2008-09 ZOOS VICTORIA ANNUAL REPORT

Talking up gorilla conservation
They’re Calling On You, a mobile phone
recycling campaign, encourages visitors to
support gorilla conservation in central Africa.
World-renowned wildlife activist Dr Jane
Goodall launched the campaign and
explained that each time a mobile phone
rings, a tiny piece of metallic ore from Africa
makes this possible. The mining of this
commodity is accelerating the loss of gorillas.
More than 8,000 mobile phones have been
donated with funds raised supporting antipoaching
efforts as well as helping care
for Zoos Victoria’s primates. The program
has now been expanded to 13 other
institutions across the Australasian Regional
Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria
(ARAZPA) and to community groups,
schools and corporate organisations.
Investing in nesting
Investing In Nesting requires students to
use their design, creativity and technology
skills to construct a nest box for a chosen
native species.
Werribee Open Range Zoo provides
expert knowledge and distributes nest
boxes donated by ‘construction’ schools
to ‘recipient’ schools whose local wildlife
is in need of shelter. The program won the
2009 ARAZPA education award.
A boost in sales
For the first time, Zoos Victoria retail
sales exceeded $5 million and the new
sales team achieved revenue of $2.8
million. A new photo shop was opened at
Melbourne Zoo in August 2008, providing
the opportunity for visitors to capture those
magic moments with wildlife.
A New Concert Series
Roar Sounds, a new music event aimed
at bringing a younger audience back to
the zoo was introduced at Melbourne Zoo
in 2009. Roar Sounds ran each Thursday
in February and featured up and coming
Australian bands. The inaugural concert
series was a great success with 3,157
tickets sold across the fours shows and
delivering additional revenue of $169,282.
More funding for learning
Zoos Victoria achieved further funding to
deliver the following programs:
Department of Education and
Early Childhood Development
$736,000 p.a.
To run school programs from 2009-2011.
Department of Sustainability
and Environment
$37,000 (part of a larger grant)
To work with local schools on the Vision
for Werribee Plains project to improve
biodiversity in their school.
Department of Education and
Early Childhood Development
$250,000
To develop digital content for the
Knowledge Bank: Next Generation FUSE
portal, that will engage all Victorian schools
with Zoos Victoria.
Norman Wettenhall Foundation
$20,000
To help 50 schools breed the critically
endangered Lord Howe Island Stick Insect
and contribute to ongoing research.
Priorities for the
coming year
New Community
Conservation programs:
+ Don’t Palm Us Off will aim to raise
public awareness about the palm oil
crisis exposing the link between food
products and orang-utan survival in the
wild. The campaign aims to mandate the
labelling of palm oil on all food products.
+ Beads for Wildlife is a community trade
initiative that will support the economy
of the Northern Rangeland Trust
communities to enhance the success
of their in situ conservation efforts and
provide opportunities for community
involvement.
+ Seal the Loop will encourage visitors to
place used plastics into recycling bins at
Melbourne Zoo. The plastic will then be
recycled and turned into ‘tangler bins’
that will be installed in fishing locations
where unused fishing line and nets can
be placed, helping to reduce the number
of wildlife entanglements at sea.
New products and
increased revenue
Ongoing development and refreshment of
the visitor experience and various programs
and product offerings will aim to improve
the financial performance of our zoos and
increase our ability to invest in conservation.
Our 2008/09 Snapshot
Objective Achieved Comment
Learning programs incorporate Yes A first series of case studies was developed and incorporated into the first half
measurable outcomes aligned to yearly report to DEECD as part of the new funding agreement for 2009-2011.
DEECD and ZV priorities
‘Hosting’ model: priority projects Yes New face-to-face interpretive approaches were trialed at all three zoos.
identified and delivered at each
More than 200 staff at all three campuses trained in a new presentation training
campus. Framework for identifying
program ‘POWER-Hook, Line & Sinker’.
and resourcing future projects in place
Customer Service training for all frontline staff was conducted at each campus and a
‘toolkit’ and ‘train the trainer’ program has been developed for rollout during 2009/10.
An integrated working model with Yes A new Heads of Agreement was developed and implemented 1 July 2009.
Friends of the Zoos (FOTZ)
A robust retail strategy and business Partially Strong retail sales were achieved in 2008/09 and two new stores opened.
model driving commercial growth
New commercial product was implemented at each campus.
A revised retail and business growth plan aligned with the new Zoos Victoria
Strategic Plan will be implemented in 2009/10.
Forge new research, learning and Yes Zoos Victoria developed a number of key partnerships over 2008/09 including:
cultural and community partnerships.
+ Melbourne Water Youth Conference (partnership with Melbourne Water & Firestarter)
+ Biodiversity in Your School (partnership with Greening Australia)
+ Sustainability & Biodiversity Magazines (partnership with Pearsons Education)
+ DEECD Knowledge Bank: Next Generation partnership
+ VE Community Conservation Research (ARC partnership with TRU@ Monash
and “How Many is Too Many’ research project)
+ Grasslands Program (partnership with Iramoo @ VU)
+ Mission Australia to deliver the Mission Australia Family Day at Melbourne Zoo.
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