Conservation begins at home. If Great Ape Trust (or any other conservation organization) is to have international credibility, we must manage our own campus and our own operations in an environmentally responsible way.

The two ape 'homes" have been carefully designed to meet the needs for both apes and humans while providing the highest degree of efficiency possible. In both buildings advanced heating and cooling systems were installed in order to minimize energy use while providing eight complete turnovers of fresh air per hour. This fresh air is vital to the health of apes. Extensive use of passive solar retention is accomplished in both buildings enhanced by special tempered glass. Radiant floor heat is used throughout the buildings, providing both significant energy savings and vital temperature control. State-of-the-art heat exchangers are used as well as an advanced heat pump systems that draws a constant 55-degree temperature from the bottom of the adjacent lake have been integrated into the HVAC system. The buildings massive septic systems are designed to provide clean water that is then re-used to irrigate a restored Iowa prairie.

Since our inception, we have recycled paper, cardboard, aluminum and bimetal cans, plastic bottles, printer cartridges, batteries and cell phones. We have collected used fire hose from fire departments around the state, and recycled them as 'climbing furniture" in ape habitats. We try to dial down our thermostats on winter nights, and our air conditioners in the summer. We are mindful of turning out lights in unoccupied offices. The Great Ape Trust campus has been planted and seeded with native prairie species instead of turf (which requires a lot of water, fertilizer and pesticides), and left our main access road unpaved so that rainwater and surface contaminants could percolate through the soil rather than run off into our lakes. We try to purchase soap products that don't contain palm oil, copy paper with recycled content, and shade-grown coffee for the office coffee pot. Andy Antilla and Peter Clay of the orangutan care staff, and Dana Watson of our administrative staff have been leaders in these efforts.

In spring 2005, Professors Thomas Rosburg and Keith Summerville, of Drake University's Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy led our first annual Spring Bird Count. A Drake/Trust team of 10 counted 31 species on a three and a half hour transect walk on April 17, well before many of the migrant species arrived. This is a significant proportion of the approximately 150 bird species known to be a resident in or to pass through Iowa. The count will be repeated using similar methodology in successive years. If we are managing our campus well, bird abundance and diversity should increase.

Professor Rosburg's Environmental Studies class conducted a survey of plants and animals on the Trust's campus, and are producing an environmental management plan for us. A Drake student, Jared Bottcher conducted a preliminary survey of the fish in The Trust's lakes, and Drake professor Wayne Merkley is holding the field component of his limnology class at Great Ape Trust during the spring 2006 semester. These collaborations will produce information and guidance that will allow us to be more effective stewards of our own local environment.

Wood ducks were once common in Iowa but their numbers have decreased, in part due to the lack of tree cavities, which are their preferred nest sites. They will raise ducklings in carefully designed and positioned artificial nest boxes. Jody Beimer and Ilka Daniels, teachers at St. Augustin School in Des Moines, asked the Great Ape Trust staff for suggestions about a hands-on conservation project for their students. We suggested building some wood duck boxes, and we now have 32 magnificent student-built boxes. The first of these will be mounted around one of The Trust's lakes this spring in the hope that we can induce wood ducks to once again nest on our campus.

Web site: www.greatapetrust.org