Creating Adventurous Places (CAP.Co), the adventure play specialist, has been working with Bristol Zoo to design and build Explorers Basecamp. This adventure play area seeks to support the new Zoo’s strategy to 2035 and inspire young conservationists to protect wildlife, the environment, and our future.
With The Bristol Zoo Project Field Station at its heart, this fun new attraction is accessible and inclusive, with significant appeal for families visiting the new zoo.
Inspiring conservation
Conservation zoos play an important role in engaging communities and providing opportunities for visitors to connect with animals, while taking part in global conservation activities and breeding programmes to protect threatened species.
Bristol Zoo participates in seven international projects that conduct outstanding work, including initiatives working with the White Clawed Crayfish in the United Kingdom, the Western Lowland Gorillas in Equatorial Guinea, the Sanje Mangabey in Tanzania, the Negros Bleeding Heart and the Dove Warty Pig in the Philippines, the Blue-eyed Black Lemurs in Madagascar, the Kordofan Giraffe in Cameroon, and the Lemur Leaf Frog in Costa Rica.
A spokesperson from CAP.Co says: “The play development was designed to playfully encourage visitors to immerse themselves in the depth of this work, inspiring all of us to play our part and become conservationists.”
The Field Station concept allows visitors to take on the role of a conservationist and learn about this career through a variety of fun activities. These range from making chilli bombs to keep elephants from devouring local crops, to waving at Blue Eyed Lemurs perched overhead, and investigating the Leaf Frogs’ extraordinary camouflage by solving puzzles.
“Conservation explorers can discover the play trail and bring what is learnt back to the Field Station for research. The concept encourages collaborative and accessible play bringing visitors together in a wider purpose,” the company says.
Accessible design
The play area’s design radiates from the feature play tower at the centre, with winding pathways that run north to south. The play extends through ground play options, bridges, and connected walkways. As visitors arrive at the play area, they discover the Field Station in the woodland clearing in a dramatic reveal, heightened through planting and possibly mounding (formed from the spoil from the play build). The play area is intended to feel like a secret place that evokes a sense of discovery.
The project has been designed with accessibility in mind. Its features include talking tubes, games and puzzles, ramps and bridges suitable for wheelchair users, and accessible ground-level trampolines. The emphasis is on play and adventure for everyone.
The company says: “Collaborative play between all ages and abilities is such an important element of our play design and one we design in from the outset.”
For over 185 years, the Bristol Zoological Society has been at the forefront of conservation-focused zoo management. With such a rich history, it is well-positioned to redefine and redesign a zoo for the 21st century.
The new 136-acre Bristol Zoo Project site, located outside of Bristol city centre, provides a rare chance to construct a new conservation zoo where visitors and animals can be immersed in natural surroundings. Over the coming years, Bristol Zoological Society will realise this ambition and develop a compelling visitor attraction where 90% of species will be threatened and part of dedicated conservation initiatives.
CAP.Co recently created a new adventure play park called Wagon Woods for Hopetown Darlington. This 7.5-acre visitor attraction explores the story of the birth of the modern railway. This began in 1825 at the Stockton and Darlington Railway, when steam locomotive ‘Locomotive No. 1.’ was the first to pull a passenger train on a public railway.
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