Welcome to the NWCP website

Plans are underway for an innovative and spectacular world wildlife reserve on the northern outskirts of Bristol.

Bristol Zoo Gardens has recently received full planning permission from South Gloucestershire Council for the National Wildlife Conservation Park (NWCP).

The 55-hectare world wildlife park will be the first conservation-led animal visitor attraction of its kind in the UK, with an exciting mix of exhibits based on real ecosystems around the world.

The Park will set a new benchmark for how zoos can support conservation in the wild and establish a more influential position in the global conservation movement. It has been designed to link specific ecosystems and conservation programmes across the world with immersive exhibits which will be home to wild animals such as tigers, black tip sharks, bonobos (a species of chimpanzee) and brown bears.

The Park will be divided into exhibit areas which take visitors on a geograhic journey around the world to areas including the Congo Tropical Forest, Sumatra Rainforest, British Ancient Woodland and Indian Ocean Coral Reef. All the exhibits have been selected following extensive research to identify areas of high conservation need.

Through its design, the Park will enable visitors to get close to animals within their natural habitats and understand more about the natural world and the impact humans have on it.

Rangers and ranger stations within every exhibit area will bring a personal element to the visitor experience; rangers will act as tour guides, lead activities and help visitors make the most of their day. Visitors will also be able to find out about our conservation work in the field via video links with staff working on the overseas projects.

In the Sumatra Rainforest exhibit visitors will be able to step across a chasm caused by a seismic shift, listen to a troop of gibbons calling to each other as they swing through the trees, get close to Sumatran tigers via a transparent tiger tunnel and visit the exhibit’s ranger station, built in the style of a typical stilted longhouse, to see some of the smaller animals and meet the Ranger.

Closer to home, the British Ancient Woodland exhibit will link with UK conservation programmes led by Bristol Zoo Gardens. Here, visitors will travel back in time to see brown bears, lynx, wolves and other wildlife found in Britain hundreds of years ago, which have since been lost due to the pressures of human activity.

In addition, a Centre for British Wildlife will serve as a focus for local, regional and national native conservation organisations.

Other later elements of the Park include exhibits such as Tanzania Savannah - home to giraffe, rhino, zebra, cheetah, warthog and wild dogs - where visitors will be able to go on an off-road tour and find out about the key conservation area of Tarangire National Park in Northern Tanzania.

The Park will offer a range of educational opportunities catering for students of all ages. Children in early years, primary and secondary education can find out about the threats facing ecosystems around the world in purpose-built classrooms within each exhibit; students in further and higher education can undertake a wide range of conservation, field craft or animal based courses in purpose built learning facilities with extensive research capacity; veterinary students will be able to have hands-on skills training in a first-class animal hospital; and staff will benefit from a wide-range of job related training schemes. The Park will also partner with local Universities, colleges and conservation organisations.

Sustainability has been a key watchword for the development of the Park. The plans incorporate a rigorous approach to energy usage, sustainable development, waste management and water supplyand use. It will be developed and managed in a highly sustainable way, with an emphasis on low carbon emission, recycling, on-site energy generation, the use of locally-sourced materials and a green access and transport policy.

Development of the Park has been supported by the South West of England Regional Development Agency through a grant of £1.5million.