Our Sanctuary project in Idaho at the Earthfire Institute where 4 Grizzly Bear are patiently waiting to watch the construction of their new Bear Gardens and wondering why it takes humans so long to do things! The Team has been talking about this project since the start of the Pandemic. We've had some setbacks, but now we are moving ahead having completed Schematic design. We are now expecting a cost estimate from our local contractor. I'm afraid this will shock everyone as apparently Idaho is experience a building boom! and what contractor wants to work on a Grizzly Bear Sanctuary when they can charge millions on a mini mansion in the suburbs. The Bears deserve the whole project, not just a value engineered shadow of its complete self - but i'm sure we will be staring at cuts soon.

In new projects, our dear friend Dr. Terry Maple has been working his whole career to be able to integrate animal behavior with wildlife conservation and animal health and education in a centralized "Wellness Center". He asked us to work with his team at Jacksonville Zoo to pull together a plan of what this facility will look like. While this will bring cross-pollenation across several disciplines to better the lives of animals in captivity, it will, in its public galleries, show the zoo goers just what it takes to care for the wide range of animals at the zoo. We are excited to work with Terry again, but more excited to be apart of a project that can move the ball forward for animal wellness at Zoos.

At the Oklahoma City Zoo five years ago, we were part of a team that charted a course for development of several new projects/exhibits at the Zoo in a Concept Master Plan. That $70M plan was approved and work has been non-stop since then. While not all the project have been completed, most have and it is time to revisit the plan and refine the future goals and make course corrections based on what's been learned so far. They have rebuilt their African Zone in the heart of the Zoo, created a new Education Center, worked with the local Girl Scout leadership to build a state of the art Camp on the zoo's land across the lake and we have been involved with building a new Andean Condor Exhibit, Galapagos Tortoise Habitat as well as improving the Orangutan habitat, Wild dog and Cheetah habitats. Huge projects, small projects and meaningful projects for the whole community. We look forward to taking a look at what's been done, and what still needs to be done as the zoo continues to grow and make necessary improvements for the benefit of the animals in their care.

At our Bear Manor Belize, we have finally moved in and are enjoying the fruits of the labors of host of wonderful people. We had expert masons, woodworkers, electricians for our solar system, our house electrical systems and for our A/C's. We've had tile workers & painters and we've had tree workers, grading contractors and landscapers all putting their quality mark on our home to create what we so proudly call Bear Manor Belize. While it is a downsize for us, it's a huge step up in creating a tailor made place to call home in a dramatically beautiful site and a huge house compared to the homes most Belizean live in. This country cares for their people and tourists who visit and offer a wide range of activities for everyone to make the most of their lives. Everyone we've come into contact with has been wonderful and have helped us move our personal ball forward into our next phase of our lives.

We are looking forward to 2022 and hope you are too. We have to all move our individual balls forward to make a difference for this planet. Now is the time to make the changes that need to be made so we can live in a place we can all be proud of and live our best life. Good luck to us all!