Nursery goes wild for Chester Zoo animal adoption campaign

Kids Planet in Nursery Road has gone wild for a fundraising campaign to help Chester Zoo.

The zoo has suffered significant financial losses due to the coronavirus outbreak and will have to contend with drastically reduced visitors numbers for the foreseeable future.

To give the zoo a financial boost Kids Planet staff and children are adopting as many of the attraction's animals as they can in a 'Summer Stampede' appeal.

In order to do this, the youngsters, aged two to five, will be collecting sponsorship as they team up with other Kids Planet nurseries around the country to walk, stomp, hop and leap a collective 1,700 miles.

Clare Roberts, Kids Planet CEO, said: "Chester Zoo is an incredibly popular attraction for us, our staff and many of our families.

"Its recent plight, due to lockdown and reduced numbers of visitors, struck a chord with our staff and parents and so we came up with this idea.

Kids Planet nursery youngsters and staff go wild for Summer Stampede campaign for Chester Zoo

"Since launching, we reached our first target for £2000 in the first ten days, so we’ve set ourselves an ambitious target of £20,000 and extended our fundraising activities across July and August."

The Summer Stampede campaign has also provided the nursery with learning opportunities to teach the little ones about animal species, sounds, colours, habitats, behaviours and more.

It is also hoped that it will ensure the youngsters are out in the fresh air keeping healthy and active.

Ms Roberts added: “Our name, Kids Planet, is a constant reminder to all, that children are the most important considerations when we look at the impacts, good Kids Planet nursery youngsters and staff go wild for Summer Stampede campaign for Chester Zoo us a thing or two about sustainability and environmental responsibilities.

"We also believe children should learn the importance of giving and experience the wonderful feelings that it can instil to do something for the good of others.

“Overall, we want our children to have fun and this campaign has certainly provided that – sometimes it’s hard to tell who’s enjoying themselves more, the children or the staff”.

Over the coming weeks Kids Planet will be sharing a survey with Chester Zoo asking children what their favourite wild animal is and why.

Once the results have been compiled they will be used in the adoption selection process at the end of the fundraising campaign.

For more information or to donate visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/kpchesterzoo