PRESS ROOM

ROYAL OAK, Mich., 

The Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) will host its seventh annual GreenFest at the Detroit Zoo on Saturday, April 27, 2019, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is dedicated to celebrating Earth Day (observed April 22) and engaging the community in environmental stewardship.

The first 1,000 visitors will receive a free tomato plant or tree seedling to take home. “This will provide guests an opportunity to complete an actionable step for our environment,” said DZS Manager of Sustainability Rachel Handbury. All guests will receive pollinator garden seeds to plant at home.

Street artist and illustrator David Zinn will create playful 3-D environmentally themed drawings on the pavement composed entirely of chalk. Drummunity will bring a collection of hand drums and other percussion instruments guests can learn how to play and “drum for the earth”. Crafts will include birdseed cakes for children to feed the birds in their own backyards.

A new Detroit Zoo Trek – an interactive mobile map system – will debut on April 27 in conjunction with GreenFest, offering a guided sustainability tour highlighting the DZS’s anaerobic digester, permeable pavement visitor pathways, rain gardens, solar energy system and other sustainability initiatives. To launch the trek, visit dzoo.org/greentrek.

Visitors will also learn about other DZS green programs, including Adopt-a-Drain, cricket breeding, bird collision prevention and cell phone recycling.

“There is so much to learn and countless actions we can all take to be good stewards of the environment,” Handbury said.

All GreenFest activities are free with Detroit Zoo admission. The event is supported by Ford Motor Company, The Home Depot, Renewal by Andersen and Window Pro.

GreenFest is an initiative of the DZS Greenprint, a strategic plan to refine and improve green practices and facilities at the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Center, incorporate sustainability in all policies and programs, and improve green literacy and action in the community.