From the News: Tucsonan Rick Dyson 'changed the world for animals'

Tucsonan Rick Dyson built natural zoo habitats 'changed the world for animals'

If there's one thing I've harped on over and over in this blog, it's that zoos aren't just animals, or the buildings that hold them.  They are the people who work there, forming a community that supports the institution and its mission.  And not just the keepers and vets, who we most often think of, but the educators, groundskeepers, commissary, security, maintenance, office support staff, and administration.  It takes a village to run a zoo.  Some people flit in and out of the field without making much of a difference - or, sometimes, making a bad difference.  Other people come in and change everything.

Among those folks was Rick Dyson, who recently departed.

Dyson was a visionary architect of natural zoo exhibit design, who practiced his trade at zoos across the country, from Seattle to Atlanta.  He's probably best known for his pioneering work at the Arizona- Sonora Desert Museum, creating habitats that were so seamless with the surrounding desert that at times it was difficult to tell where the desert ended and the zoo began.  His work was a tremendous boon the quality of life of zoo animals, the experience and education of visitors, and the conservation efforts of zoos everywhere.  He will be missed.  His work lives on in the continued efforts of zoos to rebuild themselves into havens for wildlife.