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Written By: Stephanie Bramwell, Sustainability Coordinator
Environmental sustainability, responsible use of resources now to ensure adequate resources for the future, is a priority for us at Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance (DZCA). We recognize that to save wildlife, we need to preserve wild spaces. The Environmental Department at DZCA leads staff, volunteers, and guests in sustainability efforts year-round. We’re working to reduce waste production, water usage, and energy consumption to the greatest extent possible, while providing exceptional care for our animals and awe-inspiring moments for guests.
Read on to learn more about how DZCA reduces waste, water, and energy.
Waste
Have you ever considered why waste signage is so confusing? This may not be a question most people ask, but DZCA’s staff think about trash a lot. Something as simple as a sign on a trash can sounds mundane; however, there’s a lot of variety in how waste is communicated. Is it “trash” or “landfill?” Are recycling bins blue or purple? These variations can cause confusion at the bin.
To help address this confusion, DZCA set out to create a standard and common language across the Front Range. In 2024, our staff collaborated with several public-facingcommunity-based venues—including Denver Art Museum, Denver Arts & Venues, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver International Airport, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and Greener Theatre Colorado—to co-create a guide that sets boundaries on the symbol, terminology, and color used for waste bins.
The goal in doing this work is for each organization to speak the same language with our waste signage. This way, when you visit the Zoo, rock out at a concert, cheer on our local sports teams, or catch a flight for vacation, we’ve reduced some of the confusion. We know we have a long way to go to improve waste diversion across the Front Range, but this is one move in the right direction.
Blair Neelands, Director of Sustainability & Environmental Compliance, and Cassie Williams, Signage Project Manager, presented the project to colleagues at the mid-year conference for the Association of Zoos & Aquariums this March. Some institutions were interested in using our guide and others were inspired to work with their community to create their own standards.
DZCA will be using the standards to update the waste signs later this year. You may not have noticed our waste signs before, but you might now!
Water
Did you know the water in Denver flows to the South Platte River and eventually to the Mississippi? Millions of people, as well as wildlife and their habitats, are touched by this water. We’re doing our part to keep the South Platte clean by installing gutter bins in storm drains around the Zoo.
Gutter bins are mesh bags that sit just below the grate of storm drains and catch any litter, rocks, mulch, or other debris that may enter the storm drain, while allowing water to pass through. When the bags fill up with debris, Zoo staff empty the gutter bins in the trash and then return them to the storm drains. There are currently ten gutter bins at DZCA and we’re planning to purchase more over the next few years!
Energy
Tropical Discovery is historically the highest energy user at DZCA, accounting for 20% of the Zoo’s energy consumption. This is unsurprising because it is home to approximately two-thirds of animals at the Zoo and is a tropical rainforest in the middle of Colorado. Over the past two years, we’ve invested in large and small projects aimed at reducing the energy consumption of the building.
In 2023, we purchased a new cooling tower and upgraded Life Support Systems (LSS) pumps, staged boilers to reduce energy demand, cleaned HVAC coils to reduce stress on fans, and switched to bag filters to improve system efficiency. These upgrades resulted in a 53% reduction in electricity and 10% reduction in natural gas in 2024, compared to the previous 5-year average.
Building on this success, in 2024 we closed Tropical Discovery to guests for two months in order to replace 13,000 sq. ft. of skylights. The new glass is expected to better insulate the building; keeping more heat in the building will reduce energy consumption and heating cost. We’re eagerly waiting until the fall of 2025 to compare a full year of post-roof improvement data with the building’s previous energy consumption.
Life at the Zoo has a variety of complex needs, from our animals to guests and staff. Investments in energy, water, and waste reductions are investments in the future well-being of the animals and people in our care, often with current benefits like clearer signage, reduced flooding, and lower energy bills.
You can support our sustainability efforts during your next visit to the Zoo by bringing a refillable water bottle, separating recycling from trash, and keeping an eye out for information about how your environmental sustainability efforts help save wildlife.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn for more updates on our environmental sustainability efforts!
