Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
Sunset Zoo on the GMCF Community Hour Show Episode - 286
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Spring brings energy to Sunset Zoo as we welcome Kiatu, a four-month-old colobus monkey named through a community vote, and introduce our new director, Dr. Kaylee Reyes. We share expanded hours, family programs, membership perks, and a full slate of events that connect fun with conservation.
• Kiatu’s growth, behavior and striking color changes
• The community naming story and tribute to Scott Shoemaker
• Dr Kaylee Reyes’ primate expertise and leadership
• Spring break hours, story time and daily encounters
• Future plans for lemur habitats and Americas zone
• Friends of Sunset Zoo membership tiers and perks
• Venue rentals for weddings, formals and company nights
• Tiger personalities and the unforgettable wedding moment
• Summer camps, Junior Zookeeper and Wildlife Warriors
• Party for the Planet, Wine in the Wild and Brew at the Zoo
Find hours, membership and event details at sunsetzoo.com
Welcome And Zoo Spring Buzz
SPEAKER_01Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. In this episode, we feature a recently broadcast segment of the GMTF Community Hour, as heard on News Radio KMAN. Here on News Radio KMAN, I'm Dave Lewis, and joining us via Zoom today from the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan is the development and development and uh development officer and and and what else?
SPEAKER_00Marketing.
SPEAKER_01Marketing. That sounds like a big job, Heather Brown.
SPEAKER_00It is.
SPEAKER_01It is. It is. And this is your first time here on the show. And uh we're terrifically uh excited to have you here, joining us here on this Monday. Heather Brown. Yeah, so uh there's always new things happening, and you know, this is such a wonderful time of year as things start to warm up and the animals get busy, and the zoo is uh getting closer and closer to being its in its prime because the vegetation now at the zoo is just always a delight to see, and it's just a special treasure here in the Manhattan area.
Meet Kiatu The Baby Colobus
SPEAKER_00Well, thank you so much. Yeah, so the weather has been great. We've been seeing a lot of people, the animals enjoy the weather as much as the humans do, I think. And I think our most exciting announcement is that we have a baby collabus monkey uh who now has a name. His name is Kiatu, and with the warmer weather, you're seeing him be a lot more active, go outside with his mom cabooley, and uh he's just a lot of fun to watch. So you come out and see him while he's still a baby.
SPEAKER_01How old is Kyaku now?
SPEAKER_00Kiatu is gonna be going on four months.
SPEAKER_01Four months, okay. How big is a four-month old Columbus monkey?
SPEAKER_00Um, I would say his body is maybe about a foot. Um, but his tail is starting to get real long.
SPEAKER_01Oh my.
SPEAKER_00Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_01That's gotta be fun just to see them mature. And in are are they as playful as you might expect a baby monkey to be?
SPEAKER_00He's extremely playful. He is your stereotypical what you would expect a baby monkey to be, hopping all over the place. The other thing that's really fun about collabus monkeys is that they're actually born all white. And then as they mature, they start to get that really distinctive black and white coloration. So he every day, I swear, he looks different. He looks more like an adult. He's starting to get that new coloration in, and uh soon he's gonna look just like his parents.
SPEAKER_01Mm-hmm. Okay, so we have a new attraction at the Sunset Zoo, Kiati. How do you spell that?
SPEAKER_00K-I-A-T-U. And the name was actually chosen. We had a naming contest, so the primate keepers selected their top three names, and then the public voted on which was their favorite name. And Kiatu actually means shoe in Swahili, and he is named after our former director who was here for 29 years, Scott Shoemaker.
SPEAKER_01Oh, that's clever. Oh, that's a great, great honor for uh, yeah. Who who wouldn't want to have a monkey somewhat named after him?
SPEAKER_00Right. We keep telling Scott, you gotta come out and see your namesake.
SPEAKER_01Oh, that's just too cute. Speaking of director, Scott retired. What uh he retired what, devective uh the first of the year, I think.
SPEAKER_00It was December. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And you have a new director in now in place.
