each one of us has. It's a planet full of shared and dependent existence. 

What to do? Keep reading those labels. AND start thinking about making your own products with a few simple ingredients while eschewing those store bought products with long lists of arcane chemicals. Google "diy natural homemade blank". Fill in the blank: shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, furniture polish, whatever. Check out web sites such as Wellness Mama. Let the makers of products using palm oil and palm oil derivatives know that you will no longer buy their products. 

You want the planet to breathe and be healthy and you want the same for yourself and your family.

Wyler Aerial Tramway: Celebrating 15 Years!

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Park Ranger and Interpreter, Diana Moy, posted on Facebook: 

"We are super excited and want to invite all of you to come and celebrate 15 years of the Tramway as a State Park! 

"The celebration will take place at the park on Saturday, March 12 from 12 to 4. Parking will be available at the Amphitheater in McKelligon Canyon [Map] and shuttles will be available to bring visitors to the Tramway and back to your vehicle.

There will be lots of activities, exhibitors, food trucks, and more; don't miss the fun!"

The El Paso Group Sierra Club will be distributing free 13" x 10" x 15" x 10" reusable shopping bags and will share a table with the El Paso Zoo.

Please visit Wyler Aerial Tramway State Park on Facebook.

The Friday Video: El Paso Zoo lion loves children

I took a friend who is visiting me from Philadelphia to our El Paso Zoo today. It's one of my favorite places to go. While we were there we ran into my friend, Rick LoBello, who is the Education Curator at the Zoo. He told us about plans for expansion which will be paid for with the the Quality of Life bonds. You can see the Master Plan HERE.

Not only is our El Paso Zoo the home of many exotic species from around the world, it encourages people to get involved and take action to protect animals everywhere. LoBello is the really the Activist-in Chief. The Zoo lets you know how to get involved and how to take action and support conservation.

I love the lions most of all. Here's a great video: El Paso Zoo Lion loves children.

Give One to Chuy Reyes

Earlier I posted that the El Paso Water Improvement District (EPWID) was at it again. They were mowing grass along the Franklin Canal at the El Paso Zoo. I asked some wildlife and horticulture experts and discovered three things. First, it's not nesting season so legally the mowing is allowed even though other wildlife uses the drain. 

Secondly, I was also told that mowing keeps the vegetation low and somewhat manageable. Not mowing would mean unmanageable vegetation, which can leave a breeding ground for different animals and insects, some good some not. The grasses do help to hold the canal bank together.

Mr. Reyes, the Manager of EPWID, stated that "the mowing is part of the maintenance of our property, we have to keep the vegetation down so that our vehicles can patrol the canal banks." The water district is responsible for the maintenance, operation and upkeep of 400 miles of canals and 350 miles of drains from the New Mexico State borderline to the Hudspeth County line. Reyes said: "Simply we patrol to make sure water flow is not blocked and could cause over topping and flooding and we deliver irrigation water to some 32,000 accounts from small gardens to large farms and to the City of El Paso for treatment and utilized for potable water."

All of this sounds reasonable. The fight that we picked in the past had to do with the destruction of habitat and nests. The vegetation in that case did not impede patrolling and, in fact, served to shade the water and thus cut down on evaporation. 

As far as the canal at the Zoo, it is probably a moot point about mowing anyway. The Zoo has plans to concrete that section and build over the canal to create more area for their educational programs. After I emailed Reyes and expressed my concern about mowing the riparian area, he responded: "Sorry for your concern about the riparian zone but we are in the process of working out an agreement with the El Paso Zoo where they want to concrete that area of the canal so there won’t be any riparian to worry about."

And that's the third thing that I learned. It's true that Reyes is reasonable. However, when he says "there won't be any riparian to worry about" because the Zoo will concrete the area, there is a values difference at play. I'm not criticizing Reyes. I am, however, observing once again a common value in El Paso that makes environmentalism and conservation so difficult: we don't have to worry about nature as long as we can build over it, plow it down, build on top of it, etc. There is no attempt to live in community with nature in spite of the fact that architects and landscapers throughout the world are finding better ways.

It makes sense to mow. It also makes sense to blend in and preserve.

