Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
  • Home
  • About
    • Blog
    • Contact Us
    • Jobs
    • Press
  • Guest Info
    • Accessibility
    • Calendar
    • For Kids >
      • Coloring Pages
      • Zoo Patrol
      • Zoo Tots
    • Our Animals >
      • Eastern Rat Snake
    • Our Plants
    • Parents
    • Zoo Cams >
      • Outdoor Red Panda Cam
      • Indoor Red Panda Cam
      • Outdoor Spider Monkey Cam
      • Indoor Spider Monkey Cam
      • Otter Cam
    • Zoo Etiquette
    • Zoo Map
  • Membership
  • Education
    • Zoo to You!
    • Digital Programs
    • Kids & Teens
    • Field Trips
    • Cool Blue Bridgeport
    • Educational Resources
  • Support
    • Animal Sponsorship
    • Appeal
    • Corporate Support
    • Donate
    • Events
    • Gift Guide
    • Honor & Remember
    • Monthly Giving
    • Naming Opportunities
    • Wish List
  • Birthdays, Private Events & Weddings
    • Birthdays
    • Private Events
    • Weddings
    • Rates and Details
  • Volunteer
    • Interns
  • Buy Tickets

Press Room and News

Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo to Offer "Food for Thought" Educational Programming Beginning July 1

6/8/2021

 
Program Funded by Connecticut State Department of Education Will Teach the Benefits of Farming, Gardening and Fresh Food
Picture
​BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – June 4, 2021 – Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo, in partnership with Cooperative Educational Services (CES), has received a $249,799 AccelerateCT Summer Program Innovation Grant from the Connecticut State Department of Education. The “Food for Thought” (FFT) program will teach students and families about the benefits of fresh, healthy food and how gardening and farming enrich our lives.
 
Joining CES and Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo for the project is Green Village Initiative (GVI), a Bridgeport nonprofit organization that focuses on gardening and youth empowerment to spread information about local farms, community gardens, the cultural aspects of food, and how to start growing food at home. GVI manages a network of community and school gardens, a community farm, and a youth leadership program.
Zoo educators, along with teen volunteers from the Zoo’s Conservation Discovery Corps and Zoo Career Explorers, Zoo docents and gardeners, Green Village Initiative educators, and special guest presenters, will present interactive activities, demonstrations, and visits with animals five days a week at kiosks around the Zoo. The kiosk activities will include topics such as how owls and other raptors protect farmland from rodents; endangered heritage livestock breeds; the benefits of snakes, butterflies, bees, and other insects; the history of urban gardening and farming in Bridgeport; composting; and raising backyard chickens.
 
“Great things happen when you work with great people. In partnering with CES and GVI, we’re doing just that. We’re excited to combine our skills and expertise to deliver outstanding summer programming for all of Connecticut,” said the Zoo’s Curator of Education Jim Knox.
 
The Zoo’s renovated New England Farmyard officially opens to the public on Saturday, July 10 and will be the site of many of the farm-based educational activities. The FFT program is especially vital now due to the economic and educational disruptions caused by the pandemic, which were felt more intensely in urban and low-income areas that already had limited access to healthy food choices. The activities at the Zoo centered around the benefits of fresh, healthy food will emphasize how individuals and families can build whole foods into the core of their diet.
​
The timing of FFT coincides with the state’s proposed Connecticut Free for Kids initiative, which allows children under 18 and one adult to visit the Zoo and other sites throughout the state for free from July 1 through September 6.
CES will help to promote FFT to thousands of students and families in Greater Bridgeport, provide professional resources throughout the summer, and observe and collect feedback on FFT’s effectiveness. Dr. Lori Elliott, the incoming CES Director of Professional Development Services, will coordinate the agency’s participation and support of work at the Zoo this summer.

“Our ability to support community initiatives that will serve thousands of children is consistent with our mission and we are happy to be part of this work,” said CES Executive Director Dr. Charles Dumais. CES is one of the six Regional Educational Service Centers established by the state legislature to support public school districts. Dumais is also an executive member of the Zoo’s Board of Directors, which gives him “first-hand insight into the amazing work done at the Zoo.”

Comments are closed.

    Contact

    Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo appreciates the support it receives from local, regional and national media outlets. Media representatives are invited to tour 
    Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo on their own or with the Zoo Director by calling 203-767-0334 or emailing 
    ​lisa@clairstone.com

    To be added to the media list and receive all press releases and the Zoo’s monthly e-newsletter, email your credentials and contact information to lisa@clairstone.com

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    May 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    August 2018
    March 2018

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

PRESS
JOBS
CONTACT US
EN ESPANOL
​203-394-6565
​info@beardsleyzoo.org 
1875 Noble Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06610
Open 9am-4pm daily
​Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is dedicated to acquainting a diverse public to the delicate balance that exists between living things and their environment.

Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo is a 501(c)(3) not for profit owned and operated by the Connecticut Zoological Society.

2019 Kids Out and About #1
Association of Zoos & Aquariums
Connecticut - Still Revolutionary
Weekly Best of Fairfield County Readers' Poll 2014
FC Buzz Events - Arts & Culture of Fairfield County
© 2022 Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
  • Home
  • About
    • Blog
    • Contact Us
    • Jobs
    • Press
  • Guest Info
    • Accessibility
    • Calendar
    • For Kids >
      • Coloring Pages
      • Zoo Patrol
      • Zoo Tots
    • Our Animals >
      • Eastern Rat Snake
    • Our Plants
    • Parents
    • Zoo Cams >
      • Outdoor Red Panda Cam
      • Indoor Red Panda Cam
      • Outdoor Spider Monkey Cam
      • Indoor Spider Monkey Cam
      • Otter Cam
    • Zoo Etiquette
    • Zoo Map
  • Membership
  • Education
    • Zoo to You!
    • Digital Programs
    • Kids & Teens
    • Field Trips
    • Cool Blue Bridgeport
    • Educational Resources
  • Support
    • Animal Sponsorship
    • Appeal
    • Corporate Support
    • Donate
    • Events
    • Gift Guide
    • Honor & Remember
    • Monthly Giving
    • Naming Opportunities
    • Wish List
  • Birthdays, Private Events & Weddings
    • Birthdays
    • Private Events
    • Weddings
    • Rates and Details
  • Volunteer
    • Interns
  • Buy Tickets