Edinburgh Zoo and CityFibre unite to bring Giraffe About Town trail to capital next summer

A public art event which is part of a new partnership between CityFibre and Edinburgh Zoo will go display across the capital next summer, and will feature 40 eight foot tall giraffe sculptures.

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The Giraffe About Town trail will see each model giraffe designed and decorated by local artists and community groups.

After the trail, the sculptures will be auctioned off to support the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s wildlife conservation projects in Scotland and across the world.

CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, has partnered with the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s (RZSS) Edinburgh Zoo as community outreach partner for the charity’s Giraffe About Town trail.

CityFibre is Edinburgh Zoo’s new community outreach partner for the trail, and the partnership comes as the company is investing £100million to roll out a full fibre network within reach of almost every home and business across the city.

CityFibre will have its very own giraffe sculpture as part of the trail and its support will allow RZSS to work with seven community groups across the city to take part in the scheme.

Activities with the community groups will include an inclusive creativity workshop with the zoo’s outreach team. The groups will also receive free access to the Giraffe About Town activity portal, an inclusive digital resource supporting the trail. Meanwhile, CityFibre and Edinburgh Zoo will work together in spring 2022 to identify the potential community groups.

Paul Wakefield, CityFibre’s city manager for Edinburgh, said: “We are working across the city to deliver our Full Fibre network to homes and businesses, ensuring that communities across Edinburgh can access the fastest, most reliable broadband available. As part of this, we are getting the chance to meet so many of Edinburgh’s fantastic community groups – a number of which we will be able to support through this fantastic partnership.

“Improving social inclusion is something we are passionate about, and this theme is at the heart of the Giraffe About Town trail. Technology is a key enabler here, so we are really excited to be working with an artist on our own giraffe and being a key part of this trail, which I’m sure will capture the hearts and minds of both locals and visitors to our capital.”

David Field, chief executive at RZSS, added: “We are thrilled to have CityFibre on board as community outreach partner for Giraffe About Town, giving us an opportunity to support vital community work across the capital.

“It is particularly exciting to partner with an organisation working to connect communities. Fast, reliable full fibre broadband will open up a whole new world for many of Edinburgh’s residents. The past 18 months have been incredibly challenging but they have shown us what can be achieved when we pull together. Our tall trail is set to transform our city and encourage our communities to get out and about and fall in love with Edinburgh all over again.”

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