Water District At It Again

The El Paso Water Improvement District #1 (EPWID) is at it again. They are currently mowing the vegetation along the Franklin Canal by the El Paso Zoo. You will recall that they plowed through vegetation in the riparian zones of drains in El Paso's Upper Valley. This was during nesting season for birds and mammals. As a result the El Paso Water Utilities (EPWU) wrote a new policy to be more mindful of animal habitats. EPWU responded to the concerns of environmentalists. When asked about mitigating the loss of vegetation in the Upper Valley, Mr. Jesus (Chuy) Reyes only had this to say: “I am not interested in replanting native vegetation.” 

elpasonaturally has reached out to Mr. Reyes and is asking him about the benefit of mowing along the canals.

More later on this developing story.

The Friday Video: El Paso Outside: A Promise For Future Generations

Landscaping with native plants is the way to go. Just take the next step and create a back or frontyard habitat that will attract birds and butterflies and other wildlife. It doesn't have to be done all at once and it's easy to do. You can even register your front or backyard with the Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition (CDEC). Their program makes it fun to landscape for beauty and for habitat with native plants. Also check out the City of El Paso's Get Outside program, a joint effort between the Office of Resilience and Sustainability and the Zoo. Visit and like CDEC on Facebook. BTW, CDEC's 11th Annual Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta, a Celebration of Our Mountains event, is coming up on September 19th from 9 AM to 3 PM at the Tom Mays Unit of the Franklin Mountains State Park.

Now watch an outstanding video:

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The Friday Video: A Double Feature!

If you can't view the videos in your email, then go to www.elpasonaturally.blogspot.com. At the top of the blue column on the right is a way for you to sign-up to get elpasonaturally by email. Even if you once received email from us, you need to re-register. Thanks.

Today we have a double feature! We begin with "Love At First Bite - The Ad Doritos Don't Want You to See". Here's the scoop: 

"Rainforests across Southeast Asia are being destroyed every day to make way for massive palm oil plantations, where workers, even children, are trapped in modern slavery to cultivate the vegetable oil. The clearing of these rainforests and peatlands are driving many species like the orangutan and Sumatran tiger to the brink of extinction, while also polluting the Earth's atmosphere by releasing gigatons of greenhouse gases.


"Each year, PepsiCo buys 427,500 tonnes of palm oil. Given how high profile the Doritos Super Bowl campaign is, we're [SumOfUs]using this opportunity to let consumers around the world know about PepsiCo's irresponsible palm oil sourcing policy. there's never been a better time to spread the message and make friends, family and colleagues aware of PepsiCo's practices."

There's an online petition associated with the video. Also be sure to download the El Paso Zoo's palm oil app.



Speaking about the El Paso Zoo, here's one from Rick LoBello, the Education Curator there. Rick has a YouTube Channel where you will find more videos. The following went viral after NBC's Today show used it:



We need to post more of Rick's videos here on elpasonaturally!

The Friday Video: How Wolves Change Rivers

Today is a double feature which I'll do in 2 posts. The first video is one that I wanted to post last Friday but the embedding code wasn't available. It is now. Save wolves. Let wolves multiply. That's the moral of the story. There are several organizations devoted to saving wolves. Your El Paso Zoo is a leader in efforts to save the Mexican Wolf, a critically-endangered species. Visit the Zoo's take-action page about these wonderful animals.

Enjoy this video which shows some of the ways wolves are essential to the wilderness:




Please also check out Sustainable Man online and on Facebook. They have many more videos.

The Friday Video: Zoo Doo

Why not El Paso? Come on El Paso Zoo? Come on Sustainability Office? Transportation - got plants in medians and along streets? General Services - got any vegetation? Any gardeners, permaculturists, farmers in El Paso County? Tree Farm? Got Zoo Doo?

El Paso Zoo Launches Mobile Application to Help Save Orangutans

El Paso Zoo Launches Mobile Application to Help Save Orangutans

Click icon in bottom right to enlarge.

