Animal Adoption Scheme

Who? Where? When?

Walton Hall Gardens is Warrington's most prestigious park. The Friends of Walton Estate formed in 2002 and set up the Animal Adoption Scheme in 2003.

Contact Details

Ian Johnson, Estate Manager, Estate Office, Walton Hall Gardens, Walton Lea Road Higher Walton, Warrington, Cheshire WA4 6SN

ijohnson@warrington.gov.uk

Objectives

To enable the whole community to be involved in the management and operation of the park and to help acquire further funding opportunities to maintain, improve and develop events, activities and facilities for the benefit of all.

The AAG work specifically to raise funds to be reinvested directly into Zoo improvements and to raise the profile of animal welfare and conservation issues, including the Red Squirrel breeding programme.

The Process

Setting up the group originally was extremely time consuming, but 8 years on I will spend the equivalent of around 1 day a month on Friends' issues and Peter and Liz (our Children's Zoo Rangers) with Friends volunteers spend around 1 day a month with the animal adoption scheme.

The Animal Adoption Group make use of Estate office space, computer, stationery, postage costs etc.

Achievements and Outcomes

Over the past 9 years, the Friends have developed into a vitally important resource to Walton Hall Gardens. Activities which now rely upon their support and input include:

• Green Flag applications
• External Funding applications
• Large scale events and activities e.g. Outdoor Theatre, Christmas and Easter events, Disability Awareness Day

The Animal Adoption Group has developed into a highly successful fund raising and public awareness scheme, raising over £2,000 annually from public adoptions/ subscriptions (£12/Animal/Year, or £30 per animal or group of - including Red Squirrels in the Breeding Programme and the Ferrets, for a School or other Group/per year.

These funds are now restricted to reinvestment in the Children's Zoo and are used to match-fund and support other improvement schemes reliant upon external funding.

Lessons Learnt / Key Advice

The Animal Adoption Scheme is the most obviously successful scheme which the Friends have developed. The scale of uptake of adoptions was hardly anticipated. The Zoo Rangers have increased awareness of issues and activities within the children's zoo along with the Friends Group by means of having BoBo, our long standing & much loved Walton donkey on Facebook.

The Our scheme continues to be administered through a long-hand paper operation. If the Friends had envisaged such an uptake, then a computerised system may have been set up before the scheme was rolled out. The Friends, the Zoo Rangers and Warrington residents are all very pleased with the scheme and the free access to the zoo that allows everybody to enjoy.