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Celebrate trees and their vital
contributions to Brookfield Zoo
and the world.
As we look forward to celebrating National arboretum, said Ernst, who successfully spearheaded the
Arbor Day on April 24, let's take a moment zoo’s accreditation effort.
to praise trees. They beautify and shade our
park; provide animals with food, homes, and enrichment; Level II arboreta exhibit a minimum of 100 species,
and produce much of the oxygen we breathe. varieties, and cultivars of woody plants, each identified by
a taxonomic label. The arboreta must also have a plan and
Today, trees are more important than ever because collections policy describing how plants are managed, one
they absorb carbon dioxide—a heat-trapping gas that or more staff members assigned to maintain the collection,
pollutes the air and warms the planet. Scientists have and an inventory, walking-tour map, and guide. You can
compiled a long list of the many benefits we derive find CZS’s “Tree Guide,” including a detailed map show-
from trees. For example, the 157 million trees in the ing the location of each plant, on Brookfield Zoo's website.
seven-county Chicago region clean the air
and water, decrease flooding, improve resi- Our fabulous collection includes
dents' health, and boost property values— many native trees, such as the American
services valued at an estimated $51.2 billion sycamore and Illinois’ state tree, the
a year, according to The Morton Arbore- white oak. You’ll also find trees and
tum's “What is the value of a tree? Plenty.” shrubs from Asia and Europe. Our col-
lection even includes the rare Serbian
A Museum for Trees spruce, endangered in its native Serbia,
Bosnia, and Herzegovina. You'll find it
Most people know that Brookfield Zoo at Hamill Family Play Zoo.
is located on land owned by the Forest
Preserves of Cook County. With nearly Our Tree Guide is a font of informa-
70,000 acres, it is one of the largest and tion. For example, which tree has bark
oldest forest preserve districts in the that contains salicylates, an ingredient of
country. But how many people know that aspirin? [Quaking aspen] Which tree,
Brookfield Zoo is a certified arboretum? native to Asia, was used to make hockey
An arboretum is a type of botanical garden that features sticks and tennis rackets? [Mulberry]
woody plants—trees, shrubs, and some species of woody Keeping trees healthy in a zoo setting is challenging.
vines. Arboretums exhibit plants, facilitate research on “The bison rub on trees and the giraffes strip the bark off of
plants, and promote education about them. everything,” said Ernst. Plastic sleeves are wrapped around
tree trunks to protect them. Most of Ernst's work on trees
“We were the first zoo in the United States to get and plants must be done before the zoo opens and he
arboretum status in 2012,” said Todd Ernst, CZS’s lead doesn't work on trees in outdoor animal habitats when the
groundskeeper and a certified arborist. The accreditation animals are present. “We schedule our work around the ani-
was bestowed by ArbNet, a Morton Arboretum-based mals. If the animals don’t want to come in from outdoors,
group that sets standards for arboreta around the world. we don’t work there that day.” At Brookfield Zoo, our
On a scale of I to IV, Brookfield Zoo is a Level II-certified guests and our animals are our number one priority.
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