Leadership Change And Director Reyes
SPEAKER_00So we have a new director. Yeah, details, Kaylee Reyes. So her background is in uh primatology and anthropology. Uh, so she has her PhD from the University of Toronto, and she has done a lot of research, a lot of teaching, and knows her stuff when it comes to animals, especially primates. And she also studies parrots as well. And she's really had to hit the ground running, and she's doing a great job. All we've been throwing all kinds of things at her, not intentionally. Uh, that's just kind of how things happen at the zoo. Things pop up and they need to be dealt with, and she's doing great.
SPEAKER_01Where'd she come from?
SPEAKER_00So most recently she was living in Tennessee. Um, and so we're happy to have her now in Manhattan.
SPEAKER_01Okay, great. Well, look forward to the time to meet her. And I, you know, there's always uh some things that are happening at the Sunset Zoo. You have uh, you know, a year where you have events after events after events, and I'm sure that you've got something coming up here in the very near future. So let's take a look at that calendar for Manhattan's beautiful Sunset Zoo.
Summer Hours And Spring Break Plans
SPEAKER_00Yes. So what's coming up first is actually starting at the end of this week. So on March 13th, we actually switch to our summer hours for spring break. So that will be we'll now open at 9:30 in the morning and be open until 5 p.m. So come on out, uh, see all the animals, enjoy the great weather, and we are gonna have different uh animal encounters every day. I know that we're gonna be doing story time for all the kids, and it should be a wonderful time, and you'll be able to find all that information out on our website, okay. Which is sunsetzoo.com.
SPEAKER_01Of course it is. Anything new facility-wise, new in the works.
SPEAKER_00New in the works. Well, we have some plans that for the future. We're planning on uh redeveloping kind of our America's area and potentially a new lemur habitat as well, but that's still a few years out. Lemurs? So more lemurs, right? We currently do have ring-tailed lemurs. So the goal is that uh we're hoping that we could have additional species of lemurs and you know be able to offer breeding facilities for all those species to participate in the species survival plan.
SPEAKER_01The lemurs may be among my favorites, not just the Soundset zoo, but but yeah, I just I just think that they're the the cutest little things.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, they're fantastic. Um, they're really a lot of fun. I like them from kind of um uh in it looking at them as primates, but they're like pre-primates and that they still have reflective eyes like cats do, but they're also still kind of like monkeys. They're kind of this really unique uh group of animals. And I just they're real fun too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, sounds like a good goal. Well, let's talk a bit about some other things uh about the Sunset Zoo. And one of the key factors to the success of the zoo is local engagement from people who are big supporters, you know, not just with their attendance, but also with their dollars. And you have an organization called Friends of Sunset Zoo that is very instrumental in the growth and the development and the sustainability of the Sunset Zoo. So let's talk a bit about Friends of Sunset Zoo and what's involved becoming a member.
Future Habitats And Lemur Vision
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so uh anyone can become a member. It is just a set price for 12 months. Uh, they range in price from$45 for an individual membership. And if you want to go all the way up to doing more of a supportive membership, they can go up to$1,000 or more. Uh your probably our most familiar common and popular membership packages are family membership, and that's$75, and that's for 12 months.
SPEAKER_01Okay, you kind of cut out there. What was the name of the membership? That's all right.
SPEAKER_00It's a family membership.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00Uh that's$75. It's for 12 months. It usually pays for itself in like two or three visits. So, real quick, you know, turnaround. You you it's a great money saver for everybody. And so not only do you get that free admission to the zoo for the year, you also get discounted admission at AZA zoos around the country. You get discounts on special events here at the zoo. Plus, we have a lot of member-only events that are free for our members. And in the warmer months, when our concession stand is open, you get a free bag of popcorn each visit if you want.
SPEAKER_01Oh, okay. Now you have my attention.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Popcorn will do that to me.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01Popcorn also does bad things if you're in the radio, right, Gwen? Yeah, you never want to eat popcorn when you're in front of a microphone. Never a good thing.
SPEAKER_00Wow.
