UK: New Tropical House at Marwell Zoo to Open before Easter
Visitors to Winchester’s Marwell Zoo can already look forward to the opening of the animal park’s new tropical house, which will comprise two floors and the approximate size of two football fields – the largest animal exhibit ever built in the zoo until to date, with an investment volume of just under 8.8 million Euros (7.8 million Pounds).
In due time for this year’s Easter Holidays the new facility is scheduled to open on March 26th, granting guests access to an exotic world with a high density of different plants and animal species. More than 45 plant species will grow and flourish inside the humid building, which features an energy efficient ETFE (Ethylene Tetra Fluoro Ethylene) roof, allowing natural daylight to shine through. This artificial rainforest ecosystem will be home to many animal species, including mammals, insects, birds and fish.
The opening of the new tropical house marks the second phase of an approx. 19 million Euros (17 million Pounds) development programme, which the zoo aims to realize over the next eight to ten years, creating improved habitats for animals and more immersive experiences for guests. Furthermore, the animal park seeks to become carbon neutral by 2020 – the heating system in the tropical house is powered by animal waste (dung, soiled bedding and leftover hay) and wood chip. The facility will feature an interactive discovery zone to provide visitors with more information on alternative renewable forms of energy as well. (eap)
