OUR CEO

Well, here we are again at the end (and start) of our year. Our annual report last time covered an extended period of two years; this one is slightly shorter – just eighteen months! The next, and subsequent ones will be twelve months.

Our previous report covered a period which was unusual to say the least and in July 2021 we were still reeling from world events. We were, however, so thankful to our supporters who were not only very generous but also showed so much commitment to the Charity throughout. Our social media has gone from strength to strength, with increases in followers on all platforms and we managed to stay open (no more lockdowns) throughout.

Many new initiatives and developments were planned and completed, and these are mentioned elsewhere, but we would not have been able to contemplate these without the support of all our visitors and contributors.

Some of the highlights for me included welcoming the Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire, one of our Patrons, to the park on two occasions. One to celebrate our commitment to the Armed Forces by signing the Armed Forces Covenant, and secondly for the opening of Nigel’s – a brand new enclosure for our lovely Puma, also providing a home for our magni cent white lions Pascha and Uganda.

Two Christmases that could not have been more di erent. Christmas 2021 was a quiet and somewhat nervous time for us all. We weren’t sure what our visitors would feel comfortable with, so we decided to be cautious and invited visitors with younger children to take part in our Breakfast with Santa events in December. All our younger visitors were delighted to meet Santa and thoroughly enjoyed their bacon rolls and hot chocolate.

Christmas 2022 could not have been more di erent. We were all feeling more con dent and less nervous about the outside world, so we decided to o er something back as a thank you to all our visitors. ‘Our Gift to you was free entry for all throughout the month of December. We invited Santa to come along and even built a new grotto for him. We developed the fairy-lit walk and enchanted garden, full of lights and Christmas atmosphere.

After a couple of glitches with our website we were overwhelmed that over 11,000 of you came along between 1st and 23rd of December, with an astonishing 826 of our younger visitors meeting Santa in his new Grotto. We promise that next year will be bigger with lots of new festive surprises.

We have said goodbyes to some of the team who have gone on to bigger and better things and I would like to thank them for their commitment. We have also, and inevitably, said goodbye to some of our animals. We miss them and they will remain in our hearts.

I would like to personally thank everyone in the team (old and new) here at the Parrot Zoo Trust for their hard work and enthusiasm day after day. Without you all, it just would not be possible. Thanks also to the Charity Trustees for their guidance and direction.

A huge thank you must go to all our supporters; you have been so kind with your words and gestures throughout.

Finally, I would like to thank my family for their loyalty and for sticking by me for another year, as I have continued to watch my dream develop.

Here’s to all things in the future.

Steve Nichols BCAv