Our Mission is in a column in today's Oregonian

Anna Griffin, a columnist for the Oregonian, wrote today about our mission to get the zoo to provide a nursing room. The column can be found here. It highlighted the fact that while the zoo claims to be "very friendly toward nursing mothers", it considers being friendly the fact that it allows us to use their first aid rooms to nurse. Anna learned while visiting the zoo, that not only is there nothing that informs mothers about the fact that the first aid are available, but the staff is really not educated or informed about how "friendly" they are towards mothers.

What really disappointed me, however, was Oregon Zoo Director Tony Vecchio's response regarding the nursing room. He stated that they, "are using every square foot of the zoo. The idea of providing rooms that will be empty 99 percent of the time just isn't realistic. Plus, honestly, this is not something that seems to be an issue for many mothers."

Ummm, empty 99 percent of the time? What? Clearly he has not been to any of the facilities that provide nursing rooms! Additionally, the fact that he said it was not something that is an issue for many mothers shows how out of touch he is with the many nursing mothers who frequent the zoo. Plus, I would like to compare it to the bride's room that the zoo has for weddings at the zoo. Whether it is "an out-of-the-way women's restroom" or not, are we to assume that this is used frequently? I assume Mr. Vecchio was including it when he stated that they are "using every square foot of the zoo".

When we met with Carmen Hannold and discussed the fact that more mothers would frequent the zoo and stay longer while at the zoo if they provided a nursing room, she stated that all nursing mothers are zoo members. Now Tony Vecchio is stating that a lack of a nursing room is not an issue for many mothers. Clearly it shows that the zoo believes that we nursing mothers will come anyway, so they do not need to do anything to help create a better and safer environment for nursing.

It is obvious that it is really not true that that zoo is, "willing to discuss options. And certainly with the $125 million bond measure, this would be a good time to have those discussions" regarding adding a nursing room, as zoo spokesman Bill La Marche stated in Noelle Crombie's article (found here).

The article showed me that we have a long way to go in our efforts to get the zoo to provide a nursing room. It is too bad that they do not consider this a priority.

The meeting. . .

Where to begin. . .
We are both grateful that two busy zoo staff members (Carmen Hannold and Jim Gilbert) were able to sit down with us for an hour and discuss this issue. We both found that Jim seemed much more sympathetic to the cause and may actually prove to be our greatest ally at the zoo.

There were many, many "shoot-downs" to our ideas and, as I said, many "foot-in-mouth" incidences. We were both shocked (from a PR perspective) that when the discrimination case was brought up, it was noted, "Well, the unfortunate thing about that is that there is nothing we can do about it now." After the meeting, we discussed the fact that there is actually a LOT that can be done, even now. I had the woman's card with me in case they asked for it, but they never did. Maybe we were hoping that they would request to contact her directly to try and get more information (where did this occur? when? does she know the staff member's name?) and offer a personal apology. Didn't happen. Maybe they don't realize the lawsuit that could have been slapped on the zoo for something like this, or possibly the bad press. I mentioned the fact that they don't realize how fortunate they are that the woman was so nonchalant about it. I provided the facts that when Delta asked a woman to cover-up while nursing, and then proceeded to kick her of a plane (it was grounded!) they had the worst press possible. There were protests and nurse-ins at hundreds of Ticket counters across the country, they had to make a public apology, and they settled with a monetary sum for the nursing mom.

Ultimately, when we left after the meeting, we were promised that the zoo will look into potential areas where a nursing room could fit. (It was mentioned that there is an unused janitor's closet at one location that could possibly work. . . ) We were told that their first step NOW will be to educate staff. We did not get more clarity on that, and this could be anything from a sentence at the end of an employee newsletter, to a requirement for all new employees and volunteers to be briefed on the laws and where nursing moms can have access to if they request privacy. Staff meeting info? Staff training? Not sure.

We also were given a commitment that the zoo would take a look at the First Aid rooms and try to figure out how to make them more accommodating for nursing moms. If a new nursing room was to be built, the earliest timeline for that would be Fall 2010. In the meantime, the possibility of an outdoor, "off the beaten path," space may be created for this summer for nursing moms to step off the path and nurse away from the 8,000 people walking by.

The meeting took a sour turn towards the end when this blog, chronicling the process, was mentioned. It was pointed out that one of the two staff members felt that we were "targeting the zoo" and nowhere else in Portland. To which we replied that: No other place in Portland hosts over 1.5 million guests a year, requires admission cost, receives public funding, whose primary demographic includes moms with children, does not have a nursing room facility, and who has discriminated against nursing moms. Who else would we "target?"