SPEAKER_01Heather, you've been with the zoo. Um, I think you told me before that uh you're 10 months into your into your uh term there at uh Sunset Zoo as development officer marketing director. There's a lot of things about the zoo that that that people just love. So let's get to know some of your personal interests at Manhattan Sunset Zoo and how you came here. And also, you know, what is it that just draws you every day?
Friends Of Sunset Zoo Membership
SPEAKER_00Right. So I actually I my background is in um animal and zoo nonprofit. And uh I came from the butterfly pavilion in outside Denver, Colorado. And I think some of the things that I think are really unique about Sunset Zoo is kind of the history of the zoo. I love that the zoo was built as part of a WPA project, as part of the New Deal in 1933, and that a lot of that infrastructure is still here. And what has been redone, we have kept a lot of that original construction of the, you know, the traditional limestone from the area and really honor that history of the zoo and what the zoo has meant to the community for almost a hundred years. I think that's fantastic. And of course, obviously the animals. Every day I try and get away from my desk at least once to go say hi to all the animals because you know they're really what keeps drawing me to work in this field, and it's fantastic to learn all their different personalities. Um, you know, one example is our tiger. So our uh our tiger Indra had cubs a year ago, August, and she had a boy and a girl, and they are now old enough that they have to be separated because they are uh reproductively mature and we don't want any accidents.
SPEAKER_01And nice way to put that.
SPEAKER_00Yes. So Iaz, who is the male, is real friendly, he really likes people, he will come right up to the window, he'll even stand on the ledge and look you right in the eye. Loves people. Saba is the female, she is the exact opposite. She does not like people, she growls, she hisses at people, and it was actually really funny. On Saturday, we had a wedding here, and they were having the ceremony in our Chautauqua Amphitheater, which is right next to where the tiger habitat is. And Sava was there and she was not having it. And so we had to explain to the wedding party she's fine, she's just grumpy. So just ignore the fact that she's growling and hissing and and hopefully she doesn't make too much noise. And they they thought it was great, they thought it was hilarious. That and that's what you get when you have a wedding at the zoo, is you never know what the animals are going to be like. And that's just one example of the different animals and personalities that we have here. And it's just fun to it's been fun to watch the cubs grow and develop those individual personalities.
SPEAKER_01That may be one of the aspects about the Sunset Zoo is that you do have a facility that uh not only uh engages individuals who come out uh with uh with all those uh residents that you have there as animals, but also a facility that is uh top-notch for special events, a few weddings and uh class reunions and all kinds of things that you do out there.
Heather’s Path And Zoo Heritage
SPEAKER_00Yes, we do. We're very lucky in that we have a number of wonderful venues. Uh our most popular is our nature exploration center, which is actually the building that I'm currently in, which has uh rooms that can either be divided up for smaller events or opened up into one large event. And we utilize it quite a bit also for our wine in the wild and brew at the zoo events. But we think we hold things like birthday parties, weddings, baby showers, bridal showers, bar embot mitzfas. Uh, we do a lot of events with the sororities and fraternities. They'll have their formals here. Um, but we also do things like uh we have company picnics, so you can actually rent the zoo after hours and have the whole zoo to yourself. And then you have access to things like the limestone pavilion, which recently got redone as thanks in part to our other fundraising partner, the Sunset Zoo Trust, who raised funds for that to redo all the limestone on the pavilion, as well as our Asia Pavilion and our Chautauqua Amphitheater. So there's a lot of different options. There's a lot of different venues you can choose from. You can mix and match. And if you really want to, you can rent the whole zoo out and have it to yourself. And it's great.
SPEAKER_01You know, we're venturing into um spring break. What a better activity is there than to stop by Sunset Zoo here and then the couple of in what next week, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah. So that's why we're switching our hours on Friday so that we'll be open. You can come starting at 9:30 in the morning, you can get in the gate and see all your favorite animals. We're gonna have our concession stand open throughout the day. Uh, so people can, even if it's during the week, they can come in and get something to eat. They can pick up that popcorn if they're a member. And uh we'll have different animal encounters, and uh, we're planning on doing some training sessions maybe with some of our with one of our possum uh animal ambassadors at the Chautauqua Amphitheater. So stay tuned for that. And we'll be posting that schedule on our website.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Do you have any um activities, any uh sessions for kids during spring break?
