“This grant helps to support our goal of providing outstanding and unique educational opportunities to the community we serve.  Thanks to the Kellogg Foundation, we will be able to launch new education initiatives as well as enhance our ongoing education programs,” said Detroit Zoological Society Executive Director and CEO Ron Kagan. 

Supported in part by the Kellogg grant, Outdoor Learning: Organic Gardening and Michigan Native Plants will teach participants about organic gardening techniques and plants native to the state as well as the effects of invasive plant species on Michigan’s ecosystems.  The grant will also help fund projects to produce food for the Zoo’s animal enrichment activities.

In addition, the grant will help to support ongoing programs such as Eco Impact: How Our Choices Affect the Earth and Its Inhabitants.  The program focuses on the impact of human beings on the Earth and teaches participants how to recycle compost and incorporate biodegradable materials into daily living.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930.  The organization supports children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society.  Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the southern African countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.  For further information, please visit the Foundation’s website at www.wkkf.org.

The Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo.  Situated on 125 acres of naturalistic exhibits, the Detroit Zoo is located at the intersection of Ten Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, just off I-696, in Royal Oak.  The Detroit Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October (open at 9 a.m. May 1 through Labor Day) – with extended hours until 8 p.m. Wednesdays during July and August – and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March.  Admission is $11 for adults 15 to 61, $9 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $7 for children ages 2 to 14; children under 2 are free.  For more information, call (248) 541-5717 or visit www.detroitzoo.org.  The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round and provides educational programming with interpretive staff support from the Huron-Clinton Metroparks.  Admission is free.  For more information, call (313) 852-4056. 

###