Critter Story: Jessica Whitaker and Christie Davenport

Dickerson Park Zoo
607 Words

Scot McElvaine, a senior business major at Missouri State University, has spent a majority of his youth living in Springfield. When he was young, he remembers visiting the Dickerson Park Zoo and the thrill of seeing the animals.
“Everything just seemed so big then,” he said. “Especially the giraffes. I think I liked them the most.”
McElvaine has not stopped visiting the zoo since he has gotten older. In fact, he and a friend recently went to Dickerson Park Zoo on a random Saturday afternoon for a change of pace. Although McElvaine says that the two were the oldest people there without children, he still had a good time.
“Even being older, I still enjoyed walking around and seeing all the animals,” he said. “So I know that the kids love it.”
Erin Sorenson, the events coordinator for the Dickerson Park Zoo, often relies on volunteers for help in caring for the facility’s animals. If you want to pitch in, you don’t have to donate your time – the zoo can also use your trash. Household items you may be tossing into the wastebasket could benefit the zoo animals, from the elephants to the monkeys.
The zoo has a wish list of items that it would like to see donated by volunteers and also members of the public.
The list includes 43 items ranging in variety, noting items ranging from nature CD’s to coffee cans.
“The list changes from time to time depending on our needs,” Sorenson said.
All of the items donated are used in some way. Some of the items are used as toys for the animals, and others are used for the park itself.
“The zoo uses quite a few recyclable materials for animal enrichment toys,” Sorenson said. “Our Education Department also uses many recyclable materials for classroom projects.”
Recyclables, such as cardboard boxes and plastic jugs, are welcomed as donations.
The zoo is a worthy cause to donate to, especially if it is simple things that you might be donating, McElvaine said.
“It’s not like it’s cash or anything like that,” he said. “As a college student, I don’t exactly enough in my account to give to charity.”
Food products can be donated as well, but they must be new and unopened. Acceptable donations include: spices, cereal, oatmeal, baby food, dried fruits, juices, Gatorade, condiment packets, honey, melons, and tea bags.
Items that you may not realize an animal might want to play with can also be donated. Buckets, carpet samples, plastic hangers, hairbrushes, sled saucers, new drinking straws, perfumes, bread trays, baby toys, road cones, nontoxic sidewalk chalk and finger paints are a few examples of their eclectic imagination.
The zoo does not only accept items on the wish list, either. Simple, basic items are sometimes a necessity as well.
Jansen Gibson, a junior at Missouri State University and also a Dickerson Park Zoo visitor, had no idea that she could be the cause of making sure these little critters have a good time.
“It’s nice having a way for people to do something with their non-recyclables,” she said. “It’s also a good thing that it is for a good cause. It’s hard to imagine being trapped inside of a cage all-day long, and all they want to do is maybe play with a milk jug,” Gibson said.
Basic items, such as newspapers, phone books, shredded paper, and peanut butter jars, according to Sorenson, aren’t always accepted.
“Typically we get overwhelmed with those items, so we don’t advertise for our volunteers to bring those items,” Sorenson said.
Those interested in donating time or items should contact the Dickerson Park Zoo via their website.