For the Elmwood Park Zoo, conservation doesn’t just mean protecting wild animals, like the giraffes, jaguars and monkeys that live at the Norristown facility, but also the planet they inhabit.

“We are not just species survival-based, we are also environmental survival-based, so we want to make sure we’re taking care of the planet as best we can and in any way that we can,” says Eric Donovan, the zoo’s chief operating officer.

That commitment is built into the zoo’s new Welcome Center and Frank & Paige Engro Veterinary Health Center — a shared, solar-powered facility completed in summer 2024.