by Rob Halpern, Zoo Horticulture Consulting & Design

What does it take to get the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) membership to hear our message? Just put together a compelling session for the annual AZA Conference! The AZA Program Committee has been welcoming the topic of zoo horticulture into the conference for several years.

At the 2011 AZA Conference in Atlanta, one panel considered the question "Can Zoos and Botanical Gardens Live Together?" The session had light attendance but there was good discussion by panelists and attendees.

In 2014, I put together a panel of three zoo directors and one aquarium director to present why these industry leaders value and support horticulture at their institutions: “The Lure of Landscape: You Should Catch The Gardening Bug." The idea grew out of Satch Krantz's welcome talk at the Association of Zoological Horticulture (AZH) conference hosted in 2013 by Riverbanks Zoo & Botanic Garden in South Carolina. The room was about half-full with zoo designers and zoo staff who were there to hear from Satch, Patricia Waickman (Interim President & CEO of Akron Zoo), Bart Shepherd (California Academy of Sciences), and Rick Schwartz (Nashville Zoo).

Last year I organized another panel, inspired by several great presentations from the 2015 AZH Conference. Originally titled "I'm Gonna Botanize The Sh*t Out of This Enclosure: Animal Care Problems, Horticulture Solutions," this session was standing-room only. Animal care staff, veterinarians, and others couldn't get enough from the panelists: Jeff Pera (Oregon Zoo), Hassena Kassim (Phoenix Zoo), Dan Simpson (San Diego Zoo), and a stand-in speaker from the Denver Zoo on Afromomum.

And so we return to AZA this year with a new session that grew out of some inspiring presentations at last year's AZH Conference in Cincinnati! In an effort to spread the recognition of how valuable zoo horticulture is to another corner of the larger zoo community, this year's panel targets marketing and community relations. "Communities Come Together Over Gardens: Using Horticulture to Connect With Our Neighbors" is a panel that includes Paul Bouseman (Mesker Park Zoo), Bob Chabot (Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens), Christine Nye (Shedd Aquarium), and Steve Foltz (Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden) sharing their work connecting with the community through both on-site programs to bring gardeners into the facility and off-site projects to bring the facility's horticulture expertise into the community.

Over the past few years the strategy has been to make zoo horticulture a regular presence at the annual AZA Conference and to direct each session to a different part of the zoo community. We're hoping for another popular panel this year in Indianapolis on Wednesday, September 13 (10 a.m.). Spread the word in your institution and join us if you can!