Greater Vancouver Zoo Receives CAZA’s 2025 Eleanore Oakes Award for Small Institution
CAZA is proud to recognize the Greater Vancouver Zoo as the 2025 recipient of the Eleanore Oakes Award (Small Institution). This award honours exceptional achievement in conservation education program design, celebrating initiatives that deepen public understanding of biodiversity and inspire meaningful conservation action.
The Zoo earned this accolade for its innovative program Ghosts of the Animal Kingdom, a creative educational experience that harnessed the cultural relevance of Halloween to share powerful stories about extinction and human impact on wildlife.
Ghosts of the Animal Kingdom: A Creative Approach to Conservation Awareness
Designed to engage visitors of all ages, Ghosts of the Animal Kingdom highlighted 13 species lost to extinction due to human activities. Through immersive and thought-provoking elements, the program encouraged reflection, empathy, and hope:
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Illustrated tombstones representing extinct species
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QR-linked educational videos offering deeper learning on each animal’s history
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Story-driven content that connected past extinctions with present-day conservation challenges
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Thoughtful pairings of extinct species with modern relatives, helping visitors understand the ongoing risks many living species still face
By meeting audiences where their interests already lie—seasonal traditions and storytelling—the program successfully captured attention and transformed curiosity into conservation awareness.
Collaboration, Engagement, and Lasting Impact
This award-winning initiative was developed collaboratively by the Zoo’s Education and Marketing teams, exemplifying how cross-departmental creativity can elevate conservation education. The program reached thousands of visitors, demonstrating measurable engagement, strong emotional resonance, and scalable potential for future growth.
With plans to further expand content, refine storytelling, and deepen conservation messaging, Ghosts of the Animal Kingdom is poised to become a long-term cornerstone of the Zoo’s educational programming.
CAZA congratulates the entire Greater Vancouver Zoo team on this remarkable achievement and their continued leadership in conservation education.
