Plantasia wins national competition for prestigious grant

Wednesday 18th December, 2019 – Swansea’s Plantasia have been announced as winners of the Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers’ (ABWAK) Environmental Enrichment Grant. The national competition is aimed at animal keepers and zoos throughout Britain and Ireland, and aims to encourage the use of enrichment of animals in their habitats.The grant encourages zoos to enrich the environments of the animals on a regular basis, and make their enclosures more interesting and fun.Commenting on the grant, a representative from ABWAK said: “This year has been even more popular than ever, with ideas for a varied range of species and novel enrichment designs.

The council was impressed with all applicants’ dedication, but there can only be one winner. This year’s winner is Michael Colwill at Plantasia, whose idea of enrichment drop-in sessions for visitors to Plantasia to make enrichment for the animals within the collection greatly impressed the grant’s committee.”Michael Colwill, Zoo & Education Manager at Plantasia, said: “We are very grateful to have been selected as the winners of this grant. It will go a long way towards helping us set up this workshop and aid in improving our education and welfare programmes.”For more information about Plantasia, visit https://www.plantasiaswansea.co.uk/centre/Plantasia