🌿 Activities (All Week)
Overview
Participants will take part in a self-guided Conservation Discovery Trail around Chester Zoo, designed to bring conservation issues to life through real exhibits and environments. Using existing zoo signage, the trail encourages groups to explore key wildlife challenges and the actions being taken to address them.
The Trail Experience
All groups will enter via the main entrance, before being directed to different starting points along a shared route. This staggered approach helps manage flow while ensuring all participants experience the same core content.
As groups move through the trail, they will engage with signage and prompts linked to key conservation themes, including:
- Illegal pet trade
- Sustainable palm oil
- Sustainable fishing
Key Conservation Themes
Along the route, participants will encounter a range of species and habitats that highlight global conservation challenges, including:
- Snow leopard conservation and jaguar habitat pressures
- The impact of palm oil on species such as tigers and orangutans
- Sustainable fishing and marine ecosystems, including penguins
- The Madagascar pet trade
- Native UK wildlife within the zoo’s wildlife garden
(Route remains subject to final confirmation)
Volunteer Checkpoints
At regular intervals, groups will meet volunteer checkpoints, positioned every few stops along the route.
At each checkpoint:
- Volunteers will ask a short question based on the conservation messaging from the previous section
- Volunteers can share additional facts and context to support learning
- Groups will move on once they have engaged with the checkpoint
These checkpoints are designed to reinforce learning in a simple, interactive way.
Digital Badge System (In Development)
A digital badge system is being explored to support the experience.
- One member of each group may scan a QR code at each checkpoint
- This will act as a record of progress through the trail
- Badges will serve as a simple digital reward for engagement
This feature is currently in development and subject to change.
Wildlife Recording with iNaturalist
As part of the experience, participants will use the iNaturalist app to record and identify species they encounter during the trail. Using mobile phones, groups will photograph wildlife and log their observations, contributing to a wider global database used by scientists and conservationists.
This activity encourages participants to:
- Observe wildlife more closely
- Learn how species are identified and recorded
- Contribute to real-world citizen science and conservation research
By taking part, participants are not just learning about conservation, they are actively contributing to it.
