BNSF News

BNSF Foundation Donation Benefits Topeka Zoo

2007-11-05

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Foundation has donated $50,000 to the Topeka Zoo for a new Matschie’s tree kangaroo exhibit. The exhibit will provide the tree kangaroos with indoor and outdoor living space, a pool, live plants and trees for climbing.

Matschie's tree kangaroos have been exhibited and successfully reproduced at the Topeka Zoo in the past, and the new exhibit will be beneficial to improving the overall population of this endangered species from Papua New Guinea. Tree kangaroos are arboreal marsupials that live in trees and feed primarily on plants.

"The BNSF Foundation's generous donation towards this exhibit was warmly received by Friends of the Topeka Zoo and other civic leaders," says BNSF General Director, Payroll & Non-Operating Support, Mike Lawrence, who co-presented the check to the zoo along with Michele Brady, director, Carrier Services. "Nearly all BNSF employees from the Topeka and surrounding areas and their families have enjoyed this excellent zoo over the decades. This gift is emblematic of BNSF's enduring commitment to the Topeka community, of which it has been part since the founding of the railroad."

Nick Archuleta of Resource Protection and Courtney Carpenter of Human Resources also participated in the check presentation at the zoo on Oct. 22.

The Topeka Zoo is a medium-sized zoo with a number of exhibits, including one of the first indoor tropical rain forests in the United States. It is one of the most popular attractions in Topeka, with more than 150,000 visitors a year.

Pictured, left to right: Bill Connor, Friends of Topeka president; Mike Lawrence, general director, Payroll & Non-Operating Support; Nick Archuleta, senior agent in charge, Resource Protection; Courtney Carpenter, manager, Human Resources; Michele Brady, director, Carrier Services; Richard Harmon, Topeka City Council member; Morton Bonaparte, Topeka city manager; and Mike Coker, zoo director.

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