Wellington Zoo Achieves Be. Accessible Gold Certification

Wellington Zoo Achieves Be. Accessible Gold Certification

Wellington Zoo has had its Be. Accessible certification upgraded this year from Silver to Gold.

Wellington Zoo formally received its Gold certificate from Be.Accessible’s Sandie Waddell at an event held at Wellington Zoo yesterday, coinciding with the opening of the upgraded learning space The Living Room.

The event was attended by various stakeholders including Deputy Mayor Paul Eagle.

“Wellington City Council is a strong supporter of the great work Be. Accessible does with organisations like Wellington Zoo. Improvements to accessibility help to achieve a Wellington in which everyone, regardless of their needs, can enjoy all the fantastic things our city has to offer,” Councillor Eagle said.

Be. Accessible has been partnering with the Zoo since 2015 and worked closely with Wellington Zoo to achieve the Gold certification, which was awarded after a Warrant of Fitness was conducted by Be. Accessible in April 2017.

“The team at Wellington Zoo were great to work with and listened to our feedback, resulting in several improvements to accessibility at the Zoo,” Sandie Waddell, Be. Accessible Coach said.

The improvements included a new accessibility map – to show a gentler route around the Zoo, new ramps over gutters, and workshops for staff to brush up on their New Zealand Sign Language.

“We’re delighted that our hard work has paid off, resulting in a more accessible Zoo that allows more people to enjoy Wellington Zoo and connect with our animals and our conservation messages,” Karen Fifield MNZM, Chief Executive of Wellington Zoo said.

The upgraded learning space The Living Room was also officially opened at the event.

“The work we have done on The Living Room shows our commitment to providing inspiring spaces for learning programmes and striving to always keep improving the Wellington Zoo experience,” Ms Fifield said.

The new learning space is more engaging and has more usable space which is especially useful for learners with accessibility needs.

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