Heart of England Wildlife Park is a conservation and education enterprise based in the West Midlands. We are currently finalising our planning application to be submitted to Redditch Borough Council for the Wildlife Park and we look forward to welcoming up to 100,000 visitors to our attraction each year. It is our mission to inspire all of our guests and supporters with the beauty and diversity of both exotic wildlife and the Worcestershire countryside.
Heart of England Wildlife Park intends to open its doors to the public in early 2021 with the establishment of a Savannah themed café and the wildlife park gift shop selling iconic brands such as Schleich and Playmobil. We have already secured major partnerships with both of these companies and currently display their products on our digital 'Safari Store'.
We have worked with our architects and zoological consultants to design modern, spacious enclosures for our wide range of exotic animals including endangered zebra, ostrich and even meerkats! We aspire for Heart of England Wildlife Park to become one of the most significant tourist destinations in Worcestershire and look forward to fascinating generations of visitors with the wonders of the natural world.
Our mission focuses on saving wildlife across the globe, through successful collaborations with educational institutions and the development of conservation science, working to protect the world’s most vulnerable species and habitats. We are keen to help facilitate the development of research in to animal husbandry and behaviour whilst we also seek to research the impact of nature on mental health and wellbeing. Heart of England Wildlife Park will be a hub for promoting and encouraging sustainable behaviours within households, developing the conservationists of the future and giving families a great day out.
Heart of England Wildlife Park is a registered limited company with philanthropic and altruistic aims. By 2028 we intend to care for nearly 300 animals of 50 species, from meerkats to tapirs and lemurs to zebras. Our participation alongside other zoological collections in captive breeding programmes will be vital for species on the very brink of extinction. In addition to our ex-situ conservation efforts at the wildlife park, we fully intend for our conservation efforts to be worldwide, working with conservation partners to ensure the protection of wildlife species in their natural habitat.
2020 sees the launch of our five-year Heart of England Wildlife Park Master Plan, which sets out how we will develop the zoological collection and work towards establishing conservation work to include captive wildlife breeding; field conservation and behaviour change and advocacy through our extensive education programmes. This important master plan will ensure that Heart of England Wildlife Park will transition into both a locally and globally renowned conservation organisation.
We are an ambitious and forward-thinking organisation and realise that the project will not only complement existing conservation efforts, but also provide a significant economic impact for South Worcestershire in terms of GDP growth, multiplier effects and rural employment opportunities in a post-Covid world.
Our vision is for Heart of England Wildlife Park to be a key part of the south Worcestershire community creating social benefits that far exceed any minor external costs. We want to work alongside the people within the south Worcestershire community to protect wildlife now and for future generations.
We've also launched a YouTube series documenting our journey from Concept to Conservation! Episode Two even features a first look at our landscape plans for the Wildlife Park.
Heart of England Wildlife Park has been 28 years in the making. Our Director Martin Blyth took the extraordinary leap of courage, selling his house and leaving behind a successful career in education management to found Heart of England Wildlife Park. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, access to traditional sources of finance have been slow to access, with banks prioritising existing customers over those looking to grow their new project. Despite the inefficiency in accessing traditional funding, Martin is using private finance to continue the venture and will not give up on his dream of creating a world leading conservation enterprise. Heart of England Wildlife Park has already sourced a range of exotic animals, secured partnerships with world leading brands and developed relationships with global experts in zoo management.
Although we already have the finance to completely renovate our cafe and gift shop and a small number of exhibits, your support will enable Heart of England Wildlife Park to develop world class exhibits for our first arrivals. We have exciting species such as African Lions and Zebra available to use and we are keen to develop modern, spacious exhibits for these species. Since launching our press release in August 2020, we have already received further financial backing but the CrowdFunder initiative will allow us to put our zoo on the map and get Redditch roaring again!
Although our species list is subject to change, we expect to welcome Zebra, Red River Hog, Ostrich and Meerkats to our wildlife park in readiness for opening. You can check out our YouTube series for a sneak peek at our planning and design proposals!
It is evident that there are many people throughout the global economy who have had aspirations to create their own zoo or wildlife park but have not been able to access the finance required to build a world leading attraction. With the groundwork in place to develop Heart of England Wildlife Park, we are offering YOU the chance to help us run our new zoological collection via our unique membership package.
Although we are offering a range of rewards in return for your support, our most exciting reward is the opportunity for YOU to join our 'Pack', 'Pride' or 'Parade'. Each of the three membership categories will allow you to vote at least twice weekly on project developments at Heart of England Wildlife Park. YOU will be able to help us make decisions about which animals should be added to our collection, what admission fee should be charged, which animal should feature on the front of our guidebook, which conservation projects we should support in the wild and YOU can even vote to help name our animals. In addition to accessing our special members only forum you will also be able to access exclusive content, events, competitions and much, much more over your 12 month membership period. You won't legally own a share in the zoo, but your contribution can make a meaningful difference to our project and the conservation of endangered wildlife species.
If joining our 'pack' has left you hungry for more, you can upgrade to a 'Pride Membership Package' which gives you twelve months unlimited access to the park from our opening day. We are even offering a 'Parade Package' where in addition to all of the benefits of the standard and gold package you will also be able to take part in our 'Zoo Manager for the Day' experience and you will be able to come along to the zoo, go behind the scenes, meet our animals and dine with members of our management team.
All supporters will receive a permanent mention on our website's supporter page in addition to the benefits mentioned at each reward level.
It is our aim to deliver all of your rewards by the estimated delivery dates stated on our page. If for an unforeseeable reason this date needs to change then we will contact you in advance with a new estimated delivery date.
Any of our reward packages which feature experiences at the zoo are as stated and do not include travel or expenses. Any experiences involving animals do have a minimum age requirement of 10 years old and all participants must be in good health. All experience vouchers must be redeemed within 24 months of the Wildlife Park opening to the general public (Estimated Opening - Easter 2021).
Our 'Pack', 'Pride' and 'Parade' membership packages do not offer an actual share of ownership in Heart of England Wildlife Park Ltd. Each membership package lasts for 12 months only and members will be offered the opportunity to renew their membership for another annual fee at the end of their first year of membership.
'Pack' membership packages do not include zoo admission and a separate entry ticket must be purchased for all future visits to Heart of England Wildlife Park. Unlimited admission for twelve months is offered to all members of our 'Pride' and 'Parade' initiative.
Corporate sponsorship packages for individual animals or exhibits last for 12 months only from the point of the Wildlife Park opening to the general public.
Whether you've donated £1 or £1,000, you can be assured that every penny will be used to develop our conservation focused mission, safeguarding threatened species and furthering our educational outreach.
Your support in liking our social media pages and sharing our project's crowdfunding page is equally as important as your financial contribution.