The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee invites the public to join in celebrating World Elephant Day at The Sanctuary’s new Outdoor Classroom in Hohenwald, Tenn., Saturday, August 12 with special programming at 11 am and 1:30 pm. This celebration will be an opportunity for friends and families to meet and interact with The Sanctuary’s elephant caregivers and help make special enrichment treats for the elephants while touring The Elephant Discovery Center’s new Outdoor Classroom exhibits.

Visitors to the Elephant Discovery Center’s Outdoor Classroom are invited to take a self-guided tour to learn about the role of elephants as keystone species in their native habitats, ongoing conservation efforts to protect them, and the features and behaviors unique to their species.

Nashville-based artist Alex Lockwood has also been commissioned to design a life-sized Asian elephant sculpture, to be revealed on World Elephant Day. The sculpture is being created out of community-sourced, recycled tires.

As the elephants at The Sanctuary are retired from public exhibition, there will be no elephants at the Outdoor Classroom.