Alternative Water and Energy Use Demonstration Site at the Wild Animal Park

Despite its burgeoning population and semi-desert climate, the San Diego region continues to import its water from already depleted supplies. As a result, resources such as the Salton Sea and the Sea of Cortez continue to deteriorate, harming both native wildlife and the human populations that depend on them.

A primary goal of the San Diego Zoo is to demonstrate green practices to its visitors and members, including alternative forms of energy and water use on-site that can be applied to homes and gardens throughout San Diego's arid region. In 2000, the Native Seed Gene Bank was constructed, dedicated to the conservation of endangered plants in the region. In addition to its primary mission of seed banking, the complex is used for a variety of public outreach activities. The main building is made of straw bale construction which, as a result of its high insulation value, requires no air conditioning and very little supplemental heat. Straw is a waste material in California, which when burned produces more carbon monoxide and particulate matter than all of the electric power-generating plants in the state combined. Used as a construction material, straw serves as a carbon sink and reduces the need to harvest trees for construction.

An adjacent recycled cargo container is used to process and store the dormant form of the federally endangered Riverside fairy shrimp, native to San Diego’s disappearing vernal pools. The third component is a native plant propagation and revegetation demonstration area. Plants such as black sage, California poppies, monkey flower, and native milkweeds create a beautiful, fragrant, butterfly-friendly drought tolerant garden that demonstrates an attractive and functional alternative to water-demanding lawns and landscaping. The Seed Bank complex serves as an alternative energy and water conservation demonstration site for educational purposes that includes a grid-tied solar energy system, development of a water catchment system for rainwater collection, and eventual construction of a living roof for the fairy shrimp building.