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gainesvilletimes.com
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Recycle a tree, help an animal
Photos by AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
Above: Rachel Heck, visitor experience lead at the North Georgia Zoo and
Farm, throws a donated Christmas tree into the porcupine enclosure on
Wednesday, Dec. 26. “It is good for enrichment for all our animals,” said
Heck. Left: A porcupine checks out a donated Christmas tree at the North
Georgia Zoo and Farm on Wednesday, Dec. 26.
A white-handed gibbon checks out a tour group at the North Georgia Zoo and Farm on Wednesday, Dec. 26.
Donate your
old Christmas
tree to North
Georgia Zoo
BY LAYNE SALIBA
lsaliba@gainesvilletimes.com
Kangaroos, camels, goats and
porcupines love Christmas trees
almost as much as you do. Lucky
for them — and you — the North
Georgia Zoo is looking to take that
festive decoration off your hands,
so instead of tossing it in the woods
or turning it into mulch, consider
doing one more good deed before
the year ends by donating it to the
zoo.
“It is good for enrichment for all
our animals,” said Rachel Heck,
visitor experience lead at the
zoo. “Enrichment is a fancy word
for entertainment. It keeps their
minds stimulated.”
The zoo is accepting trees at
2912 Paradise Valley Road in
Cleveland through New Year’s
Day. The trees must be free
of chemicals and decorations,
including tinsel, and still green.
For guests who bring a tree with
them to the zoo, they’ll get $1 off
admission.
“Just a basic tree with all of the
ornaments taken off,” Heck said.
“We can’t have the tinsel because
it’s really hard to get out of there
and we don’t want the animals chok
ing on the plastic from it. But just a
bare tree that a family was going to
toss out, we will happily take.”
Heck said the trees act as a nat
ural dewormer for the animals as
they chew on them and eat them.
Even for the animals that don’t
chew on the wood, Heck said the
scent is good for keeping their
minds stimulated and offering dif
ferent textures they may not be
used to rubbing up against. For
others, the trees are simply some
thing new to play on or with.
“They really enjoy going over
and playing on them depending on
the species of animal,” Heck said.
“But the majority of animals get
good use out of them.”
All of the animals at the zoo —
from the lemurs to the birds of
prey, from porcupines to arctic
foxes — take advantage of the
Christmas trees. For some ani
mals, the trees get thrown over the
fence as the animals run toward
them, curious and excited. For
others, like the kangaroos, they’re
hung from above so the kangaroos
can grab them and play with them
that way.
For the wolves, it’s mainly about
the scent.
“It gives them something else
to play with, but they’re so scent-
oriented, it gives them something
different to be around,” Heck said.
Odis Sisk, area director for New
Urban Forestry, said that smell
and the presence of trees in gen
eral can help animals in different
ways.
“A lot of the animals that live
in zoos — they may have been in
their previous lives wild animals,”
Sisk said. “So those animals, com
ing from a background of having
that kind of nature around them,
they find having trees not only
comforting, but in some cases it’s
just stimulation of having some
thing new to play with.”
Throughout the zoo’s Winter
Wonderland Tour, guests get to see
the trees tossed over the fence into
the pens where the animals are liv
ing. Heck said it’s a unique experi
ence and something everyone has
enjoyed in years past.
“We use lots of different things
naturally, but this time of year so
many people get the live trees,”
Heck said. “We’re all about
reduce, reuse, recycle. So if we
can take advantage of something
that’s going to get thrown in the
dump, we’d like to use it for our
animals to benefit from.”
Sisk said organic things like
trees — as long as there’s noth
ing strange on them from holiday
festivities — are perfect, and safe,
presents for animals to enjoy in the
weeks after the Christmas holiday.
“In most cases, this only hap
pens one season, but that tree lasts
for quite some time,” Sisk said.
“It’s going to go through all differ
ent changes. As it’s biodegrading
and changing, animals will use it
differently.”
Kangaroos relax at the North Georgia Zoo and Farm on Wednesday, Dec. 26.
A wolf looks at a tour group at the North Georgia Zoo and Farm.
Polar Bear Plunge looking less polar for New Year’s Day 2019
BY NICK BOWMAN
nbowman@gainesvilletimes.com
Polar Bear Plunge at Lake
Lanier is promising to be a lot less
polar this New Year’s Day.
With high temperatures in the
upper 50s on Tuesday, Jan. 1, the
Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club
fundraising is looking to be much
more tolerable this year than 2018
— when Hall County was hit with
a cold snap sending temperatures
below freezing for the plunge into
the lake.
Still, more than 30 brave souls
jumped this year, including
74-year-old Jim Isler, who was the
oldest jumper last year, and Tom
Diaz, who came dressed as a very
appropriate emperor penguin, win
ning him “best costume” during the
fundraiser.
For the event this coming New
Year’s Day at the Lake Lanier
Olympic Park, organizers are
hoping for about 75 people to
Polar Bear Plunge
When: Noon, New Year’s Day
Where: Lake Lanier Olympic
Park (boathouse side),
3105 Clarks Bridge Road,
Gainesville
How much: $30 per person or
$90 for family of four
More info: www.LCKC.org
attend given the warmer weather,
accoridng to Blair Hickerson,
incoming president of LCKC.
Hickerson is taking over from
outgoing president Jason Peck.
“It should be night and day
weather-wise,” Hickerson said of
the 2019 plunge.
People interested in the event
can register online through Dec. 31
or sign up at the event at 10:45 a.m.
Jan. 1. Plunges begin at noon.
Registration costs $30 per indi
vidual or $90 for a family of four.
LCKC plans to give out the same
suite of honors this year. Last year’s
winners included:
I Inside
For the expected weather on
New Year’s Day, see page 8A
■ Best Jump: Joshua Burchardt
■ Best Splash: Cody Hicks
■ Best Costume: Tom Diaz
■ Oldest Jumper: James Isler
■ Youngest Jumper:
James Hughes
■ Most Dedicated Jumper:
George Wangeman
Jumpers who register early
online have first dibs on T-shirts
that are included with the price
of the ticket, according to Hicker
son. If the club runs out, additional
T-shirts will be ordered.
Chili, sweets, hot beverages and,
most importantly, hot showers are
being provided by LCKC.
The fundraiser supports LCKC
programs throughout the year. The
club’s first race of 2019, the Lula
Bridge race, comes in March.
SCOTT ROGERS I The Times
Tom Diaz, of Atlanta, climbs from Lake Lanier Monday, Jan. 1, following
his plunge into the icy cold waters at the Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club
as he participates in the 20th annual Polar Bear Plunge.
