Staff and volunteers at the Cherry Brook Zoo received a lot of kudos during a recent Saint John council meeting.
Executive director Martha McDevitt and board chair Heather Crawford gave an update on the zoo’s progress and outlined some of their short-term and long-term goals.
Coun. Gary Sullivan, a longtime supporter of the zoo, credited McDevitt and Crawford for the work they continue to do.
“The zoo has gone through challenges — as you well know and everybody in Saint John knows — over the years and everything I hear coming out of the zoo is positive,” Sullivan said.
Crawford told council the zoo made several organizational improvements recently, which include adding new board members and instituting financial controls and reports.
She said they also welcomed some new animals in the last year and their reptile house, which opened in 2016, is now full.
The Cherry Brook Zoo welcomed 25,000 visitors in the past year. It employs seven people full-time, plus seven others during the summer months.
— Brad Perry (@BradMPerry) November 19, 2018
Coun. Greg Norton said he is pleased to see what the zoo has accomplished in recent years.
“When I first started council, I’m going to be completely honest, I saw the zoo as a liability,” Norton said. “Now I’m starting to see the zoo as an asset. I think for me, that’s huge.”
Zoo officials also gave an overview of their 2017 audited financial results, which showed a surplus of $13,000.
Coun. Blake Armstrong was surprised to learn the zoo only spent $265,000 on wages in 2017.
“We’ve got departments with $620,000 wage budgets and less people,” Armstrong said. “I just admire that so much because it’s not about the money, it’s about the love of the zoo.”
The zoo also wants to expand its outreach program, expand its cat enclosure, acquire some new animals, and develop walking trails/lookouts. “By doing that, we think we could attract people in the wintertime as well,” Crawford says.
— Brad Perry (@BradMPerry) November 19, 2018
Some of the zoo’s short-term and long-term goals include developing an architectural plan, improving accessibility, and expanding its outreach program.
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Story by Brad Perry
Twitter: @BradMPerry
Email: perry.brad@radioabl.ca
(Staff photo/Acadia News)
