AZA 2024 Annual Conference: 3 Takeaways
We’re back from a great week at the Association of Zoos and Aquarium’s 2024 Annual Conference, hosted in beautiful Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Each day, we felt energized by the innovative ideas and knowledge shared by the brilliant presenters and attendees.
A big thank you to the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo for hosting this amazing event. Here are some of our takeaways from this year’s conference.
1. The AZA community is deepening its commitment to DEI and environmental justice work.
AZA, as an international community, is doing the work when it comes to diversity, equity, inclusion, and environmental justice. Our team attended several sessions on DEI and environmental justice, and we were thrilled to learn from experts with such sophisticated depth of knowledge and DEI practices.
One session that stood out was facilitated by the Aquarium Conservation Partnership. The session focused on how zoos and aquariums can act as a go-between for their local communities and the federal government. What is a zoo or aquarium’s role in their community, and how can they help solve long-standing tensions? Panelists discussed how AZA organizations can facilitate healing relationships between their communities and the federal government. Transformative community work takes time – urgency is not the priority, but a deep understanding of a community’s needs.
2. We were inspired by the Aquarium Conservation Partnership’s (ACP) equity commitment.
Our partner ACP is going through a transformational change to weave equity into its foundation and operationalize DEIA models for more inclusive collective impact work. Co-Chairs of ACP’s Equity Working Group, Ayana Melvan and Jasmine Williams, led a session that discussed what support looks like and the power of communities of practice. ACP is working to help AZA members advance diversity, equity, access, and inclusion (DEIA) across the profession and embed them as values into AZA’s organizational culture.
3. We want to celebrate Wayne Warrington’s longstanding climate work in the AZA community!
Wayne, a Senior Associate at Verdis Group, has spent a decade working in the AZA community, and we are always thrilled to see him in action. For many years, he has served as an involved leader and member of AZA’s Green Scientific Advisory Group (GSAG). This group leads the AZA community in reducing human impact on natural resources and wildlife through sustainable business operations. Its vision of operational sustainability is embedded in the culture and implemented through the strategic plan of every AZA institution.
Wayne has consistently coordinated AZA’s yearly Green Summits and GSAG Workshops. As a leader in GSAG, he has always encouraged AZA as an organization toward climate action and advocated for collective action to create the biggest impact. We are so proud of Wayne’s longstanding service, and we’re excited to see the next generation of leaders in GSAG to follow in his footsteps!
Feeling inspired to accelerate climate action at your organization? We are ready to partner with you! Reach out to Daniel Lawse at daniel@verdisgroup.com to learn more about our work.