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah. So we'll be doing uh a daily story time, and then any of those animal encounters are great for kids. You know, we're we'll have our educators out, some of our keepers may be available to ask questions, and we love that. We love when people come up and ask us questions about their favorite animals, and and I could talk all day about how great the animals are.
SPEAKER_01Do you have a particular favorite animal?
Tiger Personalities And Wedding Tale
SPEAKER_00It's tough. It's like asking who your favorite child is because I do love them all. But I I do, I think I do have a favorite. I think it's Donnie the Cheetah. A lot of that I think is just because he's just right down the path from where my office is, because though I can just pop down for a five-minute break, say hi, see how he's doing, listen to him whine about how hard life is being a cheetah.
SPEAKER_01Especially at the zoo. Tough gig, tough gig.
SPEAKER_00Oh, oh yeah. He I walk down and and he just he whines and then he rolls on his back and shows me his belly and puts his little paw up by his head. Um, but yeah, they're all he's very spoiled, but I don't think he thinks he is. But then really, do any cats think they're spoiled?
SPEAKER_01That's the nature of a feline, isn't it? Regardless of size and regardless of habitat, I suppose. Let's uh talk just real briefly. You also have a number of summer programs for kids.
Venues, Rentals, And Signature Events
SPEAKER_00Correct. So we have our summer camp is open for registration. I just heard that um our kindergarten through second grade programs are actually wait list only at this point, but we do also have a third through fifth grade camp for your older kids, and that is open to register. So uh please go on our website and sign up for that if you're interested in doing that. We also have a junior zookeeper program, which has become very popular. That's for your high school kids. And then we'll also be doing um the wildlife warriors program, which is for your kind of middle school preteen, preteen kids where they get to learn more about conservation and and what they can do to help wildlife. And then other events that we've got coming up, we've got Party for the Planet on April 18th. So we're gonna have a lot of vendors out talking about what you can do to help Mother Earth. And uh, we're really focusing on pollinators this year. So you'll probably get a lot of seeds and plants and things you can take home. And then Wine in the Wild, which is a community favorite event that is June 6th, that is hosted by our Friends of the Sunset Zoo, our FAWS organization, and that fundraiser supports uh improvements at the zoo as well as conservation efforts. Uh, again, that is June 6th, and then uh summer celebration will be July 11th. And that is free admission for kids, and we'll have fun events and things going on here at the zoo. Uh, water safari is coming back again this year. That's gonna be August 1st. And we're gonna look at how water is life and how uh keeping our waterways clean is so vital to the animals that live in our area. And then we kind of round everything out with our brew at the zoo event, which is going to be September 25th. So that's kind of our summer coming up. We got a lot of stuff.
SPEAKER_01A lot of fun, a lot of things. Find out more about the Friends of Sunset Zoo membership and uh get some of those activities. And if you're doing out some getting out and just breathing some fresh air, the Sunset Zoo is a beautiful place to get a nice walk in and uh enjoy all that. Sunsetzoo.com. Your hours are what?
SPEAKER_00So right now through Thursday, they are noon until 5 p.m. But starting, we're we're starting our summer hours early. We are on on March 13th, this Friday, we are switching to 9 30 a.m. to 5 p.m. So you can come and spend the whole day here at zoo if you wanted.
SPEAKER_01Heather Brown is her name. She's uh marketing director and development officer at the Manhattan Sunset Zoo. Heather, thanks for the time and uh have a great day.
SPEAKER_00Thank you so much for having me. And you enjoyed the day as well.
SPEAKER_01Planning on it. Tyler Downey's gonna be uh stepping in the studio next and going to bring us up to date on some of the neat things that are happening in the community here over the next several days. On this, the GMCF Community Hour here on News Radio KMAN.