Detroit Zoo Trails Earn SITES Gold Certification

The Fred and Barbara Erb Discovery Trails became the Detroit Zoological Society's first voluntary third-party sustainability certification project.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Wildlife

Rain garden of native grasses and sedges beside pale gray permeable pavers and a weathered timber footbridge under overcast light. — The Detroit Zoo's Fred and Barbara Erb Discovery Trails earned SITES Gold certification from Green Business Certification Inc. in July 2026, scoring 115 points across all ten categories. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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In July 2026, the Fred and Barbara Erb Discovery Trails at the Detroit Zoo earned SITES Gold certification from Green Business Certification Inc. The 7-acre, $20 million family experience scored 115 points across all ten SITES categories.

Why it matters

The certification shows the project met all 18 mandatory SITES prerequisites while achieving 37 additional credits, with zero credits denied. It documents the Zoo's approach to stormwater and waste management on a large built-environment project.

The project's stormwater system keeps an estimated 6 million gallons out of the sewer system, and 89% of construction and demolition waste was diverted from landfill. Its irrigation water use fell 61% compared with the baseline.

The players

Detroit Zoological Society

The Detroit Zoological Society operates the Detroit Zoo and oversaw the Discovery Trails project as its first voluntary third-party sustainability certification.

Green Business Certification Inc.

Green Business Certification Inc. is the organization that administers the SITES rating system and awarded the Gold certification to the project.

The details

Before construction, all stormwater from the site flowed into the regional combined sewer. The project added about 0.9 acres of bioretention and rain gardens, roughly 4,100 square feet of permeable clay pavers, and extended detention, and the Zoo milled removed black locust trees into Treetop Crossing and the Canopy Trail.

- July 2026: Discovery Trails earned SITES Gold certification.
- November 4, 2026: Article published about the certification.

Roadmap

The certification applies the SITES framework, which evaluates landscapes against a point-based scoring system, to a zoo habitat rather than a conventional park or campus. It extends third-party sustainability verification into an attraction setting where wildlife habitat and visitor infrastructure intersect.

Detroit Zoo visitors experience the Discovery Trails' habitat and stormwater features directly on the grounds. The project's reduced sewer load and lower irrigation use affect the Red Run subwatershed and the Clinton River downstream.

The takeaway

A large attraction can meet a rigorous third-party sustainability standard while reusing site materials and managing stormwater on-site. Readers planning zoo visits can view the trails' habitat features as an example of these practices in action.