Shirts That Give Back.... Lemur Playground/ Timmy the Tiger

I love our zoo! And more importably, our kids love the zoo! When your kids enjoy something, it definitely makes you want to help support it.

  Last year, we designed a special shirt featuring Bam Bam the Ring Tail Lemur.  20% of the sale of each tee was donated back to the Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo through the Zoological Society to help build a new structure for the lemurs to play on.

Check out the Before and After!! The Before was somewhat of a tepee shaped structure with lots of wooden poles.

This is a far away shot of the old structure.

The After features different levels, a platform, ropes to swing and climb on and even a special area lifted off the ground for some neighboring pelicans.

It is neat how when you combine peoples talents, something special has the potential to happen! Heather Morris was the one who told me the idea about building a new structure for the lemurs. So, we helped raise the money for supplies with the sale of the shirt. Then, the Delta Community College (Winnsboro campus) Wood Shop Class got to work and came up with the design.

The students and teachers in this class worked hard through the entire design and building process.

Here is the final drawing

How cool would it of been to be in the class and to of designed this project?? Here they are planning it out.

And now the actual construction going on...

I got to ride over in a boat this week to Lemur Island to personally check out the final product.

So cool getting to see everything up close and personal. Very thankful to Heather Morris and Lisa Taylor for making this happen for me. And enjoyed the company of our boat driver Tinaiqua who has been working with the primates for 3 years now. 

And check out the pelican's area on the island. With left over material, they were able to build a raised platform for the pelicans to hang out on and feel safe. Can you see the eggs in the nests? The nests were just beautiful with all the intertwined sticks and loose feathers.

This one was not very happy with me getting too close. 

We also got to see a mother and baby Gibbon during our boat ride. Can you see the little baby clinging to her belly?

I left that afternoon sweaty, excited and inspired to help the zoo again.....and speaking of which.....

While we were on our little boat ride, one of the workers commented on how she wished they had a Boomer Ball for Timmy the Tiger.

"What is a Boomer Ball?" I asked?? They told me to goggle it and check out these big industrial strength rubbery type balls that large animals love to play with, but that they were very expensive. 

  I was driving away from the Zoo thinking about Timmy and how we needed to get him a ball to help enrich his life. This is Timmy below. 

An hour later, my sister drives up delivering some of our new Fall designs and one of those is the White Tiger.

H E L L O!!!! How about that for timing?? So, Brent and I talk and agree that we should donate money from the sale of these tees/tanks to help Timmy get his Ball  (hahaha...Im so immature! ) And if there is money left over, we will buy balls for the other two cats~ Baja the Lion

and Emma the Black Jaguar.

I called Lisa at the Zoo to make sure this is all okay with her and she was thrilled. So, want a cool Tiger Tank or Tee AND more importantly, help a cat to have some fun?? Go to www.mrpstees.com and look under Shirts That Give Back. Here I am in the new Tiger tank this week. I love it!

Also- be sure to take the kids to Zoobilation this weekend. It is on Sat from 10am-5pm. Lots to enjoy!!! 

Thank you for reading and helping support one of our Shirts That Gives Back...

Love

Lissy

www.mrpstees.com