(ambient music) - Kids Day at the zoo is coming up on August 4th, So, well, let's talk about it.

First up on the show, Kim Shefferly, Corporate and Community Support here at WGVU Public Media, important to our organization.

Also joining us, Bailee Gunderson from the John Ball Zoo.

Bailee, good day to you as well.

So, ladies, here we are.

We have a party going on on the fourth day of August, and I'm looking forward to this.

"WGVU Kids Day at the Zoo" is the official title, take it away Kim about the big picture of what's happening here.

- Yes, Shelley, it's the WGVU event of the summer, and it's coming up Thursday, August four, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM at John Ball Zoo and Park.

We are so excited.

It's going to be a great day, and it's only $5 admission per person.

Kids two and under are free.

We're gonna have all kinds of fun stuff going on.

- [Shelley] Wow, you promised me, Bailee, as we go inside, the meerkat will be there for me.

- [Bailee] Oh, yeah.

The meerkats, the koalas, all of 'em.

- [Shelley] Nice.

Kim, why is WGVU partnering with John Ball and others to do this?

- [Kim] John Ball Zoo has been such a wonderful partner with WGVU for decades now.

I've been with WGVU for almost two decades, and have seen the wonderful growth of the zoo and the partnership that's really grown.

And we do this for the community.

We do this so families can come out and spend a day together, and school groups can come out, and grandparents can come out, siblings can come out.

It's just a wonderful day to enjoy at the zoo, and all of the activities that we do for Kids Day.

- [Shelley] Yes, all right.

So how does the day work?

Take it away.

- [Bailee] Well, it's $5 admission, and kids two and under are free.

You can enjoy all of the fun festivities right outside the zoo in the park, and then you can come on into the zoo and see all of the animals.

We have daily animal programs happening where we have goat walks, so the goats will be walked throughout the zoo.

Yeah, and so you get to see them real up close and watch their training.

Our budgie experience is open again, so you can go in and feed the budgies.

- So you get the experience of the zoo, plus the experience of what's happening in the park of the zoo.

So let's, first of all, drop the name of PNC.

What a great partnership WGVU has with this organization.

- Absolutely, another longtime wonderful partner of WGVU.

PNC Bank is our presenting sponsor this year for Kids Day at the zoo.

They're a big supporter of education and anything really family oriented, so we're really blessed to have them as our partner this year.

- So the outdoor, out of the zoo, experience, what's a must to begin with, Kim?

- Where do I begin?

There's going to be so much going on in the park this year.

Something that's brand new to Kids Day this year is the Creative Cube, 65-foot mobile art experience that we're going to have parked right outside the zoo, kinda near the bus lane there.

And you can fit about 30 kids in there to do a... To create art, and it's accessible for people with disabilities.

So we're really excited to have that this year.

- [Shelley] Nice to have new things.

What about this crane that I understand is on premises?

- [Kim] Yes, one of our sponsors... Actually, one of our mascot sponsors, is Pioneer Construction, and they are bringing the crane back this year.

So out near the Creative Cube, you won't miss it.

It's a big, tall construction crane, and it's going to be there, and kids are able to go and actually go up in the crane, and pretend they're driving it, and get that experience, get that construction experience.

So we're really excited for that.

- [Shelley] Yes, and will there be some WGVU mascots on site?

- Mascots.

We're going to have mascots.

We're going to have PBS Kids characters.

Let's Go Luna from "Let's Go Luna," "Super Why!"

"Clifford," and "Nature Cats."

We're going to have four, and in addition, we'll have Daniel Tiger as well.

(indistinct) - Speaking of tigers.

And I'll get back to you cuz I know there's live entertainment.

Bailee, John Ball Zoo, again, a place about our animals that are safe and yet what an opportunity for education, these natural habitats and more.

So give me kind of a general experience of how best on this nine to four day, Thursday, August 4th, to experience the inside of the zoo.

- Well, one of the first things you should definitely do is head over to the koala habitat, which is near, it's across from our frogs and friends building.

So the koalas are only here until labor day and they are a great ambassador for their species.

They're endangered and they're only with us this summer.

So head over there right away, right around 10, 10:30 is when they kinda get fed and are up and moving.

So that's a great time to go see them.

And make your way around, check out the daily animal programs on our website.

You can find out what time they're happening at.

And that's a great opportunity.

You'll have a keeper there, an educator who can explain what they're doing with the animals and teach you more about them.

So it it's really engaging.

