#AcornInTheNews:

Because of our donation of apple trees back in July, @TheTorontoZoo has hosted us for a private tour where the Acorn Team could learn more about food prep for the animals, could witness a kangaroo getting a knee surgery and had a chance to meet up close to the 2 resident giraffes as well as walk into their winter residence.

This is not the first time the Toronto Zoo has been approached by developers for donations. Lynn Barkey, Vice President of Land Development at Acorn Developments, has worked with the Zoo before. “We developed a retail plaza on approximately 35 acres at the southwest corner of Markham Road and Steeles Avenue back in the early 2000s,” said Barkey. “This time around, Acorn Developments found itself having to deal with an apple orchard. I remembered the Zoo’s Horticulture team being involved at Markham/Steeles one evening and the next day I happened to mention to Vince Palermo, Director of Development Engineering,  that we should contact the Zoo to see if this would be of interest.”

The Toronto Zoo is excited to note that Acorn Developments, in addition to the donation of apple trees, has also donated the sum of $3,000 to the Zoo’s Nutrition and Science Branch, managed by Jaap Wensvoort. The donation will be used towards manufacturing a new browse press, bringing the total to two, and speeding up the process on future projects. “This opportunity will allow us to provide nutrition, enrichment and well-being for quite a while for many of the animals at the Toronto Zoo,” says Wensvoort.

Read more about this initiative here:

http://www.torontozoo.com/mediaroom/weekly2019?pg=20191002