Along with being a great place to bring the family and check out the animals, zoos are very important when it comes to the conservation of various species. The ones that operate accordingly become a safe haven for endangered creatures who are often hunted by poachers and/or are vulnerable in their usual habitats. They are also places for education on a variety of wildlife where the zookeepers, spectators and other people involved learn about the habits of these animals, including what they eat, the best environment for them to thrive in and other things. The American Association of Zookeepers plays a part in all of this and they have a chapter at the Roger Williams Zoo located on 1000 Elmwood Avenue in Providence. To benefit the organization as well as celebrating the release of a collaborative brown ale called “Echolocation”, Buttonwoods Brewery will be putting on an event called “Crafts for Conservation” within their annex on 530 Wellington Avenue in Cranston on October 6.

From 5-9pm, there’s going to be an animal art sale, brews courtesy of both Buttonwoods and Origin Beer Project and food being served up by Screaming Unicorn. As with all the events at the brewery, “Crafts for Conservation” is both dog friendly and family friendly.

“We have partnered with the zookeepers at Roger Williams Park Zoo to brew a series of collaborative beers as fundraisers for animal conservation efforts,” says Buttonwoods’ Tasting Room Manager Jennie Paquin. “Last year, Lauren Puccia from the Roger Williams Zoo’s branch of the American Association of Zookeepers approached us about hosting a fundraiser for animal conservation. AAZK is a country wide network of animal care professionals with a mission of raising awareness and raising funds for animal conservation both locally and globally. We both share passions for craft beer and wildlife so we were excited to combine our efforts and design and brew a beer with all of the proceeds being donated to animal conservation efforts. We released our first collaborative beer, a Czech amber lager named ‘Call of the Wild’ for Red Wolf Conservation back in January of this year.”

“The second ‘Crafts for Conservation’ beer is a brown ale we named ‘Echolocation’ because this time, all proceeds are going to bats,” she adds. ‘The zookeepers will have some animal artwork for sale, Screaming Unicorn will be onsite serving sandwiches and snacks, and with Halloween right around the corner, we are making it a bat costume party! So don your batty-est attire and come drink some beer for a good cause with us this Friday! If you can't make it on Friday, come by another time soon and grab a pour or cans of ‘Echolocation’ while it lasts!”

Believe it or not, more than 200 bat species around the world are either critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable. Through this event, the Roger Williams Zoo’s chapter for the American Association of Zookeepers plans on giving the funds raised to various organizations to stabilize these bat populations and prevent them from going extinct.

“Every year our AAZK chapter chooses new conservation groups to donate to,” Puccia mentions. “We are always looking for ways to reach more people, especially if we can support a local business and help more endangered species. Our first time doing this fundraiser we chose one of the more endangered species we house at the Roger Williams Park Zoo. This second time we wanted to help something that people may not think about as much for needing help and support. We are so excited to continue to grow this event and give back to our community & our environment at the same time.”

After you get out of work on Friday, if you’re looking for an early start to your evening, or you’re just aiming to start the weekend off with a couple beers, stop by Buttonwoods Brewery. It’s a great place to hang out at, you’re probably going to be seeing someone wearing a funny looking bat costume and it’s all going to be for a great cause.