For more information:

The El Paso Zoo

Take Action

More about palm oil and orangutans

The above press release on the El Paso Zoo site

TxDOT Plans Animal Corridor Not Meant for Animals

Party for the Planet at the El Paso Zoo this Saturday and Sunday, April 21-22. (Map)

Want to see what a TxDOT wildlife corridor looks like? I’ve posted the plan. It’s 600 feet in length and I have it on so many good authorities that no animal is going to traverse this tunnel. Of course, I’m talking about the corridor which is going underneath their Transmountain Freeway. TxDOT did tell the public that they had communicated with the Texas Parks and Wildlife. However, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Urban Wildlife Biologist for El Paso, Lois Balin, said: "I have never seen this design before nor discussed anything even close to a 600 foot culvert." Another wildlife expert told me: “TxDOT is only trying to placate outraged citizenry who do not know much about wildlife and might think that a tunnel is a good faith effort to show that they care about our wildlife.” What is the tunnel for really? Really?

Many of you have noticed how quickly contractors are obliterating a wide swath of natural landscape on both sides of Transmountain on the west side of the mountain. Keep in mind that the Sierra Club is suing TxDOT and asking the court to order a more thorough environmental study. In fact, last week Sierra Club asked the court for an injunction to stop the work and we are still waiting for that result. The faster the land can be cleared, the more an injunction or the study becomes moot. In fact, the easier it becomes for TxDOT to argue that too much has been done already and too much money has been spent. A threat of a counter suit by the contractor, Sundt Construction, becomes a greater possibility as well. Their argument will be that they have too much time and money into the project now. The genii, as they say, is out of the bottle. Stay tuned.

On the other side of the mountain on both sides of Transmountain is Castner Range. Attempts to preserve it have been going on for a much longer time than efforts to save the Scenic Transmountain Corridor on the west. The Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition has been working for a long time with elected officials and Fort Bliss to save the Range as natural open space. Many of you are most familiar with Castner Range during the annual Poppy Fest. This year the poppies were more dazzling than troupes of edelweiss in the Austrian Alps. (El Paso didn’t have Maria von Trapp but we sure had our Native American drummers.) You can see at today’s elpasonaturally post pictures of this year’s poppies along with information and background about the Range and why it is critical that it be preserved. There is also an announcement of an upcoming meeting on Wednesday, April 25^th, of the Fort Bliss Restoration Advisory Board at 6:30 p.m. in Chaparral, NM just off the tip of NE El Paso. RAB needs to see more and more and more El Pasoans who want to see Castner Range preserved as natural open space once it is wiped clean of any still unexploded ordnance (the reason for all those “No Trespassing” signs around the perimeter of the range).

UTEP Engineering Professor, Dr. John Walton, gave a presentation about passive rainwater harvesting in the El Paso region to members of the City’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board last week. You can see the slide show from that presentation.

Speaking about water, you are probably keeping up with the serious situation regarding the early release of large amounts of water from the Rio Grande to Mexico meaning less water now for Texas farmers. “State officials are taking a stand against the binational International Boundary and Water Commission over the release of Rio Grande water to Mexico. They say the water payments will cause substantial losses to U.S. crops and run counter to the 1906 pact governing water shares in the West Texas and New Mexico region.” Read more from MySanAntonio.com: Tempers boil over border water battle.

It’s not just nations vying over water: stakeholders along three Texas rivers are unhappy with a TCEQ ruling.

Get used to water wars but know that the public needs to have a greater voice about its water. That is why the Rodriguez bill last year was so egregious. You can get more background from three El Paso Times stories from earlier years here, here and here.

Finally, want to find out how walkable your neighborhood is? Go to walkscore.com.  Be sure to read what makes a neighborhood walkable and the benefits of living in such a neighborhood.

Franklin Mountains State Park Presentation Thursday at 6 p.m.

Our next Chapter meeting will be tomorrow evening, April 5^th beginning at 6 p.m. We will have a very special presentation: “Flora, Fauna and Recreation at the Franklin Mountains State Park”.  Many of you know Richard Love, a volunteer with the Franklin Mountains State Park in the Tom Mays Unit. If you don’t know Richard, you may have come across the bird blind on one of your trips to the park. Richard helped design and build the blind and has done some extraordinary photography there and at other locations in the park. He has been a photographer for over 30 years now and has made a study of the wildlife of the Chihuahuan Desert. (See some photos from Tom Mays.) Along with Richard, FMSP volunteers Heath Shawhart and George Murray will also be speaking.  Richard Love will discuss birds and animals of the Chihuahuan Desert and Franklin Mountains and include his personal photography. Heath Shawhart will talk about the recreational and hiking activities in the park and include tips on desert survival skills and desert plants. George Murray will speak about reptiles, plants and blooms.  Our Chapter meetings continue to be held at the El Paso Garden Center, 3105 Grant Avenue. (Map)

Stay tuned for more information about volunteer training for the Franklin Mountains State Park on April 14^th or contact Adrianna Weickhardt now at Adrianna.Weickhardt@tpwd.state.tx.us.

