Budding conservationist holds lemonade stand

Driving down the neighborhood streets of Vestavia Hills on a summer afternoon, there is a good chance of coming upon a lemonade stand or two.

And while many young Vestavians use the promise of refreshments and snacks to support their budding entrepreneurial instincts, not many have as lofty goals as Collins Machen.

Collins, 4, spent Tuesday afternoon waving at neighbors and passersby to encourage them to purchase a lemonade to “Save the Animals.”

Collins’ mother Kristen Machen said it all started on their last trip to the Birmingham Zoo, when after the Avian Adventure Free-Flight Bird Show the zoo was collecting donations, but she didn’t have her purse with her.

Collins and her mom still wanted to do something to support the cause, so they decided to have a lemonade stand.

With help from friends at the Vestavia Jimmy John’s location, who donated cookies to accompany the lemonade, Collins, her mom and her friends set up shop on Merryvale Road. Their stand was marked with a “Save the Animals” poster, complete with hand-drawn animals.

And this show of support isn’t an isolated event, Machen said. 

Every night, she said Collins prays that the poachers will “be nice” and stop hurting animals in South America and Africa.

Collins, who said her favorite animal is a giraffe, said that she is concerned the animals “will be extinct,” and that she wants to help save them.

Machen said the family spends a lot of time at the Birmingham Zoo, which has only grown Collins’ interest in animals and conservation.

“I feel like we live at the zoo,” she said.

She also said that Collins wants to grow up to own her own zoo one day to further the Species Survival Plan, a program developed in the 1980s to help protect species on the verge of extinction.

Proceeds from the lemonade stand will be donated to the Zoo and Animal Behavior and Conservation Connections.