May 22, 2024 – The continuous impact of the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo runs more than 50 years, and as members of the college Board of Trustees learned recently, the Zoo began with a dream of a young professor with a love for animals.
Earlier this Spring, Eddie Leach reached out to Santa Fe College officials about his former roommate Ray Giron, who died in 2011. He told them the story of a man he met in Kentucky who shared his passion for animals and nature to those around him.
On Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at the Board of Trustees monthly meeting, Giron was honored with a resolution recognizing his vision and contributions to what would become the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo. Leach and his family were in attendance.
As Leach tells the story, the two friends came together again as roommates when Giron attended graduate school at the University of Florida and Leach attended Santa Fe Junior College, where he was a member of the first graduating class.
In 1971, while Giron was teaching at SF, he also defended his dissertation, “The Implementation in a Junior College of a Biologic Parks and Training Program for Zoo Technicians, including a Plan for an Educational Zoological Park.”
A community of fellow teachers and his friend, Leach, were inspired and formed a non-profit organization, Greater Gainesville Biological Parks Society, to raise money for “Ray’s Teaching Zoo Program.”
With $10,000 from the City of Gainesville and $10,000 from Alachua County, the group was able to begin enclosing an area that soon would become the Teaching Zoo.
He told Board members he was grateful that his friend could be honored in such a way.
The resolution reads:
“For more than a half-century, the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo has engaged in a mission of preparing future zookeepers, educating the community about wildlife and animal conservation, and serving as a cultural and recreational landmark in Alachua County. Since 2000, the Teaching Zoo has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, supporting the advancement of zoos in the areas of conservation, education, science and recreation.
WHEREAS a doctoral student and young professor at Santa Fe Junior College, Ray Giron, defended a dissertation “The Implementation in a Junior College of a Biologic Parks and Training Program for Zoo Technicians, including a Plan for an Educational Zoological Park.”
WHEREAS, Giron used his passion for wildlife education to unite both friends and an influential community around a dream, garnering needed financial and technical support.
WHEREAS, with a humble start, simple materials and hard work to enclose a designated space, the Teaching Zoo began to take form.
WHEREAS, the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo now occupies 10 acres on the Northwest Campus and is home to more than 70 different species of animals across a diverse college of native and exotic animals.
WHEREAS, the Zoo is coordinated by a team of 20 professional staff members and maintained by about 100 students enrolled in the Zoo Animal Technology program each year.
WHEREAS the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo is the only zoo on a college campus accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
WHEREAS, the Teaching Zoo has prepared students for careers in Zoo Animal Technology, animal caregiving, animal training, zoo education and related fields in Florida and beyond, and inspired them, like Giron, to share their passion for wildlife and nature with others.
WHEREAS, the Teaching Zoo has become the site of positive childhood memories, fueling a new generation of dreamers and doers.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The District Board of Trustees of Santa Fe College expresses its deepest appreciation and admiration for Raymond E. Giron for daring to be innovative, inspiring others with his passion, and for ensuring that the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo remains steadfast in its commitment to the preservation of wildlife.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT today the Zoo stands in testament to a man who loved nature and understood the power of education to make a difference.
ADOPTED this 21st day of May 2024 by the unanimous action of the Board.
IT TESTIMONY WHEREOF, we have set our hands and caused the seal of The District Board of Trustees of Santa Fe College to be affixed on this date.”
