The Santa Barbara Zoo is home to more than 400 animals, representing 146 species but, at its 28-acre site, is running out of space.
"We started a number of years ago to look for an off-site location where we could expand our conservation work, explained Zoo President and CEO Richard Block. "We just had nothing that yielded the kind of results we were looking for."
However, a new partnership has been created to solve that problem. In the coming years, the Zoo plans to shift the majority of its conservation activities and staff to a conservation center at Cal State Channel islands, in a partnership that Block says is a game-changer and will create many opportunities and make a difference.
Preliminary plans for the site include classroom and meeting spaces as well as pens for animal care, containment and breeding, as well as space for the public to enjoy and participate.
"It's one of very few like this in the country, " explained Dr Richard Yao, President of Cal State Channel Islands.
Yao said the collaboration doesn’t only support conservation career paths but other academic disciplines, from the performing arts program developing live shows for zoo visitors to Spanish course students translating educational materials
Jenn Perry, Executive Director of Regional Educational Partnerships for Cal State Channel Islands has been directly involved in putting the partnership together and said this is a significant moment for both organizations.
"This is the real moment that we are publicly announcing what is the equivalent of a marriage and showing what we can do through partnership, and that's greater than the sum of our parts," she said.
Perry said their shared values creates a "win, win, win" for all.
It’s not just a win for conservation and education, but for the whole community, said Democratic Congressman Salud Carbajal of Santa Barbara.
"I think this partnership means that our community will continue to be enriched...it means nothing but positive things for our students at the university as well as our community and the zoo, and when it comes to conservation, all they'll be able to do to help endangered species and promote research - this is an amazing partnership and collaboration," said Carbajal.
And this is the first step in a “marriage” that both sides look forward to growing in time.
