BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo has received a $10,000 grant from the Petit Family Foundation (PFF), earmarked for the Zoo’s Conservation Discovery Corps (CDC) program. The CDC is an award-winning science-based youth education program that introduces young adults to the fields of conservation biology and environmental education and prepares them for science-based careers.
A yearlong program, CDC is designed to allow high school students to work side by side with field biologists, study the role of zoos in conservation, and help educate zoo guests. The program has a strong track record of success in advancing students to careers in science disciplines, exemplified by the story of a CDC alumna who graduated in 2012 from Hamden High School.
CDC Alumna Celina Burgueño completed two and a half years participating in CDC. After high school, she earned a B.S. in Animal Biotechnology & Conservation and Zoo Science at Delaware Valley University. During her undergraduate years, Celina worked part time at the Lehigh Valley Zoo. Today, Burgueno is employed at Massachusett’s Franklin Park Zoo where she provides daily husbandry and care for their Tropical Forest collection, including environmental enrichment, veterinary care and nutrition. She contributes to her Zoo’s programs that train the next generation of Zoo professionals, encouraging many young women to pursue a career in science.
For years, the CDC has succeeded in recruiting a primarily female cohort of students. The Foundation’s funds are given to foster the education of young people, especially women in the sciences; to improve the lives of those affected by chronic illnesses and to support efforts to protect and help those affected by violence.
Zoo Director Gregg Dancho said, “We are grateful for the Foundation's continued support, and honor their mission of doing good in the world. Our CDC teens are enthusiastic about making the world a better place through their conservation work, and the Petit Family Foundation grant helps them develop the skills they need to do so."
“Our Grants Committee felt this was a fabulous hands-on program to support, especially after all the remote learning that occurred during the pandemic. We know the Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo staff will do a fabulous job teaching and motivating science students in many areas,” said William A. Petit, Jr. M.D., president of the Petit Family Foundation.
The Zoo is grateful to its many members, supporters, and corporate partners that help to educate, delight, and bring animal welfare and conservation to the state of Connecticut. In particular, the Zoo wishes to thank the Petit Family Foundation for its support.
The Petit Family Foundation honors the memories of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, Hayley Elizabeth Petit and Michaela Rose Petit by continuing the kindness, idealism and activism that defined their lives.
About Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo
Let your curiosity run wild! Connecticut’s only zoo, celebrating its 99th year, features 350 animals representing primarily North and South American and Northern Asian species. Guests won’t want to miss our Amur tiger and leopards, maned wolves, Mexican gray wolves, and red wolves. Other highlights include our new Spider Monkey Habitat, the prairie dog exhibit, and the Pampas Plain with Giant anteaters and Chacoan peccaries. Guests can grab a bite from the Peacock Café and eat in the Picnic Grove. Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is a non-profit organization approaching its 100th year at a time when the mission of helping fragile wildlife populations and eco-systems is more important than ever.
Tickets must be purchased on the Zoo’s website at beardsleyzoo.org. In accordance with the state of Connecticut COVID-19 guidelines: we strongly recommend that guests continue to wear masks while visiting the Zoo, but when guests are outside and can maintain social distance, masks may be removed. In any indoor area, or when social distancing cannot be maintained, masks are required. Everyone over the age of two, except for those with medical conditions that preclude wearing them, should have a mask available.
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Photo: Left, Gregg Dancho, director, Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo; Right, William A. Petit, Jr. M.D., president, Petit Family Foundation.