We hope that our thoughts and requests are taken seriously and commend the zoo for taking the next steps to look into this. We have many other insights from the meeting and would be happy to discuss further if anyone needs more info. Let us know! We'll keep you all (all two of you) posted!

A grade for our meeting

A few quick updates in case your checking in (all two of you):
1. I will post a meeting summary tonight. Apologies that it is taking so long - that's life with two kids and my computer was turned off all day yesterday for some electrical work (what to do?!). It was actually a nice break. I stoked the fire and sat in the rocker reading Bronte and Austin. The horse had a lame shoe as well, so there was no going to the library.

2. I don't know what grade Sara would give the meeting, even though we have had many conversations since then, but I am going to give it a C. Could have gone a lot better, could have been a lot worse. There were many, many foot in mouth incidences (not on our part) that we found jaw-dropping.

3. Please, keep signing the petition. It is running for at least 6 more months and we are enormously grateful for all of your opinions, input and time you are taking to support the cause and keep our heads above water. Thank you!
okay, we're off to have soup . . . If the horse can pull the carriage.

A Meeting Is Scheduled!!

Yahoo! The zoo just called this morning and Carmen is willing to meet with us! We are scheduled for Wednesday, March 25th. Sara and I are meeting this morning to go over our plan and put everything we need on paper. Is there anything you think we should mention regarding the nursing room? Let us know - now is your chance!

Good news comes with Bad News

If you are checking in to see where we are at, I called the Deputy Director of Operations at the zoo on Monday to follow-up on our letter requesting a meeting. Voicemail, urg, left a message, and still have not heard back. Sara and I will be contacting Bill (see the Omamas article) to continue the conversation. We’ll definitely keep you posted!

The bad news is that I was at a small mom’s gathering in Hillsboro on Saturday night. I (of course) mentioned the blog and mission. One of the moms commented, “Oh, I was nursing my baby there last year when a zoo employee came out and told me I had to move!”

I gasped. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. Maybe it was because I was on a bench outside of the farm where there were classes going on, I don’t know . . .”

Oh, that is soooo not good for so many reasons. I don’t need to list all of them here – we all know them. But the most important one to mention is that the law is on our side. We have the right to nurse in public – and this zoo employee was way out of line. It sealed the deal for us that the zoo most desperately NEEDS at least one nursing room on zoo grounds. NOT a first aid room that doubles as a nursing room, but an official space dedicated to nursing moms with their children.

Stay tuned. . . . .

Mamas on a Mission is in the news!

On Monday, I spoke with Noelle Crombie, a journalist for the Oregonian and one of the authors of Omamas, the Oregonians parenting blog located on their Oregonlive.com website. It is a wonderful site, written by mamas, for mamas. You can find the article she wrote about our mission to get the Oregon Zoo to add a nursing room here!

Although we have not yet heard from the zoo in regards to our letter requesting a meeting, from Noelle's article, it sounds like they expressed interest in meeting with us about creating a nursing room! Amy is planning on following up with the zoo today regarding our meeting request, since it has been two weeks since we sent the letter. I hope she will be able to share some good news!

$125 MILLION - TAX MONEY TO ZOO!

Did I mention that the voters just recently approved a $65 MILLION bond for the zoo to make improvements? My mistake. . . It was actually $125 MILLION of tax money for the zoo. (In case you are wondering, I know that my husband and I voted YES on this issue.) Here is the rundown from the Multnomah County Elections:

SAFETY; CONSERVE, RECYCLE WATER
Question: Shall Zoo protect animal health and safety; conserve,
recycle water; issue $125 million in general obligation
bonds; require independent audits?
If the bonds are approved, they will be payable from taxes on
property or property ownership that are not subject to the limits
of Sections 11 and 11b, Article XI of the Oregon Constitution
Summary : Measure will:
• Provide more humane care for animals: update four outdated
and undersized enclosures with larger, more natural and
safer spaces.
• Protect animal health and safety: modernize Zoo’s substandard
45 year old animal clinic determined deficient by the
American Zoo Association.
• Increase access to conservation education: provide more
space for summer camps, classes and hands-on learning for
kids, adults, and families.
• Improve water quality: replace the Zoo’s 1950’s sewer
system, reducing pollution by separating sewage from storm
water, harvesting runoff for reuse.
• Conserve, reuse water: install water recycling filtration systems;
replace leaking, worn-out plumbing, irrigation systems,
saving 11,000,000 gallons of water annually.
Improvements will meet sustainability standards.
Accountability requirements include:
• Internal audits
• Annual independent financial audit published in newspaper
• Citizens’ oversight committee to monitor spending and recommend
project modifications if needed
Bond cost estimate less than 9 cents per $1,000 assessed
value per year. The average home owner in the region pays
$1.40 a month. Bonds mature in 21 years or less.

