Message from our Chairman

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN

Message from our Chair – David Kime

As someone who was born and raised in Friskney, I was very honoured to be invited to be a trustee in May 2021 and, being from an accountancy background, instantly given the role of Treasurer. Imagine my pride when, only 4 months later I was asked to take on the role of chairman.

All I can say is a huge thank you to the other trustees for their faith in me.

This annual report is our first since 2018 and covers the period in which we were all touched in one way or another by COVID-19. I think it is a credit to Steve Nichols (our CEO) and his brilliant team, that we have emerged out the other end, and if anything, stronger and more committed than before.

I would just like to take a moment to mention the effect that the pandemic has had on the mental health of people, as it is something that I think we’ll be dealing with for many years to come. It is something we are focussed on going forward, and to this end we hope to have our “Peaceful Plot” open very soon.

The Trust is also eager to work on the educational area and, now everything has opened up again, we will be pushing ahead with our “Wild 4 learning” project to construct an innovative education centre facility.

From a purely financial perspective the period from 2018 has been a relatively good one, courtesy of some very kind and generous donations and legacies left to us, and we aim to put these to good use in developing new facilities with the aim of providing the best possible care for our animals, and to develop the educational and academia side of the park.

An unexpected bonus to the enforced lockdown was that we have been able to complete extensive improvements to the footpaths throughout the park, ensuring easy access for all, again reinforcing the all-inclusiveness of the park.

One particular success story of the past 12 months has been working with Natural England, the University of Lincoln, and the National Centre for Reptile Welfare to create The National Turtle Sanctuary and our newly appointed Zoo Manager, Andy Ferguson becoming the “go to person” for all things turtles.

The other major projects we are undertaking are covered in great detail throughout the remainder of this report, and it is my task as chairman to make sure that these are delivered on time and on budget, as well as to ensure we stay agile enough to adjust to whatever the future throws at us.

David Kime

The Trustees of our Charity/Members of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO): Mr. Tim Bates, Ms. Angela Dobson, Mr. Ian Staples, Mr. David Kime, Ms. Sonja Genney To June 30th, 2021