WINNIPEG - July 2, 2008 – On Sunday, July 27 from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m., the public is invited to celebrate the magnificent monarch butterfly at Living Prairie Museum’s first ever Monarch Festival. Learn how to create your very own butterfly garden by participating in a hands-on workshop, pick up some caterpillar food at the milkweed plant sale, and help judge the butterfly garden photo contest! Take part in a fun-filled afternoon of activities including guided hikes, kids’ nectar garden, face painting, and games for the whole family. Admission is by donation.

Volunteers Needed!

For more information, call Living Prairie Museum at 832-0167.

WINNIPEG - July 2, 2008 – From June 28, 2008 to July 5, 2008, the Assiniboine Park Zoo and the Zoological Society of Manitoba plan to celebrate National Conservation Week by promoting their conservation, interpretive and ‘green’ programs. These include:

• Participation in 60 international breeding programs that maintain healthy captive populations of species-at-risk.

• Production and distribution of bilingual interpretive signs featuring all 15 species of amphibians native to Manitoba.

• The annual recycling of 2 tonnes of animal and bedding wastes into compost.

• Recycling of solid materials and the use of ‘green products’ in the Cafeteria and other areas.

• Staff participation in a number of Manitoba and Canadian conservation organizations which preserve habitat for wildlife (with emphasis on endangered plants and animals).

The Zoo Education Centre provides conservation-education programming for thousands of children and adults year round. These include animal and ecology-themed programs for school-aged children, adult-oriented workshops and tours, public talks, and spring and summer day camps. These programs highlight the dramatic extinction issues facing wildlife and wild places, provide unique opportunities for people to develop a closer relationship with the animals at the zoo, and provide hands-on solutions for making changes for a greener, cleaner future.

The Zoo is one of 25 accredited members of the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which is concentrating its Conservation Week activities on the amphibian extinction crisis. Over 120 species of frogs and toads have become extinct in recent years as a result of human activities (habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution, spread of disease) and 80% of the remaining 6000 species of amphibians may be lost within our lifetime. Canada’s zoos and aquariums are contributing to captive breeding and release programs, and inviting citizens to become involved in conservation programs such as Frog Watch and Adopt-a-Wetland.