The chimps were outside bright and early this morning to welcome the return of the sun to Central Washington.
Archive for the ‘Construction’ Category
Sun!
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010Greenhouse update
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010I wish I had more progress to report, but the weather has been awful. Still, we’ve managed to start installing panels on the roof and we’ve nearly completed one wall. From the inside, the view is somewhat distorted but it lets in nearly all the light. We’re all excited for the chimps to have more space in the winter. Now all we need is some sun!
Greenhouse Update
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010We’re getting closer! Volunteer Jim Spencer has been coming all the way from Whidbey Island to help with construction, and together we’ve nearly completed the framing.
The greenhouse won’t be heated, but the polycarbonate panels should trap enough solar heat to make it comfortable on a sunny day. This morning, Annie spent a little time outside, despite the temperature being in the 30’s. With the greenhouse, she should be able to hang out in the outdoor area a lot more often.
Also, while the chimps love to eat snow, they don’t like to walk in it. Foxie will appreciate not having to tip toe through the cold snow to get to where she wants to go.
YOU did it!
Monday, December 14th, 2009Yay!! Big thanks to Barb in Ohio for her generous pledge for the last $$ needed for the window fund. You’ve raised the money needed to replace one of the caged windows with clear chimp-proof glass!
Thank you to Anna K. for initiating this window fundraising and to Denice, Jill K., Julie H., Gayle B., Theresa, Jeani, Candy, Kathy B., Leslie S., Sue and Jack, Stephanie P., Steph and Kurt, Donna A. and now Barb in Ohio. What a wonderful x-mas gift for the chimpanzees! Thank you also to an anonymous donor and friend who is sending a cash gift for the sanctuary and offered to have that gift go towards the window, if needed. The Cle Elum Seven have the best supporters!
There was a big snowstorm overnight, so winter is here. We’ll keep you updated on the timeline for installing the window. In the meantime, be thinking of Negra’s new view and another window for Jody to lick :)
$900 to go for the cageless view
Monday, December 7th, 2009We’re more than halfway to a new chimp-proof glass window. Anna Kircher kicked it off with the challenge pledge of $1000 and $600 more was pledged almost immediately. Thank you Anna for initiating this gift and to all who responded so quickly. Replacing one of the windows that currently has a safety cage over it with clear chimp-proof glass will make a significant difference in the lives of the chimps. And we only need $900 more! Please see Anna’s original post and the responses so far: http://www.chimpsanctuarynw.org/blog/?p=3082
Thank you!!
Greenhouse construction continues
Saturday, December 5th, 2009More progress on the greenhouse, thanks to Jim and John Spencer. Today was cold, but when the sun was out you could imagine how nice it will be inside once we’re done.
Challenge gift for a new window!
Friday, December 4th, 2009Anna K. is pledging to give $1000 towards a new chimp proof window if we can raise the remaining $1500 to cover the costs of installation. Come on blog readers!! All of us staff will tell you what a huge difference the window makes. It lets in so much more light and the chimps absolutely love it. There are a lot of windows in the playroom with caging that we could replace with clear chimp-proof glass. Imagine seeing Negra looking out at the valley without having to look through bars.
Share Anna’s challenge (below) with others and let’s see how quickly we can give the chimps another view!
From Anna:
Ok – I’m thinking grandly here. But sometimes if you have high aspirations, the universe surprises you by coming through! :-)
One of the b-i-i-i-g things on CSNW’s wish list is another chimp-proof window. And it’s so heartwarming to see how much the chimps are enjoying the one they have – wouldn’t it be great if they could have another?!
It costs about $2500 total to acquire all the parts/materials/labor to install a chimp-proof window. I’d be willing to seed the pot with $1000. I’m wondering if there might be 15 folks out there each willing to throw in $100?
Any takers? Could we gather enough money by Christmas to collectively give the chimps another window this winter? If you’re interested in participating, please reply here in the blog or contact me off-line at kirchera at hotmail dot com.
Kudos and cyber-hugs will be freely distributed to partners in this venture – I’ve got my fingers crossed for another cage-less view of the world for the chimps!!
The new door
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009On Sunday, the chimps got to use the new door for the first time. We do our best to keep things interesting around here, but the facility itself doesn’t change that often, so the chimps are always very excited and very curious to see the improvements.
Anytime there is a major change, whether in the social group or in their environment, the chimps like to reassure each other and seek comfort amidst the excitement. You’ll notice a lot of greeting, hugging, and submissive behavior in this video (Foxie kissing Burrito, Jody greeting me with a “genital bounce”, Annie kissing Jody, Annie and Missy submitting to Burrito who is off-camera).
We serendipitously discovered that the chimpanzees appreciate having fire hoses hanging just outside the door. The hoses were there previously, but once we installed the door, many of the chimps used them to climb from the door up to the the platform outside without setting foot on the wet ground. That’s one of the strange things about caring for ex-lab chimps (any captive chimps, really). Wet ground is a fact of life for free-living chimps, but it can be unpleasant and even terrifying for individuals who have spent a lifetime indoors. We used to place tractor tires outside so that Foxie could use them as stepping stones, but now we’ll have to hang some more fire hose by the other door.
More construction!
Thursday, November 12th, 2009We spent the last two days installing the new pneumatic door that will allow the chimps to go from the front rooms directly to the outdoor area. The door is in, but there’s a little more work to be done before the chimps can have access to that area. Hopefully we will be able to post photos of the chimps using their new door this weekend.
I’d like to thank the very generous – and very patient – donors who made this project possible. It took a little longer to complete than I had anticipated, but thanks to you, the chimps will soon have more freedom to move around the sanctuary as they please.
Construction volunteers needed
Friday, November 6th, 2009Construction continues this week on the greenhouse project, as we prepare to pour the concrete floor for what will be the 6′ x 10′ human area of the chimps’ winterized outdoor enclosure. Once our final building permit has been issued, we will begin constructing the framework for the polycarbonate greenhouse panels…weather permitting!
We are currently looking for more volunteers to help with construction. If you have building experience, or if you are simply willing to do manual labor in cold weather, we would appreciate your help! Please email jb@chimpsanctuarynw.org for more information.
