The Saigh Foundation gave $1.5 million to the Saint Louis Zoo to endow the position of the Fred Saigh Director of Education. The endowment will provide support for the leadership of the Zoo’s Education Department. Now in its 50th year, the Education Department is led by the inaugural Fred Saigh Director of Education, Louise Bradshaw. One of the nation’s largest zoo-based education departments, it was established by the legendary Marlin Perkins and was one of the first of its kind. Connecting the Zoo’s conservation efforts in the field to the work done on the Zoo’s 90-acre campus, the department offers 3,900 programs and typically reaches more than 1.7 million visitors each year.