- Didn't you have a bird display where we can see birds fly.

- [Bailee] Yeah, the Budgie Aviary.

You can actually go right inside the aviary and the birds are flying all around you and you can get a feed stick and you can feed them, they can land on you.

- Just don't take 'em home.

- [Bailee] Just don't take 'em home, no.

- What about the petting farm?

You mentioned the goats.

This is a...

I mean a farm experience within a zoo.

- That's another great engaging opportunity for guests to go over to the petting farm and see those goats and sheep up close.

We also have a miniature Highland calf joining us this year.

- [Shelley] Pumpkin.

- Yes, his name is Pumpkin.

He was generously donated by 2 Men & A Hen local farm.

And he's so adorable.

He has the biggest eyes and he's so fluffy.

So everyone's gonna love him.

- [Shelley] Forever live at the zoo.

All right, back to what's happening outside of the zoo, Kids Day at the zoo again, August 4th.

Kim, what is the entertainment all about?

- [Kim] We are going to have live entertainment out in the park and that is free.

Everything I will mention, all the activities in the park are free.

So from 10:00 AM until until 2:30 PM, we'll have two entertainers, family friendly entertainers that will swap out and do a couple of different sets.

We have BenJammin, and his mom, Gramma Jamma.

And we'll also have Wimee and friends.

And we love Wimee.

- [Shelley] Big deal that will be, and yet make sure you enter the zoo as well, make that package.

Where will I find my food, Bailee?

- I find it at our concession stands at Monkey Island Cafe, which is right in the Central Plaza area.

We also have Tiger Paws up in the forest realm as long as some other spots right down in front.

- All right couple of more zoo issues, will the camels be available for riding that day?

- [Bailee] They sure will be, as well as zip-lining and our ropes course.

- [Shelley] Man, we should lead one of those camels outside in the park, wouldn't that be a fun thing, but no, we don't wanna do that.

Tell me about that experience of riding a camel.

- Oh, it's a great experience.

You get to go up right onto the camel and ride around in a little circle there and the staff will tell you about the camels.

It's a unique experience you don't get to do everywhere.

Not everyone gets to say that they rode a camel.

- You have to fly to the middle east, there we are.

And what about the experience of Zip Line?

- The Zip Line is really, really fun.

We've seen people of all ages and all backgrounds doing the Zip Line and they all seem to just love it.

So that's a highly recommended one as well.

You can get to the zip line up right by Red Panda habitat.

- I'll meet you there, Kim.

What about other partnerships to put this on for our community?

- Yes, I will mention one of our other partners is Milk Means More.

There are other mascot sponsor, they sponsor the mascots inside the zoo while Pioneer Construction sponsors the mascots outside of the zoo.

But Milk Means More is going to be giving away ice cream bars.

So make sure to go to their station, which will be located near the middle of the zoo and pick up a coupon and then take it over to the kiosk by Monkey Island and our guests can receive a free ice cream bar.

- Those monkeys out, they stay on the island.

Also, would you address Be My Neighbor Day?

- I will.

So we are, this year at Kids Day, we are doing a Daniel Tiger "Be My Neighbor Day".

The last time we did it was 2018 and it was a huge hit.

So we are so excited to bring it back.

Again a free event in the park.

Daniel Tiger will be there, Trolley will be there so kids and families can have a chance to take a hop on Trolley, meet Daniel.

And there'll also be different activities stations that kids can go to including making puppets and story time.

- Of course Bailee there, I trust your gift shop will be open.

- [Bailee] Oh yes, it will.

- For purposes , as well, an opportunity to buy memberships, although don't miss this discount, correct?

- [Bailee] Yeah.

- [Shelley] For the actual day itself, right?

- Yeah, it's the $5.

That's really, really a special discount.

- And tell me a little bit about the Zookeeper.

I know you just recently celebrated a whole Zookeeper awareness week.

How important is it to have this animal-human bond in an appropriate way?

- Oh, it is so important, these keepers are ambassadors for those species as well and they they're all experts in what they do.

They're experts in animal behavior and in care.

They play such an important role in conservation and in education.

So their knowledge and expertise that they share with our guests is unmatched.

- [Shelley] And the importance of your volunteers?

- Our volunteers are wonderful as well.

They dedicate so much time to these animals and they all love what they do, they're so passionate about it.

They are so knowledgeable and so fun to interact with throughout the zoo.

- All right, Kim, what else do you need before this August 4th event.

- We need lots of families to come out and enjoy the day and you can get tickets either in advance or the day of.

