The mission of the Sequoia Park Zoo is to connect the community with animals to inspire wonder, understanding and conservation of wildlife and the natural world.
Future Vision
Sequoia Park Zoo is working towards the vision of a 21st century zoo. We encourage you to read along on a family’s fictional visit to the Zoo a few years from now and take a glimpse at our future. View the image below for a representation of our Master Plan, or click for a high resolution PDF.
Current & Upcoming Progress
Our Red panda exhibit was completed in July of 2010. The majority of funding for this new exhibit was provided by fundraising efforts from our Zootini gala 2009.
The new Flamingos, Cavies & Screamers, Oh My! exhibit was completed in the summer of 2011. This large-scale renovation involved re-routing the main Zoo walkway and crafting a new flamingo habitat including a new pond and nesting area. It creates a dynamic, multi-species exhibit which maximizes our small footprint and provides a snapshot of life in the Tropical Andes biodiversity hotspot region. Funding secured for this project was provided by multiple sources, including: Zootini gala 2008, Coast Central Credit Union, and the Ben B. Cheney Foundation.
Sequoia Park Zoo was awarded a $2.3 million grant from Prop 84's Nature Education Fund to bring River otters, salmon, and Bald eagles to the Zoo in a project entitled Watershed Heroes. Read on for details about this exciting new venture:
- These new exhibits will replace some of the oldest buildings and exhibits in the zoo, including the Small Animal House and administrative office, and create a more aesthetic and visitor-friendly area just inside the main Zoo entrance. These exhibits encompass a portion of our Native Predators zone of the Zoo Master Plan.
- Along with these animal exhibits, the project will include off-exhibit space to facilitate otter breeding programs, a “Voices of the Bay” interpretive trail (emphasizing the relationship between humans and the environment), and an observational water lab classroom looking into the otter exhibit.
- This project will bring a fun, dynamic learning environment to life with the new exhibits and our conservation mascots – the three Watershed Heroes: Awesome Otter, Super Salmon, & Epic Eagle, who will be featured in a comic-style story book. This nature education experience will include focused learning about our local environment which aims to inspire environmental stewardship.
- Multi-sensory interpretive techniques will be used to convey messages of 1) the necessity for healthy ecosystems and watersheds, 2) the ecological role that otter, salmon and eagles play, 3) the traditional and current relationships humans have with these animals, habitats and watersheds, and 4) how each of us can make a difference.
- The exhibit will utilize sustainable design including Forest Stewardship Council certified Smartwood©, a rainwater catchment system, an air source heat pump, wool insulation, LED lighting and more.
- Sequoia Park Zoo was awarded $2.3M to fund this project. It was one of 44 selected for funding from a pool of over 300 applications and a total grant pool of $93M raised through Proposition 84, passed by popular vote in 2006. Only two other California AZA-certified institutions received funds from this pool – the Oakland Zoo and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
- Current Status: The official design phase of the project will begin in the spring of 2012.