The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has extended a special offer to members of The Cummer, through our Cultural Fusion partnership. Museum members can pay the same low, discounted rate for Zoo Fit classes that the Zoo members pay: $4.50 for drop-ins and $25 for a 10-walk pass. The program is conducted on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. at the Zoo. This unique class gives you the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the Zoo’s award-winning gardens and listen to the animals as they are waking up in the morning, all while getting a great aerobic workout from an experienced professional.
The Zoo Fit aerobic walks are led by Katie Buckley, an experienced marathon runner, past tri-athlete, and police academy PT instructor. Ms. Buckley has also trekked many of the world’s non-technical mountains and trails, including the Santa Teresa trail to Machu Picchu, circumnavigating Mont Blanc through Switzerland, Italy and France, Mount Toubkal in Morocco, the highest peak in North Africa, Spain’s Camino de Santiago, the 7 Capes Trek in Turkey, and most recently Torres del Paine in Patagonia, Chili.
Kangaroos, a sunrise on the Trout River, and standing mere inches from the peacocks.
I have personally been going to the Saturday classes for a few months now, and not only is Katie a great instructor, but it is a wonderful way to start the weekend. Every week we experience some aspect of the Zoo that is outside of what you see during regular business hours. I have been able to see zookeepers feeding a leopard, peacocks have come right up to us, and I know more than I every thought I needed to about the scientific importance of frogs.
For more information on the Zoo Fit program and the other programs offered, please see the Zoo’s website.