To get them in advance, you can go to wgvu.org/kidsday, and that will link you to John Ball Zoo's website and you just go to the Kids Day icon and get your tickets.

That will enable quicker and easier entry if you get 'em in advance, but it's not necessary.

So you can just walk up and go to the ticket window and get in that way as well and pay the $5.

- [Shelley] And I know on the entry Bailee, with the whole new restoration, whole renovations, we'll be able to see the beginnings of the pygmy hippo exhibit in the making, right?

- Yeah, more than the beginnings.

It's coming along, there's progress made every day.

So you can read all about the pygmy hippo habitat and conservation and what the significance of that building will be sustainability wise.

You can peer over the fence and you can see exactly how far that construction has come and it's really starting to take shape.

- Well, don't go away cuz I know we're gonna talk all things conservation and Sassafras, the snake will be here.

What do you leave us with Bailee?

Get me in the door on the fourth.

- We, we can't wait to have everyone here.

Kids Day is so much fun, there's so much energy and excitement around Kids Day.

And there's so many community partners.

It's just a great celebration and we can't wait to have everyone there.

- And your favorite John Ball Zoo animal is?

- The bears.

- Oh, you like the bears?

- I do love the bears, they are so neat.

And they're always right up at the glass there and you can see 'em so close.

- [Shelley] It's natural habitat for them so it's awesome.

- [Bailee] Yeah, Boo Boo loves to swim in the pool, she loves to swim in the pool.

- [Shelley] How do we found out more about John Ball Zoo?

- [Bailee] jbzoo.org.

- [Shelley] All right, see you on the fourth.

Kim Shefferly take us home with details one more time for the annual WGVU Kids Day of the zoo, please.

- [Kim] Yes, it is Thursday, August four from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Just $5 per person.

That's the only day during John Ball Zoo season that you can get this discount of $5 and kids two and under our free.

And there'll be lots, like we mentioned, lots of activities going on.

There are lots of other sponsors that are going to be there and they'll have giveaways and activities both inside the zoo and out in the park.

- [Shelley] And your animal of favorite is?

- [Kim] The bald eagle.

- [Shelley] But the bald eagle's taking a little break, right?

- [Kim] Yeah, they are taking a little break right now.

The snowy owls are back.

- I love the snowy owls.

- Good answer.

Ladies thank you, John Ball Park the Zoo and WGVU a great partnership.

See you on that Thursday, August 4th.

(ambient music) And we continue to talk zoo, zoo talk from the John Ball Zoo, of course the WGVU Kids Day, right around the corner.

Introducing Bill Flanagan, conservation manager.

Nick Milbratz, you are education, all about education, coordinating with your ambassador animal standby for this animal.

So here we go.

Glad that you were both here, continuing this conversation about our great John Ball Zoo and what is inside for us.

Tell me about conservation and why we're talking about this with the zoo Bill?

- Well, conservation is central to what we do.

It's why we do what we do every day.

It's saving wild places and wild animals.

And one of the biggest things we have going on is the Powesheik skipperling - Oh, say that again.

- It's the Powesheik skipperling.

People want to say power chic, but it's actually Powe and it's named after a first person's leader in Iowa, that the county where this butterfly was originally described, and it's a tiny prairie specialist butterfly that might be the world's most endangered animal.

And the John Ball Zoo working with Michigan state to save it right now.

- So how does that work?

- So what we're doing is we're working with partners that are preserving habitat in the field, studying them in the field, trying to figure out what their decline is, Fish and Wildlife service.

And we're working with Michigan State University to breed them at the John Ball Zoo.

We've got a partner at Minnesota Zoo.

And right now we're trying to breed these guys in captivity and release them back into the wild to get their population numbers up so we can start to recover the species.

- Do we see this species at the zoo at all?

- So they're really tiny and they're only butterflies for about 10 days out of the year.

So everything that happens with the conservation of species happens like right now, it's the first few weeks of July when it's happening.

So, we don't have them on exhibit, but it's a good example of a group of animals like butterflies, that we can have a big impact on.

Monarchs was a good example, it's a butterfly that we're all very familiar with.

They visit our yards.

So the things that we do in our yards can have a huge impact for a species like that.

So the things we're doing at the zoo for Powesheik skipperlings, you can do for Monarch butterflies in your own backyard.

- Hence conservation, and taking it to our home.

What else is important when it comes to conservation of the zoo?

