Nursery kids raise £20,000 to help keep Chester Zoo going as it struggles during lockdown

Hundreds of children help save Chester Zoo raising £20,000 amid the pandemic.

Kids Planet, a group of 52 nurseries spread across the country, decided to raise money for the zoo when they heard it was struggling for money due to the pandemic. 

The children and staff took part in a range of activities, including walking, hopping or jumping 1,700 miles in the annual Summer Stampede campaign to raise £20,000 and adopt a staggering 212 animals in total – four for each nursery.

The nursery kids experienced a virtual question and answer session virtually to speak to the keepers and see all their favourite animals. 

Clare Roberts, CEO, explained: “From the most popular animals to the more obscure, we are so proud that our children and staff have collectively agreed a diverse range of animals to adopt for the next 12 months.

“Diversity, inclusivity and acceptance of everyone is so engrained in everything we do and sometimes, communicating this via animals makes it easier for children to understand.

“This adoption is an important part of this communication and the children are already excited to see the animal packs come through and keep up to date with conservation efforts.

“The animal kingdom and their survival, or threatened extinction, can teach all of us a thing or two about sustainability and the environment.”

Speaking to ITV, the chief operating officer of Chester Zoo, Jamie Christon explains that 97% of the income comes from admissions and tickets explaining that without that money, the zoo can’t continue the mission of preventing extinction.

The zoo is losing £1.7m a month and a total of £11.5m in losses if the zoo can reopen on April 12th. 

Nick Davis, deputy curator of mammals at Chester Zoo, said: “We would like to thank everyone at Kids Planet for doing such an amazing job at fundraising in 2020.

“For so many people and organisations across the world, it has been a hugely challenging year and without company’s like Kids Planet we wouldn’t be able to continue the work that we do.

“The funds will go towards enhancing the lives of some of our most endangered species for generations to come.”

Chester Zoo has been hosting virtual Zoo Days on YouTube and Facebook throughout the pandemic asking people to donate what they can and support the zoo.