Let Master Gardeners At Oregon Zoo Show You How To Do A Backyard Makeover

By Bill LaMarche 

Portland, OR - Nature is closer than most of us think. Every time you step out your door, you are surrounded by wild plants and animals. With a little care, your yard or garden can become a wildlife habitat, providing animals with things like native food sources and shelter from harsh weather. The Oregon Zoo's new Backyard Makeover exhibit helps visitors learn quick and easy ways to create such nature-friendly space.

Located between the Insect Zoo and Lorikeet Landing, the Backyard Makeover exhibit is staffed daily by Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardeners, who offer expert advice and present fun gardening activities for all ages. Gardeners are on hand from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends through October. Visitors can also explore the exhibit's side-by-side "before" and "after" gardens, which demonstrate a yard's transformation into a wildlife-friendly garden.

All Backyard Makeover advice and activities are free with zoo admission. 

The Backyard Makeover exhibit is a joint effort between the Oregon Zoo's Habitat Begins at Home campaign, Metro's natural gardening program, and OSU's Extension Service Master Gardener program.

To learn more about creating or enhancing habitats for wildlife at home, visit the zoo's Habitat Begins at Home Web site: www.oregonzoo.org/habitat.

The zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its mission to inspire the community to create a better future for wildlife. Committed to conservation, the zoo is currently working to save endangered California condors, Washington's pygmy rabbits, Oregon silverspot butterflies, western pond turtles, Oregon spotted frogs and Kincaid's lupine. Other projects include studies on black rhinos, Asian elephants, polar bears and bats.

The zoo opens at 9 a.m. daily and is located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The zoo is also accessible by MAX light rail line. Zoo visitors are encouraged to ride MAX or take TriMet bus No. 63. Visitors who take the bus or MAX receive $1 off zoo admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238-RIDE (7433), or visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.

General admission is $9.75 (12-64), seniors $8.25 (65+), children $6.75 (3-11), and infants 2 and under are free; 25 cents of the admission price helps fund regional conservation projects through the zoo's Future for Wildlife program. A parking fee of $2 per car is also required. Additional information is available at www.oregonzoo.org or by calling 503-226-1561.

Caption: The Oregon Zoo's new Backyard Makeover exhibit, staffed by master gardeners now through October, shows visitors how to create or enhance habitats for wildlife at home. Photo by Michael Durham, courtesy of the Oregon Zoo.

Oregon Zoo " 4001 SW Canyon Rd. " Portland, Oregon 97221 " 503-226-1561

To view Oregon Zoo's web page on Z&A, go to: http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-382-Oregon_Zoo