- So the biggest thing is making sure that you're enjoying the wild places and the wild animals around and sort of connecting the community with the conservation is one of the biggest things that we like to do.

So all of our conservation projects, things like habitat heroes, where we're... You can check out the website and see some of the things were going on, we have going on, but we're trying to connect people with citizen science, for Monarch butterflies, birds, and give them the opportunity to plant some native plants in their own backyard.

So making sure that we're giving people the opportunities in the community to support conservation at the zoo and all around Grand Rapids.

- [Shelley] All around West Michigan.

Education is important and hence there is an importance for education coordinator.

What's your role, Nick?

How do you spend your day?

- I spend my day all over the zoo.

I talk to the guests about the animals at the zoo and connect them to their wild counterparts.

And if you're talking to any member of the education team in the zoo, usually they've come through me to make sure we're all saying the same message and making sure we're on the same page.

- How important is it to read the document?

As I'm watching Monkey Island, there's a document that educates me, spend some time reading that, correct?

- First and foremost, we want you to enjoy your day at the zoo.

The more you enjoy your day, the more likely you'll come back and spend more time.

And then reading some of those signs, let you know more about that animal and how you can help that animal and how maybe you have more connections with that animal than you might realize, or how things you do in your day to day life impacts those wild animals.

- And then ambassadors are important role in your education.

Tell me more here in general.

- So we have an ambassador team, now while all of our animals at the zoo are ambassadors in representing their wild counterparts.

Having that group of animals that can get close to our guests, so you can come pretty close, face to face, even touch some of the animals just deepens that connection.

And the more you care about that animal in one of our staff members' hands that you get to touch.

The more you will care about the whole species and the ecosystem that they live in.

- Well, while you get your ambassador animal out, let me go back to you, if I may Bill.

Other endangered animals that we might see at the zoo that we're blessed to have.

- So red pandas is another good one that is a very popular exhibit animal at the zoo.

They're fluffy, they're cute, they're great ambassadors for the wild.

And it's a species where we've been working with Red Panda Network to support habitat conservation in Nepal.

So by visiting the zoo, supporting the zoo, you're actually building red panda habitat in Nepal.

- Well, we don't have a red panda in the studio, but we have Sassafras.

All right, does she bite?

- [Nick] Well, what we love to say at the zoo is anything with a mouth can bite, but we are not gonna bring an animal out that we're worried will endanger you.

- That would bite the host.

- I wouldn't be holding her if I was worried she was gonna bite me.

- Tell us about your snake.

- So one of the reasons she makes a great ambassador is we all have our favorite animals at the zoo.

And you'll notice a lot of people mention animals like red pandas or the bears, the big fluffy ones, but all the animals at the zoo are pretty important.

And once you get to know more about them, you realize that they're all pretty awesome and play an important role in our ecosystem.

So Sassafras here is a (indistinct) gopher snake.

And one of the things snakes do is they help control the rodent population and those rodents, mice, rats, they spread disease.

- Gophers?

- They can eat gophers.

There's a species of gopher called the pocket gopher, they're a little bit smaller that she might eat.

She'll actually, the species will actually take over a gopher hole and use that as a place for them to live.

- Interesting.

Bill, we say she, because she is a she.

How do we know that this snake is a she?

- Well it's sometimes it's hard to tell when you see a snake just out and about, it's hard to tell.

I can tell by the shape of her tail, and Sassafras and I have known each other for a long time.

- All right, you've got a relationship.

And why do you say that?

- So she came in, we brought her in specifically to be an ambassador animal because of how big they get.

The Pituophis, the genus they belong to get to be bigger and really pretty.

They can be calm snakes like this.

And they're great ambassador for nature.

It's a big, impressive snake.

That's pretty colors and it's not very threatening.

And guests can meet Sassafras and learn about nature.

- Man, what is she thinking?

Tell me more if you would Nick about, well, her potential life span and that tongue.

- [Nick] That tongue.

Well, let's start with that tongue since she's showing it off there.

So what she's doing is she, I don't think she's ever been here before.

so there's probably some different scents in the air and she's using that tongue to pick up particles in the air.

And then she actually has something called a Jacobson's organ, so it's in the roof of her mouth.

She'll touch her tongue to the top of her roof.

And it processes those particles the way we process scent.

So she's using her tongue to smell.

And she's moving up fast enough where you might not be able to tell, but it's forked, it's split at the edge.

And that helps them, snakes, direct where they're going, where the scent is coming from.

- [Shelley] Will she shed her skin Bill?

