News and Events

Bee Pollinator Aware


As part of the Language of Conservation initiative, the Brookfield Zoo has partnered with the Library, the Brookfield Conservation Commission, the Riverside Public Library, and Cantata to promote the importance of pollinators and their connection to pollinators, like the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee, a native Midwestern pollinator that is now on the endangered species watch list.

Residents can get involved by attneding the upcoming Bee Pollinator Aware workshop at the Brookfield Zoo on Saturday, April 13 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. in the Brookfield Zoo Discovery Center, Classroom 1AB.  Zoo staff will discuss the different types of pollinators, how to create pollinator-friendly gardens, and pollinator safety. Participants will also make "pollination stations" and are asked to bring a small container for planting seeds.Bee Pollinator Aware is open to Brookfield residents of all ages (younger children must be accompanied by an adult). Registration is required. Register to attend through the Library's Events Calendar, by phone at 708-485-6917 x 130, or in person at the Information Desk. For more information, please contact the Library Information Desk.

 

Say It In Seven Poetry Contest Winners:

Adult: Home by Jeanne Delagardelle

Graceful bird flies home,
mighty Oak awaits

Young Adult:  Zachary Colvin

Burning Priaire
Falling Sun
Earth Beginning Anew

Youth:  Benjamin Mathis

Natural
Alive
Tranquil
Untarnished
Rich
Everlasting

About the Project

The Brookfield Public Library has partnered with the Brookfield Zoo and Riverside Public Library for The Language of Conservation, a project that aims to deepen public awareness of conservation efforts through poetry.  Developed as a program by Poets House and the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Central Park Zoo, research demonstrated that people who encountered poetry as part of their zoo experience left with a better understanding of the importance of conservation, and their role in it.    

Supported by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, five poets will be working with five zoos around the country to replicate the original New York proejct: Alison Deming in Jacksonville, Pattiann Rogers in Milwaukee, Joe Bruchac in Little Rock, Mark Doty in Louisiana, and Sandra Alcosser in Brookfield.  The celebrated poets will act as Poets-in-Residence in the zoos, collaborating with wildlife biologists and exhibit designers to curate zoo installations with poems that celebrate the natural world and the connection between species.  

CZS logoIMLS logo PH logo

Poetry Installations

Brookfield residents can see the installation of The Language of Conservation graphics in the new Great Bear Wilderness exhibit at the Brookfield Zoo and throughout the Brookfield Public Library.  These graphics include poetry that reflects on the beauty of the natural world and its risk of destruction.  To find the complete poems in sources at the Brookfield Public Library, follow the link on the resource title.  

*Poetry installed at the Brookfield Public Library

 

 

Brookfield's Poet-in-Residence, Sandra Alcosser

Sandra Alcosser was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in South Bend, Indiana.  She has published seven books of poetry, including A Fish to Feed All Hunger and Except by Nature, which have been selected for the National Poetry Series, the Academy of American Poets James Laughlin Award, the Larry Levis Award, the Associated Writing Programs Award in Poetry, and the William Stafford Award from Pacific Northwest Booksellers. She is the National Endowment for the Arts’ first Conservation Poet for the Wildlife Conservation Society and Poets House, New York, as well as Montana’s first poet laureate and recipient of the Merriam Award for Distinguished Contribution to Montana Literature.

 

The Language of Conservation in the News

Bookfield Zoo Language of Conservation Partnership.   Christina Stoll, Metropolitan Library System.  June 9, 2010.

Brookfield Zoo, libraries partner on conservation exhibit.  Riverside-Brookfield Landmark, March 30, 2010. 

"Come for the Oaks, Stay for the Fun," Suburban Life.  July 21, 2010. 

Poems for Where the Wild Things Are:  Conservation poet Sandra Alcosser inspires her audience to become engaged with the natural world.  360 Magazine, November 4, 2009.