SEATTLE - Cascade Land Conservancy honored Woodland Park Zoo today with the John Stanford Education Achievement Award for the zoo’s Wild Wise outreach program. The award was presented at CLC’s ninth annual Conservation Awards Breakfast and was among six awards that recognized individuals and organizations for their accomplishments, ingenuity and dedication to the Puget Sound region’s beautiful natural lands.

Wild Wise, the zoo’s first statewide outreach program, connects middle school students with the wild residents in their own backyard. “It is designed to inspire the students to take an active interest in the natural world around them,” explained Woodland Park Zoo President and CEO Dr. Deborah Jensen. “The more that kids know, the more that they will care and the more that they will do,” added Jensen.
The John Stanford Education Achievement Award marks the second award for Wild Wise, which also garnered a Significant Achievement Award from the zoo’s accrediting organization, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. The zoo has taken its nationally award-winning Wild Wise to thousands of students in every county in the state, including schools in Spokane, Yakima, Seattle and Vancouver since its inception four years ago.

“We combine stunning wildlife video and images with a lively audio track full of nature’s sounds to drive home the fascinating diversity of Washington’s wild animals and habitats æ without the need for animals in the classroom,” notes Dave Hill, Wild Wise program coordinator. The Wild Wise team then guides the students through a virtual tour of Washington habitats, presenting an opportunity for them to search for wildlife species and observe their behavior. Students record their observations in field notebooks provided by the program as they learn how scientists, photographers and artists use math, science, sketching and writing skills in the field. In the process, students make exciting discoveries and learn how to apply classroom lessons to the real world.

Accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, top award-winning Woodland Park Zoo is famed for pioneering naturalistic exhibits and setting a standard for zoos all over the world. With conservation, education and excellent animal care at the core of the zoo's mission, the zoo is helping to save endangered species in Washington state and around the world including tree kangaroos, snow leopards, red-crowned cranes, African wild dogs, western pond turtles and Oregon silverspot butterflies. By inspiring visitors and others to care and act, Woodland Park Zoo is making a difference in our planet's future.

Woodland Park Zoo opens 9:30 a.m. daily every day of the year. For more information about the exhibit visit the zoo's Web site at www.zoo.org.