Trust Chair reportCommunity Connections
Wellington Zoo and Go Wellington continued their partnership and again ran the ‘Catch the bus to the Zoo and get in for half price’ promotion. This promotion took place throughout May and just over 13% of all adult Zoo visitors in May caught the bus. Encouraging Zoo visitors to catch the bus helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reinforces our conservation messages.
Our third annual neighbours’ barbecue held in conjunction with Wellington City Council’s City Housing unit was extremely successful. A fine summer evening saw over 650 of our closest neighbours come and explore the Zoo, and learn all about what we do. This barbecue is an important way for the Zoo to connect with our local community, especially those who live next to us but who may not normally visit the Zoo.
‘$2 Winter Wednesdays’ in August at Wellington Zoo were particularly popular this year. Over 3,000 people visited the Zoo on the last Wednesday of the month – our busiest day of the year. Our discounted entry rates provide community groups and families, who may not normally be able to afford a Zoo visit, an opportunity to spend the day at Wellington Zoo.
Wellington Zoo, alongside The Dominion Post, made an appearance in this year’s Wellington city and Hutt city Santa Parades. The Dominion Post sponsored the animal themed float, and volunteers from both organisations ensured a lively Zoo presence in the parade.
Community integration
A number of our Zoo volunteers work with us through different community integration programmes. One of our volunteers came to us through Emerge, who provide a range of supported employment services for people with disabilities seeking employment in Wellington.
For the past three years we have hosted students from St Bernard’s College in Lower Hutt through the Gateway (run through the Tertiary Education Commission) programme. Gateway is a programme designed to ease the transition from school to work, by providing students with the opportunity to combine school study with workplace learning and experience. One of the Gateway students from this year has enjoyed his time with the visitor experience team at the Zoo so much, he has now committed to volunteering in his own time.
We also have a volunteer who has been at the Zoo for over two years who has come to us through Timata Hou. He helps out with groundskeeping and general maintenance tasks around the Zoo. Timata Hou was set up in 1997 to provide intensive rehabilitative support to people who have complex behaviour as well as an intellectual disability, to integrate them into the community and increase their independence. Timata Hou is the only service provided by IHC that has a rehabilitation focus.
Publicity and media
Wellington Zoo has enjoyed a high profile in local and national media this year. Many stories were about the comings and goings of animals in the Zoo – the births of Beni the chimp and Sir Ed the red panda, the arrival of Seun the giraffe and Jin and Jala the otters. The death of Ricky the giraffe, the departure of Aide the golden lion tamarin and the three red panda females were all also covered. The tuatara release was also well represented in the media. The strangest story of the year concerned tarantulas that had allegedly escaped in Wanganui en route to Auckland Zoo – a mystifying hoax.
The Dominion Post featured a ‘zoo animal of the day’ in its summer magazine and our monthly Monkey Business slot on the Classic Hits breakfast show – featuring an interview with a zoo keeper – has proved popular. This year Wellington Zoo has also collaborated with Weta Productions Ltd. on a new children’s television show to be set in a city zoo.