The Conservation and Research Team at Assiniboine Park works year-round on a variety of projects here at the Zoo and out in the field. They are also actively involved in community engagement and help to raise awareness about the importance of wildlife and habitat conservation. Since its establishment in 2011, the Conservation and Research Department (CRD) has grown along with it the incredible conservation impacts from their efforts.

As the time came to refresh the strategy in 2023, the team looked for a new vision for conservation that supported ongoing projects and supported the expansion of their work to other pressing conservation issues. The newly refreshed Conservation Strategy for 2024-2029 focuses on four major areas: Understanding the Changing Arctic, Preventing Species Extinctions, Protecting Urban Biodiversity, and Cultivating Conservation Connections. More details on each of these themes will be provided in the coming year.

As we look forward with our new Conservation Strategy, we wished to reflect on some of the major successes achieved to date by our CRD team. 

Conservation Science: 

• More than 30 scientific publications and technical reports produced 
• Over $1.4 million received in grant funding for research and conservation 
• Genetic sexing of 93 burrowing owls 
• The 600 million base pair genome of Poweshiek skipperling sequenced and aligned from 46 individuals 
• Identified the source populations of nine wild cougars 

Science Communication and Engagement: 

• Hired and trained dozens of conservation assistants, conservation interns, and conservation technicians and supported many student research projects
• Awarded the Eleanore Oakes Award for Education Program Design from Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) for our Beluga Bits in the Classroom program 
• Over 500 presentations given regarding the CRD projects, reaching an estimated audience of more than 55,000 people

Conservation Action: 

• Over 500 Critically Endangered Poweshiek skipperling butterflies released into the wild
• Six years of threatened chimney swifts nesting in the experimental chimney at APC — the first recorded use of an artificial chimney by swifts in Manitoba 
• Over $50,000 donated to external wildlife charities, including Snow Leopard Trust and Red Panda Network 
• Six years of successful fledging of new generations of tree swallows from our artificial nest boxes 
• Installation of bird-window mitigation on many windows and established a comprehensive system to identify windows in need of mitigation 
• Served as members of nine provincial, national, and international conservation committees 
• Program partners for five AZA SAFE programs, including North American Songbirds, North American Monarch, North American Bison, Red Panda, and Snow Leopard

From its inception, the Assiniboine Park Conservancy has invested in wildlife conservation. The Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre is the epicenter for those efforts and is home to four full-time conservation scientists and a team of six to eight term and seasonal staff. The core budget and stable funding has allowed the team to attract over a million dollars in research and conservation grant funding, while individual donors and companies have supported the Wildlife Conservation Fund with over $100,000 in donations. 
 
Find out how you can get involved by visiting our website.