Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo secures national grant for youth conservation program

Volunteer Cleanup Day 2025 at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo photo by Scott Vincent — Volunteer Cleanup Day 2025 photo by Scott Vincent

Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo has secured a national grant to fund its ongoing youth conservation and field research programming. The Bridgeport facility is one of four institutions across the United States selected to receive a 10,000 dollar award from Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.

The funding is part of the newly created Wild Futures Grant Program, a pilot initiative launched this year in collaboration with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The program provides financial support to AZA-accredited facilities that engage young people in hands-on wildlife protection and environmental science.

The grant will provide direct operational support for the zoo’s Conservation Discovery Core (CDC). Based in Bridgeport, the year-round program introduces high school students from across Connecticut to the fundamentals of conservation science.

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In addition to supporting local operations, the grant will fund the program’s 2026 Eco-Expedition. The project will send participating Connecticut students into the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park to conduct original field research focusing on climate change impacts, predator-prey dynamics, and the reintroduction of apex predators.

“Accredited zoos and aquariums help advance that mission by serving as powerful incubators for the next generation of conservation leaders,” said Dan Ashe, president and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Ashe noted that the initiative invests in youth education to build stewardship skills that conservation efforts will depend on in the future.

Jen Wulf, vice president of marketing at Mutual of Omaha, stated that the grant program aims to help young people build the curiosity, understanding, and passion needed to become leaders in wildlife protection. The other three institutions selected for the 2026 grant cycle are the South Carolina Aquarium, the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Washington, and the Houston Zoo in Texas.

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Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo secures national grant for youth conservation program