While a visit to Gladys Porter Zoo is always a celebration, Saturday visitors got invited to a zoo-wide party—for planet Earth.

Starting at 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., Party for the Planet provided zoo-goers with the price of admission, free activities, demonstrations, talks, games and conservation demonstrations centered around celebrating life on the planet we call home.

The party is also the first fully in-person event the zoo has held since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Brownie Mia Gomez pays attention as Dinah Garcia, Girl Scouts Troop leader for Troop 457, walks her through what she’ll need to do for her Design With Nature Badge Saturday morning during Party for the Planet at the Gladys Porter Zoo.(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)

Party For the Planet is an initiative by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) to educate the public about Earth’s biodiversity and ways that they can make a difference. Attending their local AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums for the event, visitors find family-friendly activities and demonstrations to connect with nature and simple ways they can work to protect it at home.

The nationwide event is a combined celebration of Earth Day (April 22), Endangered Species Day (May 20) and World Oceans Day (June 8).

Each organization that participates adds its own spin to the event to highlight the needs of their community’s particular animals, habitats and environmental issues. For Gladys Porter Zoo, this year is about talking about things like pollinators, ocean trash, composting and recycling.

While enjoying the zoo itself, children and families could play games, like a recycling race to sort and recycle items or learn about pollinators like butterflies and bees. The event also offered crafts, face painting and a wheel spin to win one of 100 native tree saplings donated by The Wildlife Conservation and Education Society of South Texas and the Apache Corporation.

Healthy Communities of Brownsville, Resaca de la Palma State Park and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also set up informational booths along the path to provide educational opportunities for visitors to explore.

Zoo-goers play a game about composting Saturday morning during Party for the Planet at the Gladys Porter Zoo.(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)

In addition to activities for the general public, the event also offered something extra for local Girl Scouts of America troops’ Daisies, Brownies, Juniors and Cadettes—the chance to work on and complete a badge at the zoo.

Daisy, Brownies and Junior scouts received a booklet guide for completing the newly introduced Design with Nature Badge through zoo activities, which focuses on exploring nature through math and measurement. Cadettes could start the work on their Tree Badge to learn about and eventually care for a tree at the zoo.

“I’m super excited because we are doing the new Design with Nature Badges. This badge incorporates STEM into Earth-friendly ideas for things you need. So for backpacking, at a station, the girls have to figure out how much volume actually fits into a backpack,” Dinah Garcia, Girl Scouts Troop leader for Troop 457, said.

With 120 Girl Scouts pre-registered for the event, the booths and activities throughout the park were full of scouts learning and experimenting through nature.

Heidy Adrano brought her daughter, Daisy scout Valeria of Troop 457, out to the event as part of their scouting tradition.

“Her siblings have been in Girl Scouts for 5 years, and they’ve always enjoyed this event. They get to experience nature and see the animals. It is just a good, fun thing to do with them— and they love it,” she said.

Daisies Arely Nuno, Aydah Valdez, Richelle Valdez and Ayleen Nuno of Girl Scouts of America Troop 00002 draw an adventure map together at a booth Saturday morning during Party for the Planet at the Gladys Porter Zoo.(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)

As zoo-goers moved through the celebration’s activities, exhibitors stressed all the small ways everyone can take care of the world around them.

With so many environmental areas to improve, zoo Marketing Director Cynthia Garza Galvan wanted visitors to walk away from the event not just with a better understanding of our planet; but a plan of action for its future—no matter how small.

“I want them to take home that everybody matters, and they can do something. It can be as simple as making a backyard habitat for the migrating Monarchs, bees or other butterflies. They can make small steps in their own backyards that make a big difference in the grand scheme of things,” she said.