Wildlife Restoration Award
We’re thrilled to have been awarded runner up in BIAZA’s Great British Wildlife Restoration Awards, for our ‘Hafod yr Adar’ swift conservation tower project!
26 zoos and wildlife parks across the UK were shortlisted for the awards, a prestigious scheme that recognises the incredible work being done to restore native species in Britain, and bring people closer to nature. And out of these 26 wonderful projects, we came in at an impressive second place!
The Great British Wildlife Restoration Awards, which is organised by BIAZA (British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums), aims to shine a spotlight on some of the amazing work taking place to tackle the drastic decline of our native species and will urge politicians to act now for our nature. These awards were voted for solely by MP’s, and all those shortlisted were invited to attend the House of Commons this week on 20 January, where the winners were announced. A huge thankyou goes to our local MP, Henry Tufnell, who passionately advocated for our Hafod yr Adar project to be recognised and awarded at this prestigious event, and to highlight our conservation efforts. Henry kindly picked up the award on our behalf and we’re so grateful for his support.
Our Hafad yr Adar tower, located at our zoo – was able to be built thanks to the Pembrokeshire Coast Charitable Trust’s ‘Force for Nature’ grant, which helps support projects and communities who are driving positive change for biodiversity and conservation.
The grant helped to fund the aptly named Hafod yr Adar project which was built and put in place earlier last year. Hafod yr Adar translates to ‘the birds summer dwelling’, referring to the summer migratory and nesting habits of the target birds it is intended to protect. The large purpose-built tower stands 6.5m high and aims to offer additional nesting opportunities for multiple bird and bat species, including the UK Red Listed swifts and house martins as well as the declining population of barn swallows.
All three target bird species are declining in numbers, with the RSPB reporting that swifts experienced a shocking 62% decline between 1995 and 2021. Having lived alongside us for hundreds of years, using our homes for nest sites, they are now slowly being evicted. In a bid to improve our home efficiency, gaps and holes in walls are being sealed up. Of course this is a great way we can all help to tackle climate change, however it’s leaving no access for the birds. Barn swallows are also victims of eviction because of barn or garage conversions.
“We’re incredibly honoured to receive runner-up in the awards alongside some truly remarkable conservation projects. Swifts, house martins and swallows need all the help they can get.
Jack Gradidge, Conservation officer
The Hafod yr Adar project is already inspiring other people to make room for these birds, from installing nest boxes to encouraging more insects, we can all do our bit to help these birds that have lived alongside us for hundreds of years.
We’d like to thank Henry Tufnell MP for accepting the award on our behalf and special thanks goes to our funding partner, the Pembrokeshire Coast Charitable Trust for making the project possible. .”