Helping Lemurs and the Zoo
Steven Nowak, 16, is a longtime Milwaukee County Zoo fan. When this Boy Scout decided to do a service project to earn his Eagle Scout award, it was only natural that he would help the animals. With some guidance from his dad, Bill, and from Zoo curator Jan Rafert, Steven revamped an outdoor enclosure for the Zoo’s lemurs. This exhibit was off-limits to the lemurs (small mammals native to the island of Madagascar) because wild raccoons on Zoo grounds could get in and potentially spread disease.
 Watch a the Outdoor Lemur Home project take shape with this video. |
Steven and fellow scouts from St. Veronica Parish Troop 208 helped construct a raccoon-proof fence and a roof to go around the old structure and deter unwelcome critters. The non-profit Zoological Society of Milwaukee financed materials for the project for about $2,000. “We wanted to get the animals outside, and this wouldn’t be possible without help from the Scouts and the Zoological Society,” says Steven. Click below to see a photo slideshow of the Boy Scouts in action on Aug. 8, 2009, at the Zoo.
You can read more about Steven and this project in the November-January 2009 issue of the Zoological Society’s newsletter, Wild Things. If you would like to become a Zoological Society member and get a free subscription, please see our Zoo Pass page.
Photos by Zoological Society of Milwaukee/Richard Brodzeller
Boy Scout Steven Nowak, 16, of Milwaukee (forefront), improved the Milwaukee County Zoo’s outdoor lemur enclosure in August 2009 as his service project. Steven got some help from his Dad Bill (left) and fellow Boy Scouts such as Joshua Rybacki (back), 14, of Oak Creek. The new structure (in the background) prevents raccoons and other wild animals on Zoo grounds from getting into the lemur area.
