Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo "Arboretum Tree Walks" $6000.00 Grant Winner
The 2026 AZADV Education Grants Committee is pleased to announce our 2026 grant award winner. Congratulations to Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo! Their proposal was so unique that it was an easy decision for the Committee to vote to award the grant. They are creating a new volunteer led tour program at their zoo that embodies the very qualities stated in the AZADV slogan—Connection, Education, and Inspiration. Volunteers are working with staff to build this exciting new program, and volunteers will be fully involved for years to come. This program will provide an ongoing opportunity for volunteers to engage with visitors in an inclusive exploration of the Zoo’s Arboretum and the value of different types of trees to wildlife and to the environment. Volunteers from Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo will be giving a presentation on the details of this program at this year’s conference in Kansas City. Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo’s Rooted in Learning program empowers volunteers to lead interpretive Arboretum and zoo grounds Tree Walks, connecting visitors of all ages to ecology, native tree science, and wildlife conservation. Supported fully by the AZADV Education Grant, the program combines interpretive signage, hands-on teaching artifacts, and comprehensive volunteer training to create an accessible outdoor classroom within the Zoo’s ArbNet-accredited Arboretum and around the Zoo’s campus. Attendees will leave with a replicable framework and a sense of how trees and wildlife are interconnected, ready to bring plant focused conservation education to their own AZA-accredited institutions.
