Auckland Zoo makes jumbo swap to Fairtrade bananas
Entering in to the Fair Trade Fortnight spirit Auckland Zoo is making a permanent swap to Fairtrade bananas. All of the Zoo’s primates, some exotic birds and Burma the elephant are now being fed the sustainable bananas. Nine species in total will be munching their way through between 40 and 80kgs of Fairtrade Certified bananas each week.
On hand to mark this Big Swap big occasion at the start of the Fortnight were students from Auckland Girls Grammar School. The school both a Fair Trade and Enviro School. Nirvani Niranjan, Sylvia Burgess and Susanna Lees-Watts (pictured here feeding Burma the elephant) are part of the school’s Amnesty Group and have a keen interest in Fair Trade. They jumped at the chance to feed some of the first Fairtrade bananas to Burma the elephant and to the lemurs. After meeting and feeding Burma Sylvia said “It was amazing – a once in a lifetime experience.” Susanna continued “It was so cool to get so close.” The girls were then taken in to feed the lemurs in their enclosure. Other animals at Auckland Zoo to be fed Fairtrade bananas include the orang-utans and chimps.
The Fairtrade bananas are imported from Ecuador by All Good Bananas. The fair and stable price they pay to the El Guabo Cooperative, along with the additional Fairtrade Premium empowers the growers to help themselves out of poverty. All Good’s Chris Morrison is delighted to be supplying the Zoo. “It’s a huge deal for us. It’s amazing how many families come through the Zoo each week and see the animals being fed with Fairtrade bananas. Every extra banana sold in New Zealand that’s Fairtrade is great news for the cooperative back in Ecuador. They get a better standard of life and can send their kids to school and get medical attention when they need it – so it’s great news all round,” said Chris.
Auckland Zoo is passionate about sustainability and conservation. Peter Fraser, Conservation Officer says “The zoo is always looking for ways to support the preservation of wildlife and the environment. Sustainability is a really important part of the Fairtrade system, so this aligns with our principles at the zoo."
The El Guabo Coop reflects the Zoo’s views on sustainability perfectly. They democratically decide on how to spend the Fairtrade Premium. One of the projects was to develop a fresh water source, now they have clean fresh water and as a result production has increased by 30%. The water is also host to lots of fish and shrimp. Through the Fairtrade premium, El Guabo farmers have been able to educate themselves about more environmentally-friendly farming methods, stop farm pollution entering waterways, reduce soil erosion, use organic fertiliser and compost and stop the use of herbicides so the groundcover between plants attracts back wildlife.
The recent swap to Fairtrade bananas at the zoo follows on other Fairtrade changes made at the zoo. After checking out the new Fairtrade banana loving animals, visitors to Auckland Zoo can also enjoy a cup of Fairtrade coffee / hot chocolate in the café.
