All geared up for worldwide bike ride!
Keepers, educational officers, catering staff, admission assistants and the marketing team at Blackpool Zoo have set off on a 30,005 mile, round the world bike ride….without even leaving the resort!
Armed with two static exercise bikes, kindly loaned by Fitness at Blackpool FC Health Club, the team, with the help of visitors from across the UK, are pedalling their way to each of the eight international conservation projects that the zoo supports as part of its summer long Pedal to Protect Wildlife campaign.
They have already reached the first milestone of 2,375 miles, from Blackpool to the CBD Habitat’s Mediterranean Monk Seal Conservation Program in Mauritania and are hoping to arrive at the next stop, The Gorilla Organization in Central Africa before the end of this week.
Following this they will make their way to The Biodiversity and Elephant Conservation Trust in Sri Lanka, 21st Century Tiger in Malaysia, The Orangutan Foundation in Borneo, World Parrot Trust in Australia, Proyecto Mono Tocon Titi Monkey project in Peru and then finally onto the World Land Trust in Brazil before returning to sunny Blackpool.
The journey between the projects will give the education team an opportunity to talk about the incredible work each one does and show people how their donations can make such a huge difference.
An interactive conservation station is travelling around the zoo throughout the school holidays displaying fascinating artefacts and pictures to help both children and adults understand why conservation is so vital.
Natalie Ward, Head of Education at Blackpool Zoo, said: “We are really excited about our Pedal to Protect campaign and we have been overwhelmed by the support from visitors!
“We are on target to reach The Gorilla Organisation by the end of this week, which will be an amazing 5025 miles done of just over 30,000!
“The aim of this campaign is to show the public what a difference they can make to the conservation projects we support. Each year visitors donate tens of thousands of pounds and every penny goes to helping fund these vital organisations.
“I would like to thank everyone that has taken part so far, even just half a mile of pedalling takes us closer to our goal!”
The two exercise bikes can be found between The Ape House and Active Oceans. People can follow the journey of the Pedal to Protect Wildlife campaign on the Education department’s Wildlife Learning Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/wildlifelearning/