Animals take center stage at John Ball Zoo—otters frolicking in their new home, snow leopards and sloth, pygmy hippos and red pandas—but the JBZ is also a winner in four Best of Grand Rapids categories thanks to West Michigan voters who recognize that John Ball Zoo is so much more than its roughly 220 species and 31 acres of habitats. JBZ is a winner in the Best Annual Festival (for its Lantern Fest), Best Wedding Venue (for its Bissell Tree House), Best Park, and Best Tourist Attraction.
Ours is also a nationally-recognized urban zoo that has won conservation and sustainability awards, and is recognized in the zoo community for its focus on water conservation, waste reduction, green infrastructure, renewable energy, and certified green habitats.
Sure, those meerkats are darling as they rush around digging important holes and nibbling on breakfast. But they do so in a SITES Gold-certified meerkat habitat, the first in the world to receive the rating thanks to its native plant green roofs, solar lighting, recycled materials, and accessibility.
“Our job is to tell stories about society and where the natural world intersects,” said Peter D’Arienzo, former CEO of the John Ball Zoo who parted ways with the organization earlier this year. “We ask ourselves how we can create an environment that impacts society, and tell a story that says the natural world matters.”
When D’Arienzo came to the zoo a decade ago, two-thirds of all visitors came from Kent County, which owns the zoo. Now, two-thirds of visitors come from outside Kent County. In fact, John Ball Zoo is one of the top five most-attended cultural facilities in the state, along with Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids and three other facilities in the Detroit area.
Attendance has doubled in the last ten years, according to D’Arienzo. About 700,000 visitors—from all 83 Michigan counties and all 50 states—visit the zoo yearly. According to an AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) survey, the top reason people go to a zoo is to spend time with loved ones. They come to see the animals, soak in the fresh air, and spend time with the people they love.
“We want to curate an environment where people can spend time together, where their memories are human-centered,” said D’Arienzo.
Of course the animals are vital to John Ball Zoo’s mission—Have you seen the huge cockroaches or the chimpanzees!—but so are the Grand Rapids Lantern Fest, Wildlife Exploration Days, school visits, field trips, and a variety of other programs.
“Thanks to the 2016 millage, all Kent County students can visit the zoo for free with their classroom,” said Rhiannon Mulligan, Director of Conservation and Education. “We have free resources that teachers can use to elevate the visit. There are ideas for exercises about animals, recording data, and integrating the zoo visit into math and language arts curriculum.”
There’s Zoo Lab, where 4th– and 5th-graders visit the zoo daily for a week, becoming scientists as they observe one animal daily; Zoo Camp for ages 3 to 9th grade; and ZooLittles, a nature-based learning experience for young children.
Conservation efforts
“Animals are the hook, but our goal is that while people are here they are inspired and learn more than they thought, then are driven to actively help us in our conservation work,” said Mulligan “Maybe they take a native plant home and plant it, or think about how they can help the red pandas.”
Conservation Manager Bill Flanagan oversees the zoo’s numerous conservation efforts for animals in the wild, 80 percent of which take place in the Great Lakes region. JBZ leads the Great Lakes Rare Turtle Program, the Great Lakes Rare Butterfly Program, the Grand River Ecosystem Program, and even a sucker monitoring community science project (Who knew we have almost ten sucker species in the Grand River?).
The zoo’s Habitat Hero Program, which has been adopted by several other AZA zoos across the country, brings zoo-propagated pollinator plants out to the community. Zoo personnel attend over 30 community events each year and give away these plants to anyone who wants to attract more pollinators, like butterflies, into their yards. Since starting in 2022, the program has given away nearly 6,000 native plants to around 2,000 households across Michigan, Georgia, Delaware, and surrounding states. These plants have helped create pollinator corridors and restored habitats.
Flanagan points to the prestigious North American Conservation Award from the AZA, given for JBZ’s work to save the Poweshiek skipperling butterfly. “We’re breeding them here and releasing them back into the wild,” he said. “In 2022, there were a grand total of nine of them in the United States, and there are probably thousands now.”
So much of what John Ball Zoo does is thanks to partnerships in the community, the Great Lakes region, the country, and the world. Working with the Red Panda Network is one of those international partnerships, while partnering with Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital is a hyperlocal relationship. Angus the Flamingo had a knee injury so, rather than put Angus down, the zoo asked the Mary Free Bed orthopedic team to fabricate a tiny knee brace. Angus wore his brace until he healed and is now mostly brace-free as he lives his best flamingo life.
