Akron Zoo and FirstEnergy Partner to Provide Tree Trimmings to Animals

There are a lot of trees in Akron, and actually in Northeast Ohio as well.

And almost every day, FirstEnergy crews are busy making them as short as possible so they don’t damage the power lines.

The branches and limbs are usually collected and put into a wood chipper, which chops them into small pieces. These pieces are then taken away for recycling.

The Akron utility has partnered with the Akron Zoo to salvage some of these branches so they can be chopped up by zoo animals.

So once a week, a group of animal specialists go out with FirstEnergy pruning crews to select a truckload of healthy branches and bring them back to the zoo, where they are cleaned and stored so they can be given to the animals. When placed in buckets of water, the branches will last for about a week.

These branches are not only a source of entertainment for the animals who love to play with the sticks and leaves, they are also an important part of their diet.

These sticks, leaves and buds are high in fiber and are essential to a healthy diet for many zoo residents.

And chewing on this so-called ‘leaf’ is also good for their teeth.

These fresh cuttings are now eaten by the zoo’s primates and ungulates, ranging from lemurs to tufted deer, alpacas and goats.

Before this new partnership was forged, Shane Good, senior director of animal care, said they used tree cuttings from around the zoo, but that wasn’t sustainable. He was especially concerned about supply once demand increases; for example, giraffes—which will eventually be introduced to the zoo—are voracious leaf eaters.

According to Good, this program not only benefits the animals’ nutrition, but it’s also fun to see how the animals react when the caretakers add the grass to their habitat.

The goats and alpacas are completely wild, while the crested deer are a bit more peaceful.

“It’s exciting for our guests too,” he said. “Our guests always enjoy watching our animals eat.”

FirstEnergy has approximately 150 arborists who prune approximately 7,200 kilometers of branches annually, so this partnership was a logical step.

While it’s new to Akron, Tara Weckerly, FirstEnergy’s forestry services manager, says similar programs have already been launched in the utility’s other service areas across the country.

According to Weckerly, the utility can look ahead to trees that need pruning and that are particularly attractive to the zoo’s animals, such as willows, Norway maples and silver maples.

She also said that it is very important to make sure that this pruning waste comes from healthy trees, which is why the zoo is so selective and personally inspects and picks the pruning waste.

“This adds a little bit of happiness to something we’re already doing,” she said. “And we’re helping the animals, too.”

This article originally appeared in the Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Zoo and FirstEnergy Team Up to Provide Tree Trimmings to Animals