Santa Barbara Zoo

Looking for a ghoulishly good way to get volunteer hours? Get in the Halloween spirit with us at Boo at the Zoo! 🧟🕸️🦇 We’re looking for volunteers to help us haunt our Boo at the Zoo weekends on October 18 to 20 & 25 to 27! Get costumed and hand out candy, run activity booths, and assist guests during 4-hour shifts from 4 to 8 PM. Scan the QR code or visit https://lnkd.in/g6yCseFc to sign up to volunteer!

Join us in welcoming Charles Hopper to the Santa Barbara Zoo! We are pleased to share that Charles Hopper has accepted the position of President and CEO of the Santa Barbara Zoo, following a comprehensive national search. Charles is an experienced nonprofit executive leader with a proven record of driving organizational success through visionary leadership, strategic planning, and effective communication. In February 2024, the Santa Barbara Zoo began the search for a new President and CEO following the official announcement of Rich Block’s January 2025 retirement, and Charles was selected from a strong field of experienced candidates. He will begin his Zoo tenure on January 6, 2025. Charles comes to us from the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, where he serves as the Chief Operating Officer. Before his time with Birch, Charles held multiple leadership positions with the Seattle Aquarium and served in the United States Air Force. Charles is active in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) community, most recently serving on the AZA Board of Directors. “It is a profound honor to be entrusted with the leadership of the Santa Barbara Zoo,” said Hopper. “Rich Block has set an extraordinary standard, and I am deeply inspired by the Zoo’s unwavering commitment to conservation, education, and creating unforgettable guest experiences. I look forward to collaborating with the talented and dedicated staff, passionate volunteers, supportive Board, and community to build upon this strong foundation and guide the Zoo toward an exciting future.” Charles will make history as only the third person in the Zoo’s 61-year history to serve in this leadership role and the first African American to hold this position. He recognizes the significance of this milestone as an opportunity to inspire others, and is committed to creating a welcoming environment for all. Charles and his family look forward to getting to know you and the entire Santa Barbara Zoo community!

The Richard Block Conservation Hub is now open at the Zoo! The Richard Block Conservation Hub is a new innovative and interactive space at the Zoo dedicated to conservation education and engagement. Designed to engage guests of all ages, this experiential center aims to immerse visitors in the Zoo’s conservation mindset, encouraging everyone to discover how they can contribute to saving our environment. From building and creating with sustainable materials to participating in community science projects, guests will have numerous opportunities to explore and learn. Named in honor of the Zoo’s longtime President/CEO, Richard (Rich) Block, the Conservation Hub celebrates his remarkable contributions to wildlife conservation and education. Block, who is retiring at the end of January 2025, has driven the Zoo’s growth and fostered a deep connection between the Santa Barbara community and wildlife conservation. The Conservation Hub is located next to the Barnyard and is free with Zoo admission or membership. Check it out and help save the planet!

Have you seen? Our website's been revamped! A big thank you to our friends at Speak Creative for lending their sensational skills to design a gorgeous new look Santa Barbara Zoo website that’s as functional as it is fashionable! Visit us at sbzoo.org to feast your eyes for yourself!

We celebrated Volunteer Appreciation Month here at the Zoo all April long! As a token of our appreciation, we treated our volunteers to a luncheon, a Humboldt penguin feeding encounter, and a tour of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. Thank you so much to our many helpful volunteers! Your generous support and enthusiasm help make the Zoo a wonderful place to visit! Interested in joining our dream team of volunteers? You can help us achieve our mission of preserving, conserving, and enhancing the natural world and its living treasures through the gift of your volunteer service! Many volunteer opportunities are available now. In particular, we are actively recruiting new docents! Check out our volunteer page for more information and to apply today: https://lnkd.in/gFDexU4B

April 2nd is Autism Awareness Day! The Santa Barbara Zoo was the first Zoo on the West Coast to become a Certified Autism Center™ as distinguished by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards. We’re proud to have continuously met renewal requirements and enhance our accessibility options since our initial certification in 2018! “The Santa Barbara Zoo prioritizes the welfare of our animals and the welfare of every guest and member of our community. We strive to create spaces where guests, staff and volunteers have access to safe and inclusive experiences. Continuing to be a Certified Autism Center™ creates a continued commitment for best practices surrounding neurodiversity. We are thankful that IBCCES continues to be a part of our inclusion and access work,” says JJ McLeod, Director of Education.

Congratulations to our very own Dr. Estelle Sandhaus! Dr. Sandhaus was recently honored and awarded a grant by Disney Conservation for her and her team's ongoing work with the reintroduced California condor. We're proud to celebrate Dr. Sandhaus and her important contributions to California condor conservation this International Women's Day, and every day! https://lnkd.in/gyAEsNij

We're big fans of Rae Wynn-Grant, PhD and were so excited to host her and Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom at the Zoo for her interview for this piece! Check out Dr. Rae's story below!

This Sunday is our Job and Volunteer Fair! 😁🤝🦜 Come by on Sunday, February 25 from 3 to 5 PM to learn about the unforgettable jobs and volunteer positions the Zoo has to offer! Available seasonal and year-round positions include Education, Events, Facilities, Food & Beverage, Guest Services, Retail, and more, and volunteer opportunities include Docent and Junior Camp Counselor. This event also includes special animal encounters and more! The event and parking are free. Check in at the Zoo's front gate. Parents of teen applicants are welcome.

In September of 2023, a crew of biologists discovered a female island fox pup with an open fracture of the metatarsal bones of its right hind leg. The field crew stabilized the pup and she was transported from San Nicolas Island – part of Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) – to receive further treatment on the mainland. The Friends of the Island Fox launched a fundraising campaign to pay for the fox’s much-needed treatment, and in December of 2023, the fox pup underwent a successful surgical procedure to repair its fractured leg. Since then, the pup has been steadily recovering here at the Zoo and will move on to another AZA-accredited institution to serve as an ambassador for its species once it has fully healed. This story marks yet another chapter in the successful collaborative effort to protect and preserve the island fox. A big THANK YOU to our many partners involved in saving this island fox’s life and continuing to conserve our favorite island canid species!