Education as a Bridge Between Communities

The Zoo hosted many educational workshops and special activities over the Jewish High Holiday season which were well-attended. Our family ecological workshops - presented at the Zoo by the staff of the Zoomobile outreach program - once again proved to be very popular.

Education programs are in full swing since the start of the new school year. Aside from the popular weekly after-school program, and the ever popular Animal Assisted Therapy program, we continue to receive many school groups that attend as part of the ongoing education programs for both Hebrew and Arabic speakers.

This past week, the Zoo held a training course designed specifically for Arabic-speaking education guides. It was three day course designed and presented by two of our senior Arab staff members and was also attended by a representative from Qalqilya Zoo. the only zoo in the West Bank. We are planning a further training course in the future for all of our education guides but this one was tailored specifically to Arabic speakers.The course was very successful, with the guides receiving both formal lectures and practical training with our zookeeping team. In addition, the newer guides received the benefit of being exposed to the experience of more senior staff members.

We are delighted to see that the numbers of visiting Arab school groups are climbing steeply again after the fall in numbers caused by the conflict over the summer and we continue to strive toward creating a neutral and peaceful space where all of Jerusalem's diverse communities feel welcome to visit together.