Just last year, the Watertown zoo, Zoo New York, was in dire financial straits and had announced it was shutting down for good, but after the community stepped up, it’s been gifted new life and leader said they plan to take full advantage.

For visitors to the zoo, seeing young children outside and having fun is what it's all about. 

"You can't help but smile. You know, everyone's having such a good time,” Zoo New York interim Executive Director Mark Irwin said. “This is what we would have missed out on if the zoo closed.”

In fact, this zoo did close about this same time last year after the zoo announced it ran out of money, laying off 65% of its staff and with no plan to reopen, Irwin said.

However, as the zoo transitioned into only caring for the animals until they could find them a new permanent home. New interim Executive Director Mark Irwin brought in a passion and an energy that excited new volunteers, brought in new donations. Through the success of events like "Boo at the Zoo", he even helped convince Watertown’s City Council to provide a lifeline of $250,000 in funding to reopen and reinvigorate it all.

Irwin said after it announced its closing, the zoo has received hundreds of volunteers who have put in thousands of hours of their time.

“It's more than just a zoo to everyone. It's a place to come together and spend family time. If you feel that you're going to lose something, that's when you know that you really care. We've seen that from our community,” he said

The zoo is ready to go and it's not just the present. This time, the zoo is focused on its future.

“We have that foundation or funding that enables us to put our attention towards planning, towards what our next steps will be. We can bring a level of strategy that we haven't been able to for quite some time,” Irwin said of what would be different this time around.