Birmingham Zoo to Begin Conservation Initiative with Alabama Power

The Birmingham Zoo is excited to announce a new partnership with Alabama Power Company. The limbs and branches, known as browse, left over from Alabama Power Company’s vegetation management tree trimming program will be collected and given to the Birmingham Zoo. Alabama Power crews remove limbs and branches daily from right-of-ways near power lines across the state. The browse the Zoo is receiving is from the Birmingham metro area. “The Birmingham Zoo is essential to the quality of life and growth of the city of Birmingham. Through this partnership, Alabama Power is excited to support the Zoo in this sustainable project,” said Jonathan Porter, Vice President of Alabama Power’s Birmingham Division. “We are focused on serving our communities. It is great to see a mutually beneficial program where we are able to provide brush and limbs from our tree trimming program with the animal nutrition program at the Birmingham Zoo,” said Corey Sweeney, manager of Alabama Power’s vegetation management department.

This browse will be used in a variety of ways throughout the Zoo. Some browse will be given to animals, including elephants and barn animals, as part of their dietary regimen. The browse will be given to some bird species at the Zoo to use for building nests. Other animals will be able to receive the browse as an enrichment item.

This partnership will make use of the trees and limbs, and will also be cost-saving for the Zoo. “This initiative shows how the Zoo strives to fulfill its mission daily to Inspire Passion for the Natural World, and emphasizes conservation. Making use of these items that would otherwise be discarded is a tremendous mutual benefit for the Birmingham Zoo and for Alabama Power Company. We are thankful for community partnerships and look forward to the future of this initiative,” said Dr. William Foster, President and CEO of the Birmingham Zoo.

Follow the link for the press release: Birmingham Zoo to Begin Partnership with Alabama Power