By Jessica Reyes
Saving Wildlife Training Opportunities
The Houston Zoo’s Saving Wildlife Training Opportunities program turns learning into action by giving Zoo staff and volunteers hands-on experience doing real, measurable work that directly benefits wildlife and their habitats. Through these field-based opportunities, participants actively contribute to wildlife conservation alongside local partners across Texas.
In 2025, staff and volunteers planted 17,887 native plants, restoring coastal prairie, forested areas, and urban green spaces that support pollinators, migratory birds, small mammals, and highly endangered species like Attwater’s prairie chickens. They also cleared over 34 acres of invasive, non-native vegetation in Bastrop, Texas, helping rebuild habitat for the endangered Houston toad. Along the Texas coast, teams removed 56 abandoned crab traps from San Antonio Bay, preventing ghost fishing that can trap and kill blue crabs, sea turtles, river otters, and diamondback terrapin, all species that play critical roles in coastal food webs. Closer to home, staff removed 4,827 pounds of litter pollution from beaches, bays, and bayous, reducing the risk of wildlife injury, entanglement, and ingestion.
By empowering staff and volunteers to take part in meaningful fieldwork, the Saving Wildlife Training Opportunities program strengthens Houston Zoo’s culture of conservation and delivers tangible benefits for wildlife in our community and starting this month, the public can join in!
Neighbors for Nature Houston
Neighbors for Nature Houston is a new pilot program where Houston Zoo invites the community to take part in hands-on activities that save wildlife across Houston area neighborhoods.
Inspired by “Umuganda”, a monthly community service tradition in Rwanda practiced by our saving-wildlife partners. These events take place on the last Saturday of each month, when communities come together to complete projects that strengthen neighborhoods and support the greater good.
Umuganda means “coming together in common purpose” in Kinyarwanda, the official language of Rwanda. It reflects a shared belief that even small actions, done together, can create meaningful and lasting change.
This month, Houston Zoo is publicly launching the new program by inviting the community to participate in a park cleanup on May 30 from 9:00-11:30 a.m. at Charles Milby Park. Register online at houstonzoo.org
