Trust Chair reportTrust Chair report
As Chair of the Wellington Zoo Trust I am pleased to reflect on our achievements over the past year as we continue the pursuit of our dream to become the 'best little zoo in the world'.
The Zoo has had a year of triumph – our Chief Executive Karen Fifield won the prestigious Wellingtonian of the Year – Environment award, and the Zoo as a whole won the inaugural Encore Award for Business Environmental Leadership. These awards, among others, confirm our place as an organisation with an important conservation and sustainability role to play in our community.
I have been particularly pleased with the capital development works for this year and I know that The Hub will be a place in the heart of our Zoo that our visitors and staff will enjoy. Though we said goodbye to the old elephant house, we have honoured its role in our history by naming our stunning new function centre Kamala’s, after our last elephant, who died in 1983. Like the elephant house did in the past, the new capital works will give us the settings to create life long memories and magical moments of connection with wildlife for future generations of Wellingtonians.
Our Trustees have again made a real difference with their dedication to the Zoo. This year we bid farewell to Celia Wade-Brown as she took up the Mayoral chains and welcomed Simon ‘Swampy’ Marsh as our new Councillor representative on our Board. We thank Celia for her hard work during her time on the Wellington Zoo Trust Board and her continued support for the Zoo as Mayor.
We thank our supporters and partners for their continued belief in what we do at the Zoo. We are most grateful for the support of our principal funder, Wellington City Council and the positive relationship we have with all the Councillors and Officers.
We received industry approval this year through a thorough and successful Accreditation review by our industry peers. The review involved a comprehensive documentation of our Zoo’s policies and procedures and a three day site review which involved inspections and staff interviews. Only those member zoos which meet or exceed 21st century standards are accredited by the Zoo Aquarium Association.
As we move into 2011-12 we are very clear about the important place Wellington Zoo has in our community. The Zoo team is committed to delivering the very best animal care, learning, conservation programmes, partnerships, sustainability outcomes and visitor engagement at the ‘best little zoo in the world’.
Ross Martin
Chair, Wellington Zoo Trust