There will be another Transmountain cleanup/volunteer opportunity and continuing ed class this coming Saturday (April 7^th).  The cleanup will be from 9:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. Meet for the cleanup at the pull-out just past the Adopt a Highway sign on the right-hand side of westbound lane on Transmountain Rd, west of the Gateway South intersection.  Call 915-525-7723 for information.  Then, Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners are sponsoring a continuing ed presentation at 11:00 a.m. at the El Paso Museum of Archaeology: “West Texas Wildlife & Birding Trails”.  The speaker, Beth Nobles, Executive Director of the Texas Mountain Trail organization, helps visitors and residents enjoy the great outdoors through the Far West Texas trail system.  This is a cooperative program with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and includes ten driving loops and 57 sites in Far West Texas.  El Paso hosts two of these loops, the El Paso Uplands from Franklin Mountains State Park to Hueco Tanks State Park and the El Paso Rio from Keystone Heritage Park to Rio Bosque Wetlands.  The public is invited and the event is free.

Also this Saturday, April 7^th, the El Paso Cactus and Rock Club will be fieldtripping to the Jarilla Mountains of Orogrande, NM to look for early-blooming cactus hybrids. Carpools will form at 8:30 a.m. at the Wal-Mart parking lot at Transmountain and Hwy 54 near the nursery.  (Map)  Be sure to take a hat, sunscreen, lunch and water. Walking sticks and sturdy walking shoes are suggested. If you have a high clearance vehicle, please consider bringing it. Remember your camera. For more information call 915-833-7637 or 915-383-3006. For a calendar of upcoming Rock and Cactus Club events, go here.

Here’s a program that is worth the drive to Las Cruces next Tuesday evening.  On April 10 from 6 to 8 p.m., the Southwest Environmental Center is presenting two intriguing and important talks. Both will stress the importance of advocating for the most endangered mammal in North America, New Mexico's own Mexican wolf (Lobo). The Center is located at 275 North Downtown Mall in Las Cruces.  (Map)

The Southwest Environmental Center also seeks your help to preserve the Otero Mesa from exploratory drilling for rare earth metals. The hunt for rare earths is also on Round Top Mountain in Hudspeth County near Sierra Blanca, Texas (just down the road from us a tad). Why rare earths? Because all of us consumers like iPads and smart phones and things that glow in the dark.

On April 13, 14 and 15, 2012 the El Paso/Trans-Pecos Audubon Society will be visiting the Lesser Prairie-Chickens of Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Bottomless Lakes State Park.  April is the peak time for Lesser Prairie Chickens’ famous displays in their mating areas called booming grounds.  If you can, make motel reservations for Friday in Roswell and do some local birding.  Saturday morning tour Bitter Lake NWR.  Bring lunch and drinks for this all day affair.  Saturday afternoon bird and tour Bottomless Lakes State Park and on Sunday morning get a very early start to view the Lesser Prairie Chickens.  If you want more information or if you plan to go please contact Mark Perkins at 637-3521 or mperkins4@elp.rr.com.

The April 2012 Rio Bosque newsletter is now available. To volunteer at the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, contact John Sproul at 915-861-4361 or jsproul@utep.edu.

You can also volunteer at the El Paso Zoo. They have a new Volunteer Coordinator, Sherri Reneau, who can be reached at 915-351-5340 or reneausl@elpasotexas.gov.

Finally, Rick Lobello, the Education Curator at the El Paso Zoo, talked to our new class of Master Naturalists last week. One concept that is critical to urban planning is that of ecosystems services – the benefits that we derive from the ecosystem in which we live such as cleaner air, healthier soil, carbon sequestration, etc.. Learn more about it. Also, read a primer about ecosystem services from the United Nations Environment Program. This is good stuff.

