Governor Jack Markell (D-Delaware) and DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara visited the Brandywine Zoo on Thursday to honor the 20-member staff with the 2013 Governor’s Team Excellence Award.
The annual award recognizes groups of state employees for their efforts to produce superior customer service and tangible results.
Zoo staff faced a number of unexpected challenges over the past year, including falling trees severely damaging the Zoo’s commissary and Monkey House, and a fire in its hospital.
Despite these challenges, all animals were kept safe and the facility only had to close for one day.
"I think it's an incredible honor," said Zoo Director Gene Peacock after receiving the award. "It really justifies the long hours and the hard work of the entire zoo staff. We're very humbled by it and very appreciative."
Governor Markell says that it is easy to tell that this is more than just a job for the Zoo’s staff.
“Their love not only for the animals but their love for the opportunity that they provide for people throughout Delaware and the region to come in and to have the experience right here in Wilmington is just really exciting," said Markell. "We have a lot of great state employees across all of our agencies and it’s a difficult decision every year, but I think this was an award very much deserved.”
The Zoo also opened a new exhibit on Thursday and announce plans for several more in the future.
Markell and other officials got a first hand look at the new bald eagle exhibit containing a pair of rescued eagles nursed back to health from severe injuries and illnesses, as well as get a sneak peak at a new red panda exhibit set to open next month.
Zoo officials also unveiled plans to build a three story Rainforest Building that will provide a walk unique through experience in an all-weather space.
Peacock says the zoo want to make the rainforest building an immersive exhibit.
“We wanted for people to feel like they were walking into part of the amazon without really going into the amazon Bird’s will fly around, you’ll see the animals, it really makes the people part of the exhibit," said Peacock. "It’s going to help the zoo attendance-wise, it’s going to help our revenue, but it’s really going to give the Wilmington area a major attraction to bring people in."
The Rainforest Building will also feature an indoor assembly space overlooking the exhibit that can be used for special events, entertaining, and rentals.
The new addition is estimated at between $8 and $9 million and hopes to have started construction by 2016.
Zoo officials are also in the process of drawing up plans to replace its Monkey House destroyed by a storm last July, and expand its educational facilities.
