The Akron Zoo recently held an aluminum can recycling event in the zoo parking lot for Cans for Corridors.
They are the first and only AAZK chapter in the county to support this project. At last check, the keepers raised $460, which has planted 613 trees overseas.
Cans for Corridors was created by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in 2002 on the island of Jersey in the British Channel and is a campaign where money earned from recycled aluminum cans is used to plant tree corridors in the Brazilian rainforest.
These corridors connect patches of rainforest where species are isolated, allowing them the chance to disperse and increase their genetic diversity. Durrell teamed up with Instituto De Pesquisas Ecologicas (IPE), which is a non-profit organization in Brazil, to complete the corridors. Through the efforts of both organizations, the largest reforestation corridor in Brazil was completed in 2011.
The corridor was targeted to help the two isolated populations of the endangered black lion tamarin, of which there are only an estimated 1,000 individuals left in the wild. Several other species benefit as well, including jaguars, ocelots, tapirs, other species of tamarins and blue and yellow macaws. Since 2002, Cans for Corridors have raised enough money to plant 80,000 trees.
The Akron Zoo is home to golden lion tamarins, as well as jaguars.
The Akron Zoo chapter of AAZK was established in 2014 with its primary goal to raise money for conservation. Cans for Corridors is one of many conservation efforts supported by Akron Zoo AAZK. This chapter also supports the Red Wolf Collation and rhino conservation efforts.
