Here at Safari West, our Earth Day Extravaganza was a remarkable success. We sold out for the event and nature came through for us as well, taking a break from the rain to give us a bright, sunshiny day. The Nairobi minibus stayed busy, making continuous laps around the property, taking our Earth Day guests out to visit the rhinos and antelopes and giraffe who were out and about, enjoying the springtime sun.

The Savannah Café was abuzz with activity as our visitors enjoyed a specially prepared meal focused on locally-sourced and sustainably-produced foods. All around the café, the environmentally focused activities continued with the Junior Keepers displaying sustainability-driven toys and activities and the State Parks joining us for the day with a full table-display about the local flora and fauna of Sonoma County.

We also featured a new exhibit this year; one focused on the native Pomo people. Staff member Angelina Logan—an affiliate of the tribe—taught us all about how the Pomo interact with the natural environment in productive and sustainable ways.

It was an incredible event and one which we are already looking forward to replicating and improving on next year. If you missed it this time, mark your calendars now and we’ll see you next April at the Safari West Earth Day Extravaganza!

The post An Earth Day for the Ages! appeared first on Safari West.

We’re inviting you to a grand celebration of our planet and its amazing and diverse environments. In front of the Amani Oasis aviary, we’ll have special explorations of the three prime elements of earth, air, and water. You’ll be able to get up close and personal with conservation concepts unique to these elements and take part in hands-on experiments exploring those worlds.

Alongside these displays, our dedicated Junior Keepers will be presenting a recycled jungle and we’ll have some partner organizations hanging out with us as well; the California State Parks, Sonoma Land Trust, Petaluma Wildlife Museum, and Sonoma Snow Leopard Conservancy to name a few!

As with all our special events, your reservation grants you full access to our lower grounds where cheetahs, lemurs, monkeys, and flamingos frolic and play. And if that’s not enough, we’ll also have our famous Nairobi minibus out running safari treks. These treks are forty-five minutes loops through our gazelle pasture, out to the rhino paddocks and to the lands of Watusi beyond!

For the most dedicated, we encourage you to enjoy a morning with us at our Earth Day Extravaganza and then head to downtown Santa Rosa to take part in another amazing Earth Day event: the Global March for Science. Visit www.marchforscience.com for details on the march.

This year, make Earth Day something special with us at Safari West.

The post Celebrate Earth Day with Safari West! appeared first on Safari West.

But what is this season exactly? What are we talking about when we talk about spring? In this country, on this coast, in particular, the coming of spring marks a transition from cold and dry to warm and wet. It means the days are getting longer and the world is coming to life. Not everywhere on this planet experiences seasonal cold and heat the way we do, but nearly everywhere (except directly on the equator) experiences wet and dry. So this then is the best way to describe spring; the season when what was dry and dormant becomes wet and thriving. This season takes place in different ways and at different times depending on where you’re standing on the globe, but the results are essentially the same; plants bloom and blossom, birds court and nest, many mammals give birth. It’s a season of life and growing.

Many organisms, both animal and vegetable, have evolved to capitalize on the seasonal bounty brought about by the wet season. For plants, this means timing the appearance of flowers and fruit to coincide with maximum rainfall. For herbivorous animals this means timing births to coincide with all that readily available vegetable matter. Carnivores will also take advantage, timing the arrival of their own young to coincide with the sudden appearance of all those vulnerable new babies.

For migrating creatures, springtime also marks the conclusion of one leg of their ongoing travels. Take birds for instance; in this country, we lose many of our birds in the fall as they head toward warmer southern climes. As spring comes around, the birds return, hopefully timing their trip so that they arrive just as the food supply (whether animal or vegetable) is reaching its seasonal maximum. As humans, we tend to notice that as the cold fades and the warmth increases, so too do the flies and mosquitos. Convenient isn’t it, that so many winged insect-eaters reappear at the same time?

Many of the mechanisms driving springtime changes take place unnoticed. Animals like turtles, bats, and bears come out of hibernation and begin to impact their surroundings, for the most part, sight unseen. Likewise, as deciduous forests once again adorn themselves in leaves, the photosynthetic process steps up and all those new leaves get to work sequestering carbon and releasing precious oxygen into the atmosphere. The season of bounty is critically important to the well-being of the natural world and should be protected and honored. That is one of the many reasons why in 1970, we began to celebrate Earth Day.

Earth Day is an important event for every inhabitant of this planet, but resonates even more critically with Safari West and its staff and supporters. This is a day to quite literally stop and smell the roses; to take just a moment to think about the complex web of systems that allow our species to continue to thrive on this dynamic and ever-changing globe. This year, we are doubling down on Earth Day and turning it into a proper holiday here at Safari West.

Come join us on April 22nd and experience Earth Day from the perspective of a conservation breeding facility and African safari park. You’re invited to attend our Earth Day event and wander our lower grounds, taking in our carnivores, primates, and many birds. We’ll have our specially outfitted Nairobi bus up and running, offering forty-five-minute trek loops through some of the larger enclosures as well. Just climb aboard and tour through our collection of rhinos and giraffes. Experience the Sonoma Serengeti and learn about the magical season of spring, both here at home and in the world at large, all while celebrating Earth Day. We can’t wait to see you there!

The post The Rite of Spring: Celebrate Earth Day with Safari West appeared first on Safari West.