The Master Naturalist© is written and published by Jim Tolbert who takes sole responsibility for the content of the letter.

To subscribe or unsubscribe, just reply to this letter or email jimhtolbert@elp.rr.com.

This is Volume 1 and Number 5 published on April 4, 2012

Year of the Bat at El Paso Zoo

Click on image to enlarge.

Year of the Bat Kickoff Celebration at the El Paso Zoo! January 28-29, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The El Paso Zoo will host a kickoff the Year of the Bat on January 28-29 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Join us to help raise awareness about Bat conservation and learn about these magnificent creatures. Daily activities will include bat games, arts & crafts, bat enrichment programs and more. (Activities included with regular Zoo admission)

Build a Bat House Workshop – January 28 at 11am.

Learn how to build a bat house in this fun hands-on interactive workshop.  Bats are essential for maintaining healthy ecosystems and installing a bat house is a great way to support these insect eating species. ($10 per person, $9 for members). For more information and to register visit elpasozoo.org/adventure or call 521-1850.

Batty Sleepover – January 27, 6 p.m. – 9 a.m.

Spend the night at the zoo and discover information about our local bats, make bat enrichments and celebrate the Year of the Bat! Also enjoy a jam packed time with a nocturnal tour, animal encounter, campfire, bat story time and behind the scenes tour! All you need is your pillow and a blanket.  Cots are provided.   $30 non-member, $27 member.  Ages 7+ (Must have at least 1 adult per 5 children). For more information and to register visit elpasozoo.org/adventure or call 521-1850.

At Least Save the Chimps

We all have heard by now the gruesome tragedy in Ohio of animals having to be put down after they were let out of their cages by their keeper who then killed himself. Most agree that little could be done once the animals were released near nightfall unlike the unnecessary killing of a mountain lion in downtown El Paso because of a total lack of crowd control by authorities.

International wildlife expert and Education Curator at the El Paso Zoo, Rick LoBello, had this to say about the tragic killings of animals in Ohio:

"We need federal laws to help prevent tragedies like this in the future. Unfortunately in this country we are often more reactive than proactive in addressing a whole range of national issues and concerns. What happened in Ohio is a perfect example. There were plenty of warnings that something was seriously wrong with the individual who owned these animals, yet the local authorities were not able to find a way to legally do anything about it. When it comes to animals and the environment more people need to get involved , speak out and step into leadership roles. Unfortunately too many of us are sitting on the sidelines."

Well, there is a way locally to get involved and not just sit on the sideline. LoBello explains:

Save the Chimps, the world’s largest chimpanzee sanctuary, cares for nearly 300 chimpanzees rescued from research laboratories, entertainment and the pet trade. They currently have 10 chimpanzees living in Alamogordo that will be transferred to their sanctuary in Florida sometime between now and Christmas and are in need of enrichment items. UTEP Student Arturo Rocha is collecting items and has asked the Zoo to provide a drop off point for donations between now and noon October 28. If you would like to help out a list of items they need follows. Donations can be dropped off at the El Paso Zoological Society Office at the front gate.

Here is how you can help:

Treats: Peanut butter- creamy only, powered Gatorade or Powerade (any flavor), fruit juice (any kind- no sugar added), nuts in shells (any kind, unsalted), sunflower seeds (unsalted), raisins, Craisins, pasta, rice, oatmeal, grits, applesauce, jams or jellies (any flavor), dried fruit

Blankets, toys and enrichment items: blankets – preferably fleece (no quilts, comforters, mattress pads or sofa covers), stuffed animals (not stuffed with pebbles, beans, pvc, pellets or foam), small plastic sturdy toys (age appropriate 1-3 years no chocking hazards), kiddie pools (hard plastic), basketballs, picture books, magazines

Household: antibacterial hand soap, hand sanitizer, laundry soap, liquid dish soap

