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Tree Service Specialists Assist Reid Park Zoo04-07-16 | Department
Tree Service Specialists Assist Reid Park Zoo
By Daniel Crosby, owner of Made In The Shade Environmental


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Made In The Shade Environmental tree service crew gearing up for the day. They donated pro bono tree trimming services to Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, Ariz.

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The landscaping crew takes down a large "Shoe String' acacia, which they then turn into "eligible browse" to supplement some of the zoo animals' diets.


With tightening budgets and limited resources, Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, Ariz., had a need that Made In the Shade Environmental seemed perfectly suited to fill, free of charge. The company provides residential and commercial landscaping services with an emphasis on tree service.

Founded in 1967, the 24-acre zoo facility is home to over 500 animals.

As a result of an unfortunate accident, one of the male giraffes, Watoto, died after ingesting a poisonous oleander plant. Being animal lovers ourselves, we immediately reached out to the zoo and offered to donate our time and resources to help prevent other incidents like this from happening again. Made In the Shade partnered with TLC Environmental LLC, another local tree service company, and worked to remove over 60 oleander hedges from the zoo's north perimeter over a week-long period.

During this project we were treated to special and exclusive access to the animals. Under the supervision of the zookeepers and a controlled environment, we got to meet and really get to know some of the animals and their personalities.

After the oleander removals were completed, we decided to look for more ways to contribute to the zoo moving forward.

We discovered that several of the native trees we regularly service for customers qualify as a safe and abundant food source for giraffes and elephants.???(R)???AE'?N????e'?N,A+ Thornless mesquites, acacias and African sumacs along with some tree barks and trunks all fall under the category of "eligible browse," referring to the combination of approved trees and shrubs that make up, ideally, 93 percent of a giraffe's diet.

The zoo is able to supplement the animals' diets with native tree species that serve as both a healthy treat and a welcomed snack in between meals.

Taking the time to separate the eligible browse, and then deliver them to the zoo takes a bit more time. However, our partnership with Reid Park Zoo has allowed our company to rise to new levels in our competitive market.

Made In The Shade has streamlined many processes by adding automatic dumping trailers, which make it easy for us to dump our browse once we are at the zoo.


As seen in LC/DBM magazine, April 2016.








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