At the end of last year we headed to West Midlands Safari Park to run a half day team build for 27 participants, who worked together to build these floating feeders for the Parks resident male sealions!
The group did a fantastic job and the boys wasted no time in working out their new devices, with each individual employing a different technique to extract the fish!
#teambuilding #teambuildingactivities #corporatesocialresponsibility#corporateteambuilding
Hadlow Enclosure Build - Vlog 5 - It's coming together
We're at the point where things are really taking shape now. In Vlog 5, we look at all the developments in our first few days back after the Christmas break, and it's really great to see things start to get completed across the project. The mesh on enclosure 1 is so close to completion, the safety porch is done, the fronts of both enclosures are pretty much there, and we've even started on the gate access.
#Enrichment
This ball pit feeder was built during a team build at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. It's designed to fit in the encounter bench (made in an earlier team build) and really gets the meerkats searching and foraging for their food. It's also perfect for encounters, getting the psrticipants to load it with food.
#CSREvent #CSR #enrichment #meerkat #teambuilding #teambuild #corporatesocialresponsibility
Twycross Zoo Gorilla Release - New Enclosure Furniture Tested by the Gorilla Family
When we completed the gorilla enclosure refurb at Twycross Zoo it was great to see the gorillas let out for the first time. We spent 11 days working in the enclosure to created climbing, resting, feeding and privacy areas for the family, and to see them come out and explore their new space was fantastic, as seen in this video.
The family of gorillas is made up of different ages and abilities. And so the space was designed for all of them, with solid lower climbing structures and platforms, solid higher structures, and lots of dynamic climbing structures, roping and platforms throughout. This means all of the family have places to explore and relax, but it also means the more agile youngster has plenty to do as well.
We love the space and what we were able to achieve in it, and it's been fantastic to hear the feedback from the keepers about how the gorillas are getting on.
Meerkat encounter bench - Team Build at Yorkshire Wildlife Park
When we work with our partner collections, keepers often approach us about building something specific, and that's exactly what happened with this meerkat encounter bench at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. We had already created one during a team build for the outside enclosure, but the keepers also wanted an encounter bench for inside the house for when it's cold and wet.
The perfect group joined us on a team build to create this. The bench is exactly that, people can sit on top of it. However, it also works as a nest box (the door on the left lifts open, and the tray can be removed for easy cleaning). The slow broom head feeder in the centre can also be removed for cleaning and swapping out with other feeders. And finally, the ramp allows the meerkats to easily access the top of the bench.
It was great to see the meerkats let into the house and immediately start exploring. It's always amusing to see one of them try something, and then the rest follow. Watch as one goes into the nest box, and then the same again as one heads up the ramp to the top.
A huge well done to the team on creating this encounter bench, you all did an amazing job!
#Enrichment #CSREvent #CSR #teambuilding #teambuild #meerkat
Hadlow Enclosure Build - Vlog 4 - The structures take shape!
And just like that we are four blocks through the Hadlow College build, and have completed our last day for 2024. The majority of the main structures are complete, the mesh is now done on enclosure 1 and the overhang and front wall is 90% complete on enclosure 2. We are in a good place to take a break before we head back to the project on the 7th January for the final 3 or 4 blocks. It has been great to see this project come together so well, with the footage at the beginning of this video showing the progress in such a short period of time.
Squirrel monkey ball feeders - Team building event at Woburn Safari Park
We've made a couple of variations of this ball feeder in previous builds, and it was great to test it out with the squirrel monkeys at Woburn Safari Park. Over the two-hour team build, the group made several of these feeders, before they were taken to the squirrel monkeys to be tested for the first time. And they absolutely loved them.
Each feeder has several balls in it. The monkeys have to search between the balls to get to the food, moving the balls left and right until they can reach everything. The feeder has a hinged lid on one end for easy cleaning, and with multiple attachments on top of the feeder, they can be hung in or out of the enclosure, or even up on pulleys. And with a clear front and back, it makes them perfect for the public to see how the monkeys use them.
A huge well done to the group for making these, you all did an amazing job!
Jimmys Farm Team build - Lemur Enclosure Timelapse
A few days back we shared a video of a team build at Jimmy's Farm & Wildlife ParkWe shared a video of a team build at Jimmy's Farm & Wildlife Park a few days back, showing the build come to life. We thought you might like to see the timelapse from the build where you can see it all come together. From creating the platforms, building the firehose hammocks, and installing them all on the poles to linking it all together with the existing structures with firehose. It was great to transform this area of the enclosure, and the team did a fantastic job!
#Enrichment #Teambuilding #CSREvent #CSR
Twycross Zoo Gorilla Enclosure Walk Around
A giant spider web, built-in firehose hammocks, multiple platforms and visual barriers, floating platforms, ladders and feeding stations, roping, solid climbing structures and moving climbing structures. These are just some of the things that were built into the gorilla design at Twycross Zoo.
Why did we design it like this? The layout of our usable area in the enclosure provided us with an interesting challenge. Staying 5 meters away from the building and 8 meters away from the public barrier gave us a back-to-front '6', meaning we had a round area with a long thin area at the top. We eventually settles on the design on four main structures, all joined together with a lot of 'stuff', all designed with the gorilla family in mind. For the oldies, there are lots of resting areas and easy to access climbing places. For the younger, or those more willing to climb, there are plenty of high areas. And for those that simply want some peace and quiet, there are many visual barriers all around where they can get away from it all.
We love the design and how it makes the most of the space available, and we have had fantastic feedback from the keepers, colleagues in other collections, and most importantly the gorillas themselves. We've also had the usual "it's very busy", and our reply as always, it's built for the animals, not you ;-)
Thanks again to the team at Twycross, we had a great time working on this project, and it was a pleasure working with you all.
#Enrichment
Vlog 3 - Week 3 of the build - Mud, diggers, and a whole new enclosure
Week three of the Hadlow build has had us making a great start to the second enclosure of the Hadlow build. Because it will house a digging species, we've had the digger on site creating a deep channel to sink the mesh into the ground, erect the poles and get it all braced with the top framework.
We've completed the fence separating the enclosure from the goats and started on the safety porch, the front of enclosure 1, and the public stand-off barrier. It's been a challenging week, but the progress has been amazing. Fingers crossed for no wind next week so we can finish the roof of enclosure 1!
Join Chris as he shows you all the progress so far in Vlog 3 of the Hadlow College build.
#Enrichment
Lemur Enclosure Makeover - Team Build at Jimmys Farm
Towards the end of summer, we were joined by a group at Jimmy's Farm & Wildlife Park for a Team Build. As part of our information-gathering process, the group has asked to work outside, which led to us working in the lemur enclosure creating furniture in an unused area of the exhibit. We had a fantastic time, and the group did a great job building platforms, firehose hammocks, and joining everything together with more firehose, including onto the existing structures to link it all together.
And then it was time to let the lemurs out to give it their approval, and they explored everything!
A huge well done to the team for doing such a fantastic job, it was great working with you all.
#Teambuilding #teambuild #lemur #CSR #CSRevent
Hadlow Enclosure Build - Vlog 2 - The Roof is Complete!
After just 8 days the framework on Enclosure Number 1 is complete, putting us in a fantastic place for this week's work and everything that needs to be done.
Join Chris as he takes you for a walkthrough of the progress so far, along with some beautiful drone shots of the construction.