John Ball Zoo is dedicated to animal welfare, with Dr. Ryan Colburn, DVM, director of animal health and wellbeing, and Marcus Zevalkink, senior director of animal operations, in charge.
“Animal care and health is a science,” said Zevalkink. “When there is opportunity to improve that care, we take it.”
Colburn points to species-specific behavioral indicators, careful observation of diets, and interaction with each other and their keepers who know the animals well to indicate when an animal might be struggling. He describes a red panda cub that was extremely anemic; baby tenrecs (like hedgehogs) he took home at the start of the COVID pandemic; and learning all about lobsters, which the zoo had never had before.
“We love when we get to apply our skills and techniques and bring an animal from negative health to thriving,” said Colburn. That baby red panda? She received three blood transfusions and is, apparently, ruler of the pack at her new zoo home.
“We’re not sure what’s going to happen every day. We make sure we’re ready to respond to any situation,” he said.
Telling the zoo’s story
For Amy Stockero, vice president for development at JBZ, it’s about “connecting the public to wildlife, but also being thoughtful about protecting endangered species and intentional about making sure we are at the forefront of animal welfare work.”
She indicates West Michigan’s long history of philanthropy—a number of multi-million-dollar donations have helped fund things such as the new otter habitat and the upcoming giraffe habitat, as well as the green parking lot expansion—but also to individuals rounding up their purchases at zoo gift stores and new people donating during the annual fund drive.
“We are focusing on telling our story, and as we get better at telling the story, donors are responding,” said Stockero.
One story stars Boo Boo the Bear. She had been living in Alaska, but kept coming into cities to find food. She was going to be euthanized in Alaska before John Ball Zoo brought her here to save her life. “That girl is a great ambassador for her Alaskan relatives!” Stockero said, laughing. “People are now part of her story.”
Stockero sees the link between telling the stories of the zoo and an uptick in giving that helps fund the zoo’s efforts. The 2016 millage in Kent County is vital as revenue—it’s up for renewal this year—as are gate revenues, grants, annual fund drives, and separate capital campaigns for larger projects such as the giraffe and otter habitats.
“We are lucky in that West Michigan is unique in community engagement and level of philanthropy. The community has been walking along with us in the work of the zoo,” said Stockero.
For Allmon Forrester, vice president of planning and sustainability, the zoo’s potential involves sustainability at a macro level that helps the whole community. The zoo used to use 83 million gallons of water annually, but that number is now in the low 20 millions. Eighty percent of waste is now diverted from landfills and incinerators thanks to efforts such as composting animal and food waste, and using compostable tableware at concession stands. JBZ uses geothermal systems in several buildings, as well as eight green roofs on seven buildings.
The list could go on. “We are showing people how to treat the built environment,” said Forrester. “We’re leaders in the sustainability and green-build spaces. It’s the coolest job in the world to design buildings so people can enjoy them, and reduce our impact on the environment as much as possible. It’s pretty fun stuff.”
JBZ’s next chapter
Where is John Ball Zoo going next? Into the future with optimism.
“We’re hoping to expand our story,” said D’Arienzo. “In Michigan we can’t go more than 100 yards without hitting a body of water. We want to build an aquarium that tells stories about the Great Lakes and the coastal areas, that completes the story of our terrestrial system.”
The aquarium is in planning and dreaming stages, but the zoo itself is actively expanding. The giraffe habitat is under construction and the otter exhibit just opened. D’Arienzo envisions a large African wildlife area, bringing sea lions back, and adding an Australian exhibit.
“It’s a dramatic re-envisioning and growth of the zoo,” he said.
For Mulligan and Flanagan, it’s about continuing and expanding conversation efforts and continuing community partnerships. “We want to foster student growth because we are building the next generation of conservation biologists. We want to build partnerships deeper and wider,” said Flanagan.
Stockero sees more people becoming involved in zoo support, such as donors who provide means for all children getting the chance to visit the zoo. She also sees continued leadership by JBZ. “Standards for animal care are set by the AZA and we support that. But we don’t want to just be part of it; we want to drive that care.”
“The zoo is a Kent County asset,” said D’Arienzo. “If people haven’t been here in five years, they won’t recognize John Ball Zoo. If they haven’t been here in ten years, it’s not the same zoo.”
