The Nest – Te Kōhanga opens – a giant leap forward in the redevelopment journey at Wellington Zoo

Excitement is building at Wellington Zoo as preparations are finalised for the official opening of The Nest – Te Kōhanga, Wellington Zoo’s animal hospital and centre for native wildlife care, on Wednesday 9 December 2009.

Mayor of Wellington Kerry Prendergast will officially open the new hospital – the most ambitious project in the Zoo’s 103 year history and the largest project of the Zoo’s ten year redevelopment programme.

“The Nest – Te Kōhanga will add a new dimension to visitor experience at the Zoo, as well as significantly enhancing the level of care we give our Zoo animals and injured native animals brought in to us from our local community,” Wellington Zoo Chief Executive Karen Fifield said.

“At present the great work done by our veterinary team takes place behind the scenes, so this new hospital is a fantastic opportunity to turn the Zoo ‘inside out’ and engage our visitors with the work we do to care for our animals.

Each of the main treatment rooms at The Nest – Te Kōhanga feature large viewing windows, offering visitors a unique first-hand look at our veterinary team in action as they deliver first-class animal care using state-of-the-art equipment.

All animal check-ups and operations between 10am–4pm each day will be on display to visitors, and Zoo staff will provide expert step-by-step commentary on live procedures. Visitors can also play on a new nest like sculpture created by Weta Workshop.

The Nest – Te Kōhanga, which cost approximately $6 million to develop, contains seven holding enclosures and a salt water pool. This range of facilities will enable the Zoo to treat most native animals brought in by the community and almost every animal in our collection.

And, as expected from an organisation recently crowned People’s Choice at the National Sustainable Business Network Awards 2009, Wellington Zoo has developed The Nest – Te Kōhanga with sustainability front of mind – including recycled concrete accounting for 70% of the total used in the building.

Photo opportunity:
After the Mihi Mihi whakatau and opening ceremony on Wednesday 9 December 2009 (at approx. 9.10am) there will be an opportunity to photograph an animal procedure, conducted by our veterinary team with dignitaries present, inside The Nest – Te Kōhanga.

Wellington Zoo is a charitable trust principally funded by the Wellington City Council

For more information on this story, or any other enquiry regarding Wellington Zoo, please contact Matt Kennard, Marketing and Communications Advisor, on 04 801 4788 or email matt.kennard@wellingtonzoo.com

The Nest – Te Kōhanga
Additional information

What is so special about The Nest – Te Kōhanga?

* It is the largest, most ambitious project in the Zoo’s 103 year history.
* It will enable our team to continue to offer first-class care to the majority of our Zoo animals – as well as injured native animals – on-site, and treat marine life for the first time in a new custom built salt water pool.

What can visitors expect?

* Every day there will be at least one scheduled veterinary procedure taking place at The Nest – Te Kōhanga (at 2pm).
* This will involve our expert team talking audiences through exactly what’s going on as it happens.
* As it is a working animal hospital, visitors will never know quite what to expect on the day; one day it could be a chimpanzee with toothache, the next a kiwi with a sore beak.

How much did it all cost?

* In total The Nest – Te Kōhanga cost $6 million to create – with the Zoo fundraising an amazing $1.5 million of the total.
* Wellington City Council provided funding for the remaining $4.5 million, as part of the Zoo’s ten year redevelopment plan.

How sustainable is The Nest – Te Kōhanga?

* In addition to recycled concrete making up 70% of the total usage, The Nest – Te Kōhanga also features a rain water recovery system, solar water heating and other recycled materials were used wherever possible.

When can the community start bringing in injured native animals for treatment?

* There is no exact date set for this as yet, but it will most likely be in three months. However we will not turn animals away if they are in need of help.
* The reason for this is want to make sure our veterinary team is completely comfortable in its new working environment before we add any further responsibilities to its role.
* We do not anticipate there being a long delay before we can open the facility up to care for native animals, and we will make an announcement in due course.

ENDS

© Scoop Media