- Yeah.

So as they grow, as snakes grow, they shed their skin and just like this, we shed our skin, but we just do it in little tiny pieces every day.

They shed it in one big piece.

So they'll crawl out of it, almost like taking old socks off.

- Nocturnal animal?

- Not necessarily nocturnal, no.

- In other words, I'm not waking her up from her nap.

- Well, she's actually never lost a staring contest.

I didn't know if you want to challenge her.

- Camp competitive here.

So what, what are we doing here?

So we're gonna... - So she's probably not gonna lose.

- I feel like she's gonna strike my little nose.

- So she actually doesn't have eyelids, snakes don't have eyelids, what they have instead... - That's why, you set me up on that one.

- So our eyelids protect our eyes.

We have to, in order to see we open our eyes, they have a scale covering their eyes.

It's just clear so they can see through it.

- Is she or snakes on the endangered list at all?

I mean, do we need to respect our snakes in these times?

- Snakes are a really important part of our environment.

There are like a lot of vertebrate groups or a lot of animal groups, they're in decline.

And the big one that we kind of work with and is a concern for us at the zoo is the Massasauga rattlesnake.

It's a little, it's a small rattlesnake that's native to sort of the upper Midwest and Michigan is the center of its range.

So there are more Massasauga rattlesnakes in Michigan than there are, all throughout the rest of the world.

So it's not an exaggeration to say that whatever happens to the Massasauga rattlesnake in Michigan will determine whether or not that species exists at all.

And like the Poweshiek skipperling and a lot of other species, it specializes in living in this Prairie fend type of habitat that the DNR is very encouraged to preserve.

And a lot of rare species live there.

So by preserving Massasauga rattlesnakes, we're preserving Poweshiek skipperlings and countless other species.

- Foreign language, conservation.

Can I touch the skin?

- [Nick] You sure can, and you can actually... - Oh, I think that's all I'm gonna do.

Beautiful.

- [Nick] And if people come to the zoo, where actually, you can see Massasauga rattle snakes up close.

They're gonna be behind.

They're not gonna be in somebody's hands like this.

But you can learn more about that project at the zoo if you spend some time reading those signs, but you can definitely see that endangered species are special concern here in Michigan.

- Now for Kids Day will Sassafras be out and about, and or his brothers and sisters?

- Sassafras might be one of the ambassador animals out.

So we have a couple different types of animals and they're actually on, because they're being held and people are coming up and touching them.

They actually have a nice schedule where Sassafras is gonna take a break for a day and be behind the scenes.

So there might be a couple snakes out, turtles, frogs, salamanders.

We have a wide variety of ambassador animals that depending on their schedule, you never know which ones will be out.

But that day is the day we try to have a couple out throughout the zoo.

- As for Nick and Sassafras.

Bill, back to conservation again, is your request for us to respect the wild animal?

- Sure.

And making sure that you're supporting organizations like the zoo and other conservation organizations.

But I think one of the biggest things people can do for conservation is go out and enjoy nature.

The more we know about the world around us, the more likely we are to understand and wanna protect it.

- And there is a whole display of reptiles and frogs and more at the zoo, yes?

- Yep, we've got a display of Michigan stuff.

We've got conservation theme messaging, and then we have ambassador animals like this for folks to meet.

Not to mention animals like the koalas and the red pandas that are... - And soon Pumpkin the cow.

But I digress.

Tell me how long Sassafras will live.

- [Nick] So she will live... - [Shelley] In a perfect world.

- Yeah, in a perfect world at a zoo.

She could probably live 20, a little over 20 years.

In the wild, she probably wouldn't live quite as long.

She's probably being 10 near the end of her lifespan.

The one thing that she doesn't have to worry about at the zoo that in the wild she would have to worry about is rattlesnakes have this special defense, their rattle scares away other animals to say, hey, I'm dangerous.

But people are now afraid of rattlesnakes, so if they think they see a rattlesnake, they'll kill it.

So she actually defends herself by vibrating her tail and hissing to sound like a rattlesnake, and that will scare bigger predators away.

But now people are more likely to kill a gopher snake, which is pretty harmless.

Especially if you see a gopher snake in the wild or any snake really, just leave it alone.

- Leave the gopher snake alone.

That's our take home message to the WGVU Kids Day at the zoo on August 4th.

We'll see you there.

Thank you for what you do for conservation, for Sassafras and for our community.

- Thanks for having us.

- You're welcome.

(ambient music)