Hmmmm. . . did anyone note the additional spaces to be included? I ask, "Why in the world can't a nursing room be a part of this??" What are your thoughts? It's our money after all.

Confirm your signature

Oops! We have had several people let us know that they signed the petition. However, their names never showed up on the list. We quickly figured out that some folks were clicking to "sign" the petition, but then moving out of the next screen before confirming the signature. We felt it was imperative to note that you will need to do this two-step process in order for your signature to count.
Sara and I really appreciate you taking the time to do this and to send it along to anyone you think may be interested. It all means a lot to us and to the future of our nursing room campaign!
Thank you!

My Conversation with Utah's Hogle Zoo

In doing our research about a nursing room at the zoo, we discovered that in 2001 Utah's Hogle Zoo became the first zoo in the United States to provide a room solely designated for nursing mothers. When we discovered this, we were really surprised, and a little saddened, that zoos did not commonly provide a facility for nursing mothers.

This morning I spoke to Doug Lund, Assistant Director of Administration/Finance at the Hogle Zoo. Up until December 2008, Mr. Lund had been their Capital Projects Associate Director. I learned some very interesting information during my discussing with Mr. Lund.

First, I feel it is important to note that Mr. Lund was not aware that the Hogle Zoo was the first zoo in the country to provide a nursing room. He was actually pretty surprised by this information. I had been hoping that he would rattle off a bunch of statistics and information for me about their reasons for adding a nursing room, but he said that reason was mostly that it seemed important to the demographic using their zoo. Something to which we mama's can certainly attest!

Secondly, they consider the Oregon Zoo to be their "sister zoo" because they have a similar layout and demographic. In fact, when they were planning their 2001 entrance remodel (in which they added the nursing room) they had a team visit the Oregon Zoo to get ideas for their layout and design!

Mr. Lund also informed me that the room, which is located off of a woman's restroom, has quieters to eliminate outside noise and has wall sconces, as apposed to overhead lights, to make it more comfortable. They also have family restrooms throughout their zoo.

While I was hoping to get a few more statistics about their nursing room, I was encouraged by the fact that the Hogle Zoo considers our zoo to be their a "sister". Although, I have to say that the Hogle Zoo has done a lot more to make their zoo family-friendly.

I hope that the Oregon Zoo can use their "sister" as a model of what a family-friendly zoo looks like. After all, we families make up a very large portion of their demographic.

We shall not be moved . . .

I need to print a retraction here to clarify the locked doors to the First Aid rooms. Yes, it is true that the door to the station located in the Africa café area (in the “middle” of the zoo) is a locked facility. We have absolutely no idea about the door to the First Aid station in the administration building, as we have never been able to even find it! The station in the entrance to the zoo is not locked. You do not need to find a zoo employee to open it for you.

But that means, as Sara found out, there is not any element of privacy. During her nursing session she was constantly concerned that someone was going to come in. And although I know that she personally would not have really cared, had that happened, she was in there representing ALL nursing moms and trying to experience how the First Aid room is unsuitable as a nursing room.

I feel the need to point out the the Oregon Zoo has four (yes four!) stations set up for smokers - three inside the zoo and one just outside the enterance on zoo grounds. These include signs, benches, ashtrays and a place on the map. So if you smoked, you could easily locate several different places where the zoo welcomes you to partake in your enjoyment. But if you need to feed your offspring with what nature intended them to be fed with - you might as well hop in the chimp cage. Although the soaking pool for the hippos looks nice too . . .

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We also had an interesting conversation today about the sadness we both felt at the forum comments regarding the recent Oregon mall discrimination (see link below in previous post). The situation in and of itself is tragic on so many levels – including the fact that the employee was responding to a complaint made by another woman. This just baffles us – and so many others – as we cannot understand why women are not unified and supportive of other mothers who are nursing. I think we both feel that even if you do not or did not breastfeed, that you still need to be supportive of other women who choose to do so. If women are not going to stand by each other, how do we expect all of society to?

We hope that this mission is not viewed as anti-nursing in public. We are absolutely not discouraging moms from nursing at the zoo, or anywhere for that matter, wherever and whenever they need to – in fact, we encourage that. But, as stated in our first entry, we do believe that a public facility the size of the zoo, that caters to families, needs to provide a more adequate alternative for moms who seek the option.

We are reminded of the saying, “We shall not be moved," except that we may darn well move ourselves into a nice, cozy nursing room . . . if we want to.