Wildwood Trust Switches on its wind turbine

Wildwood wildlife park, near Canterbury, has installed a wind turbine to become the UKs first Zero Carbon Zoo, helping protect threatened wildlife from climate change.

The zoo is celebrating the final stage of a renewable energy project to reduce its carbon footprint using the power of the sun, woodland fuel and now the wind.

Towering 18 metres above the zoos car park the new 20kW wind turbine is expected to generate 35,000 units of green electricity and offset 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.

The £111,478 cost of the wind turbine was met by £28,765 from the Governments Low Carbon Buildings Programme, £30,000 from EDF Energys Green Fund and £52,713 from Canterbury City Council. Together with the zoos existing solar panels, which make hot water from the power of the sun, and wood burning stoves for heating, using coppiced wood from Blean Forest, the park generates all of its energy on site using renewable energy technology. These additional projects, for wood and pellet burners, solar water heating and an educational programme, were funded by a further £27,287 from Canterbury City Council and a further £8,544 from the Low Carbon Buildings Programme.

On April 30 funders and supporters joined Councillor Jenny Samper and Wildwood Trust Chief Executive Peter Smith who switched on the turbine and unveiled a plaque and low carbon information board.

Peter Smith, chief executive of the Wildwood Trust, said: As a nature conservation charity, which champions many environmental issues, it makes little sense for us not to consider renewable alternatives to our energy needs. Many habitats and animal and plant species in the UK will be threatened if climate change proceeds unchecked. A policy of implementing and promoting renewable energy generation matches perfectly the goals of our organisation. We have tens of thousands of visitors every year and the potential to greatly influence the opinions of the public on renewable energy.

Wildwood has a unique collection of British animals that tell the story of the changing wildlife of Britain over the last 1,000 years. Its collection of animals includes native species, such as badgers and otters which arrived in Britain after the last Ice Age. The park also has animals that once inhabited British shores including wolves, lynx, wild boar and beaver, which were hunted to extinction over the previous centuries. The zoo assists field conservation schemes for endangered native species via captive breeding and reintroduction programmes. It also offers an education centre to inspire and enthuse tomorrows conservationists about British wildlife. Eighty thousand people visit the park each year plus 13,000 schoolchildren.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• edf
• energy saving trust
• wind turbine
• zero carbon