With conservation weekend like “Gorillas on the Line,” empathy is reshaping conservation education at Como Zoo
With 98 percent of the same DNA, gorillas and humans have a lot in common—including our vulnerability to certain viruses. In Africa, gorillas are among the high-risk populations now facing an active Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, where conservation groups are battling to keep the deadly virus out of such critical gorilla preserves as Virunga National Park, home to 11 distinct gorilla families.
The fight to keep our families safe and healthy is something we can all relate to. It’s a feeling that Leah Peterson Sisler, Como’s CARES program coordinator, hopes will spark even greater empathy among visitors at Gorillas on the Line, a special conservation weekend slated for September 26 and 27, in honor of World Gorilla Day, and the arrival of Como Zoo’s two new gorillas, Nora and Kamba.
“Trying to imagine, or to make your best assumption, about what another rational animal is going through is one of the first steps to understanding how connected we all are,” she says. “The more we respect the life around us, the more we realize that our actions have impact, and those impacts can be positive or negative depending on what we choose.”
That philosophy is at the heart of Como’s new CARES initiative (short for connection, access, reach, engagement, and storytelling), an empathy-focused approach to public programs inspired by the growing body of research showing that commitment to global conservation often starts with caring for the animals we know. Some of that data has come from Como Park Zoo and Conservatory’s founding partnership with Advancing Conservation Through Empathy (ACE) for Wildlife, a learning network of AZA-accredited zoos, aquariums, and other institutions exploring effective practices for increasing the care and connections between zoo visitors and zoo animals.
“The old theory was that simply sharing knowledge would be enough to inspire action, but what we’re coming to realize is that fostering meaningful emotional connections is just as important. Having empathy for an animal builds the desire to act on their behalf,” says Como’s education and conservation curator, Bekah Hanes. “Empathy is a skill you can develop and build on, and it’s becoming an important tool to help people across the finish line,” from thinking about conservation to actually acting out those values, long after a zoo visit is over.
The shift is well underway in Como’s approach to conservation weekends, where Peterson Sisler has designed upcoming events to include everything from public “lunch and learn” sessions with Como Zoo’s expert keepers, to hands-on activities for young families, to on-site activation with external partners that are advancing the conservation mission in the wider community.
For instance, at Gorillas on the Line, Como will be kicking off a year-long initiative to collect cell phones, smartwatches, and other small electronic devices for recycling with Ecocell. The nonprofit raises awareness about how the mining of coltan ore in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is disrupting gorilla habitats and threatening endangered populations. Coltan, a mineral used in most cell phones and small electronics, can be reclaimed through e-waste recycling, which lowers the demand for newly mined ore and prevents toxic waste from entering landfills. Ecocell, which has recycled over 155,000 phones to date, also donates the funds from cell phone recycling directly to gorilla conservation efforts. The goal of the conservation weekend, Peterson Sisler says, is to give visitors of all ages, learning styles, and levels of conservation awareness a variety of touch points “to connect local, personal actions to the more global picture of conservation.”
Far more than a curriculum refresh, Peterson Sisler says focusing on empathy is part of a fundamental shift in thinking about the role that zoos can play in promoting conservation behaviors, and protecting the environment. “I honestly think it’s revolutionary,” she says, adding that Como’s free admission, family-friendly programs, and high engagement with field trip groups make it a great place to activate the approach. “Como is uniquely positioned to be a thought leader in how to communicate about empathy and how to do empathy framing in its messaging and in its mission because it is a community zoo. At Como, the opportunity to be up close to individual animals, to hear their stories, know their names and life history, and learn about the natural history of species and the existential challenges to their wellbeing and survival…these are the things we do best.”
Event Schedule
Mark your calendars for another conservation weekend coming soon, the AZA SAFE (Saving Animals from Extinction) bison conservation event happening December 5 and 6.
