Celebrating Animals and Commmunities
Every birth, rescue, and conservation milestone at the Columbus Zoo and The Wilds reflects the expertise and care of their dedicated teams. In 2025, these moments strengthened our impact locally and globally, advancing conservation partnerships and helping build a stronger future for wildlife. Your day at Zoombezi Bay helped support those efforts!
We're a Water Park with a Purpose.
In fact, the same mission, Empowering People. Saving Wildlife., leads Zoombezi Bay, Safari Golf Club, The Wilds, and the Columbus Zoo. Your visit to Zoombezi Bay is a way to support animal education and conservation efforts at the Zoo and improve our ecological footprint, too.
Welcoming over 400,000 guests each year, we know we can rally together to make a huge impact on the natural world around us by incorporating measures that guests can participate in and enjoy!
Pollinator Gardens
Since 2020, Zoombezi Bay has installed three pollinator gardens in the park’s Castaway Isle. These gardens are intended to help feed bees, butterflies, and birds that have a huge impact on our local ecosystems.
It’s part of a larger pollinator project you’ll see at the Zoo entrance and even at Safari Golf Club!
Making an Environmentally-Friendly Splash
Here are just a few examples of the things we’re doing to promote sustainability all while having fun!
Pools and Rides
- By using carbon dioxide for pH treatment in our pools instead of hydrochloric acid, we’re eliminating the use of a caustic chemical and the acid pumps that circulate it, which also lowers the use of electricity!
- Water pumps in Baboon Lagoon have variable frequency drives, which adjust the flow of water to the actual demand. This is super-helpful for a play structure that has 90 interactive aquatic controls, 10 exciting water slides, an activity pool, and a 1,000-gallon tipping water bucket!
Food and Retail
- While delicious food is being prepared for your Zoombezi Bay visit, food waste composting is underway behind-the-scenes with collection points behind Otter’s Street Tacos, Big Island Grill, and in the service area behind our upcoming new attraction, Pelican Point.
- Used cooking oils and grease are captured during the cooking process at Zoombezi Bay restaurants and recycled into both biofuel and high-energy livestock and pet food!
- In the mood for pizza? The hood system at Harvest Pizzeria has a built-in energy management system that regulates fan speed upon heat...saving energy!
Our Operations
- LED light bulbs are used throughout the park.
- Most buildings at Zoombezi Bay use on-demand hot water heaters, which reduces energy usage park-wide.
- All cardboard that we receive shipments in is recycled after unpacking.
- Buying a keepsake after your getaway to Zoombezi Bay? Your purchase will be placed in paper bags... Re-use them for projects around the home!
Be sure to visit the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium’s website for more information about our conservation work!