All Things Wild Launches Six-Year Conservation Strategy and ‘More Than Just Your Local Zoo’ Campaign

All Things Wild has today launched its first-ever six-year Conservation Strategy alongside a new park-wide campaign, ‘More Than Just Your Local Zoo’, highlighting the vital role modern zoos play in wildlife conservation, education and research.

The new Conservation Strategy marks a significant step forward for All Things Wild, establishing a clear six-year framework for the organisation’s conservation ambitions and setting out how the zoo will continue to develop its work to protect wildlife and inspire future generations.

For the first time, All Things Wild’s conservation work will be guided by a multi-year strategy, providing a clear direction for the present and future of Conservation and Education at the Zoo. Allowing progress to be measured against defined targets and objectives, All Things Wild will make their multi-year strategy publicly accessible via the zoo’s website. Progress will be evaluated annually, ensuring the organisation remains accountable to its ambitions and can respond to new challenges and opportunities as they emerge.

The Conservation Strategy will work alongside All Things Wild’s new Conservation Education Strategy, together these strategies will form an important part of the organisation’s future mission to protect the planet and its inhabitants. The strategies contain targets that focus on a wide range of topics and the zoo has already experienced success with the release of their Pearl-Bordered Fritillary Butterflies. Bred and raised at the zoo, their Pearl-Bordered Fritillary Butterflies were then released onto specifically managed sites on the Malvern Hills, an area where these species were once found abundantly.

Alongside the launch of the landmark strategy, All Things Wild has introduced its new ‘More Than Just Your Local Zoo’ campaign, designed to highlight the breadth of work taking place behind the scenes and challenge perceptions of what a modern zoo can and should be. This aims to raise awareness of the vital role that zoos like All Things Wild play beyond acting as just a fun day out. The campaign encourages visitors to discover the conservation work taking place behind the scenes, from international conservation partnerships and species recovery projects to breeding programmes and biodiversity work across the site.

While providing opportunities for families to connect with wildlife, All Things Wild plays a much wider role in conservation, education and research. From supporting conservation projects and protecting threatened species to educating visitors about the natural world, the campaign aims to give visitors a greater understanding of the work that takes place across the park and beyond its boundaries.

Through their campaign, the zoo will be introducing a new interactive display, a park-wide trail, and a Conservation gallery in their Wild Cafe. From species reintroductions, to breeding programmes, to global networks, to vital research, zoos across the UK and the globe are crucial members of the conservation community, and All Things Wild is no different. They aim to help fund conservation initiatives, support education, contribute to research and create meaningful connections between people and the natural world.

Elijah Ford, Conservation & Education Officer, said;

“Launching our first six-year Conservation Strategy is a really important moment for All Things Wild. It gives us a clear framework for where we want to go, but it is also about being transparent about the work we are doing and the progress we want to make.”

“We have been working hard behind the scenes for the last six months to coordinate our strategies and campaigns, to ensure they compliment our continued commitment to being a force for good. Our strategies are based on the passion and dedication of our team, ensuring our core principles of inclusion and interactivity are maintained at All Things Wild evolves.”

“‘More Than Just Your Local Zoo is about helping our visitors understand that when they visit All Things Wild, they are stepping into an organisation with a much wider purpose. We want to connect people with wildlife, inspire them to care about the natural world and demonstrate the very real role that modern zoos can play in conservation, education and research.”

“We are hoping this project will shine a light on what makes All Things Wild, and Zoos and Aquariums in general, so special. As a team, we are incredibly lucky to do the work we do, and we want to share that work with every guest that visits the park, as they are the ones who make everything we do possible. Beyond active conservation work, we want All Things Wild to become a valuable resource for our community, that they can use to develop new behaviours and skills that will compliment our overall conservation message.”

The launch represents the beginning of a long-term commitment to measurable conservation and education goals, with annual reviews providing opportunities to assess progress and ensure the strategy remains relevant to the changing needs of wildlife and the environment.

All Things Wild hopes that the new campaign will encourage visitors to look beyond what they see during a day at the park and discover the conservation, education and research work that sits at the heart of the organisation.

The six-year Conservation Strategy and Conservation Education Strategy are available to view on the All Things Wild website, where they will remain publicly accessible throughout the lifetime of the strategy.