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Keychains for Change

ABQ BioPark hosted craft making event to help the endangered saola.

May 1, 2019 - The ABQ BioPark Zoo hosted a Party for the Planet on April 27. At the event, attendees made keychains to help the endangered saola through the non-profit Catching Hope.

Many wild animals are endangered by snare traps, which can hurt and kill them. This includes the little known saola.

Catching Hope partners with the International Union for Conservation of Nature Saola Working Group (SWG) and supports its saola conservation efforts. The SWG trains and employs local people in Laos and Vietnam to collect poaching snares from the saola's forest habitat, and sends snares to Catching Hope. They clean these poaching snares, turn them into handcrafted goods, and both sell them and use them as public outreach.

ABQ BioPark visitors made 219 keychains total to support Catching Hope during the Party for the Planet event. After making a keychain, attendees could purchase or donate it to support Catching Hope and saolas. That day, 85 keychains were bought and the remaining 134 will be donated to support Catching Hope. In total, the BioPark raised $875 at the event.

Party for the Planet 2019

Select images from keychain making event. Photos courtesy of Cindy Rodgers, New Mexico BioPark Society.

 
 

Learn more about the ABQ BioPark's partnership with Catching Hope.

Watch a news interview about the event.