Blackpool Zoo Urges People to Pull the Plug

Blackpool Zoo is urging visitors, members, Facebook fans and Twitter followers to ‘pull the plug’ for Climate Week (3rd – 9th March 2014).

The research and education team at the zoo are working with the European Association of Zoo’s and Aquariums (EAZA) on a two-year campaign entitled Pole to Pole, which has been designed to raise awareness and tackle the issue of climate change.

Since the beginning of February half-term hundreds of visitors to Blackpool Zoo signed a pledge to ‘pull the plug’ and reduce power consumption by switching off plugs at the wall, unplugging chargers when they aren’t in use and turning appliances off standby.

Blackpool Zoo is also doing its bit for the environment too. It has invested in installing energy efficient lighting and timers, carrying out temperature studies to determine heating levels, purchasing vending machines than contain sensors that power down the machine after five minutes, investing in smart meters and looking into the possibility of solar power.

Tim Lloyd, Senior Education & Sustainability Officer at Blackpool Zoo, said: “We have had a very encouraging start to our ‘pull the plug’ initiative for the EAZA Pole to Pole campaign and we have found that our visitors are genuinely interested in helping the environment.

“We continually assess new ways to reuse, recycle and reduce our energy consumption here at Blackpool Zoo and all the recent green investment, coupled with activities such as our sustainable garden project, will all go towards helping to reduce our carbon footprint.

“Global warming is having a direct affect on the poles, hence the name Pole to Pole.  As the ice caps melt and sea ice reduces it affects polar habitats and their wildlife, as well as coastal regions across to world.

“Every single person counts towards making a difference to tomorrow’s world and we would urge everyone to get into the habit of ‘pulling the plug’!”

The pledge will be available in the zoo for the remainder of the year, and people can also visit www.poletopolecampaign.org to sign up.

Ends:

For further information please contact:
Paula Holden on 01772 679383/07772268378 or Rachael Ireland at ICG.