Save the Chimps was established in 1997, under the leadership of founder Carole Noon, Ph.D., in response to the U.S. Air Force's announcement that it was getting out of the chimpanzee research business. At the end of the long giveaway process, most of the chimpanzees, described by the USAF in a Wall Street Journal article as "surplus equipment," were sent to the Coulston Foundation (TCF) in Alamogordo, NM, a biomedical laboratory with the worst record of any lab in the history of the Animal Welfare Act. Save the Chimps sued the Air Force on behalf of the chimpanzees given to TCF. After a year-long struggle, Save the Chimps gained permanent custody of 21 chimps, survivors and descendants of the baby chimps captured in Africa in the 1950's and used by the Air Force in the original NASA space research program. The vision of Save the Chimps was -- and remains -- to create a sanctuary where rescued chimps can live out their lives without the threat of ever returning to a laboratory, entertainment, and the pet trade. Save the Chimps is entirely funded through donations from individuals like you and private foundations.

Dr. Steve Ross of Lincoln Park Zoo who is chair of the Chimpanzee Species Survival Plan and founder of Project ChimpCare, endorsed Save the Chimps and their efforts in a phone call yesterday. Today in the United States there are over 2,000 chimpanzees living in a variety of circumstances: from zoos (both accredited and non-accredited), laboratories and sanctuaries to lives as pets and performers under private ownership. While many of these chimpanzees enjoy appropriate care and management and the security of long-term housing, many others do not. Furthermore, there is very little known about many of these chimpanzees, and there has been relatively little communication between these communities.

Project ChimpCARE is a non-partisan group committed to improving the wellbeing of chimpanzees, regardless of current circumstances, and opening the lines of communication between disparate groups to achieve this singular goal. Our objectives are based on the approach that accurate information is the basis for effective change.

Map and directions to the zoo are found on this page.

NOW Is the Time to Learn More about Our Oceans

And BP CEO Tony Hayward says, "I'd like my life back."

With the current terrible tragedy unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico, El Pasoans have the opportunity to learn more about the "crucial role the oceans plays in our lives . . . " this Sunday at the El Paso Zoo.

What is especially great and unique about the El Paso Zoo experience is that it provides ways for visitors to become activists to protect the earth and its wildlife. People can take action online or while visiting the zoo on issues saving African elephants to the palm oil crisis. You can also help make El Paso a safer place for Burrowing Owls.

Here is the press release for World Oceans Day:

El Paso Zoo to celebrate World Oceans Day on Sunday, June 6^th

El Paso will join hundreds of communities around the globe in celebrating World Oceans Day the week of June 6th – an opportunity to learn about our world ocean and our personal connection to the sea, to raise awareness about the crucial role the oceans plays in our lives, and the important ways people can help to protect our shared world ocean. On Sunday, June 6^th from 10am to 4pm the El Paso Zoo will celebrate World Oceans Day while focusing on getting children interested in our oceans and helping families learn how they can help oceans by making informed choices when they buy sea food at the grocery store or order sea food off the menu at local restaurants.

With the ongoing oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico many people want to help in any way they can. The El Paso Zoo and the El Paso Zoological Society will collect donations at the Zoo throughout the day to benefit the the Louisiana Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Rescue Program. The program is coordinated by the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in Louisiana. Funds collected will be used to help primary responders rescue, rehabilitate, and release marine mammals (dolphins, whales and manatees) and sea turtles along the Louisiana coast.

Schedule of Activities:

Front Entrance Gate – Make a donation to the Louisiana Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Rescue Program and receive a World Oceans Day button (while supplies last).

World of the California Sea Lion Exhibit – Learn about the Sea Food Watch Program and how you can help make sure that fish available in grocery stores and restaurants are all ocean-friendly.

El Paso Water Utilities Discovery Center near the Front Gate – Children can pick up a copy of the Dr. Seuss One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish activity booklet (while supplies last) and enjoy story time readings of the book.

Cisneros Paraje Discovery Center – Children can pick up a copy of the Dr. Seuss children’s activity booklet and color their very own World Oceans Day hat (while supplies last) while families learn about the Sea Food Watch Program and how they can help make sure that fish available in grocery stores and restaurants are all ocean-friendly.

Admission
Ages 2 & under .................................Free
Ages 3 to 12 .....................................$6.00
Ages 13 to 59..................................$10.00
Active Duty Military & spouse with ID...$7.50
Ages 60 & over ................................$7.50
Zoological Society Members .............Free