Summer Conservation-focused Program for Youth Ages 10-13

Make a real impact on wildlife this summer with Sunset Zoo and the Gregory P. St. Amand Memorial Fund. Thanks to the support of the Gregory P. St. Amand Memorial Fund, Sunset Zoo is launched the Junior Conservation Crew in 2021. After our inaugural year, this new program will continue to provide preteens and teens the opportunity to directly engage in conservation action through citizen science, removal of invasive species, research, and more.  

The Junior Conservation Crew program is a structured volunteer program designed for participants’ ages 10 to 13 that have a special interest in learning about conservation and zoos. Participants will choose the session that works best for their summer schedule to join their Crew at Sunset Zoo once per week for 3.5 hours. Each session will incorporate a citizen science lesson and activity, a waste audit project, energy audit assessments, invasive species removal, and a conservation education poject. All activities are designed for maximum conservation impact and to foster the passion for wildlife, nature and conservation in tomorrow's leaders.

Orientation & Training

Orientation for the Junior Conservation Crew will be conducted online through a pre-recorded video.  You can view the pre-recorded orientation video before or after registering for the Junior Conservation Crew.  All training will be conducted onsite as needed.

Online orientation video will be available here by May 1, 2023.  

Registration & Fees

Registration is now open, and will remain open through May 30, 2023. Space is limited to 8 participants per session, and will be on a first come, first serve basis. To register, click here.  Thanks to a generous sponsorship from the Gregory P. St. Amand Memorial Fund, registration for the Junior Conservation Crew program is just $10.00.  The $10.00 registration fee covers a Junior Conservation Crew T-shirt.

Registration Fee: $10

Please review the Junior Conservation Crew Policy before registering.

Summer Schedule and Activities

Junior Conservation Crew starts on either Thursday, June 1 and ends on Thursday, July 27, or Friday, June 2 and ends on Friday July 28 depending on which session you choose.  Each participant will join their Crew for activities once each week during this timeframe, for a total of 9 sessions.  All activities are led by trained zoo education staff, and each session will start from the Zoo's ticket booth. 

Below is a sample schedule for a session:

Sessions will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. .  Parents must pickup their youth participant within 15 minutes of program conclusion.