Enjoy a great day out and aid conservation at Five Sisters Zoo - Steve Cardownie
I have written about the Five Sisters Zoo (FSZ) before, stressing that although it is called a zoo, it is more of an animal rescue centre.
Situated at West Calder it is home to more than 160 species with many of the animals facing an uncertain future before FSZ stepped in to save them and provide a safe environment for them here in Scotland.
As well as being a fantastic visitor attraction and a TripAdvisor 2026 travellers choice winner, FSZ has become an important wildlife conservation facility and Conservation Education Centre in central Scotland.
Earlier this year FSZ received full accredited status from the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) as part of their new accreditation process.
I spoke with Adam Welsh, the zoo’s Head of Education, who told me that the zoo welcomes over 10,000 school and group visitors each year and offers a programme of curriculum linked workshops.
It recently opened the Scottish Conservation Education Centre within the zoo’s grounds which is the culmination of a lengthy period of hard work by Adam and dedicated staff.
Indeed, Adam was presented with the “Rising Star Award” this year from BIAZA and has pledged to continue with his conservation work along with his FSZ team.
He told me “As we head into a new academic year the FSZ will continue to work with schools, learners, higher education institutes and communities across the country to provide vital conservation education opportunities aimed at fighting against the global biodiversity crisis.”
There are several projects that FSZ is involved in, and Adam was keen to let me know what they were. He said that over the last few years FSZ entered into an official partnership with “The Beaver Trust” and” Nature Scot” in order to assist with the translocation of Eurasian Beavers which were trapped under licence.
The zoo provides housing facilities and care while individuals are health screened prior to their release at official sites across Great Britain and the zoo opened a second holding in 2022 which allowed it to double its efforts with this partnership, with over 300 beavers being moved through FSZ since the start of the zoo’s involvement.
The second project Adam mentioned was SEED Madagascar where it “aims to increase and improve viable habitat for the three nocturnal species of lemur in Sainte Luce littoral forest, through corridor reforestation, coupled with strengthened local and regional capacity, to support the conservation of lemurs and their natural habitat.
So far FSZ has donated equipment required for field work in Madagascar and sold project related merchandise in its giftshop.
Since 2021 FSZ and the “West African Primate Conservation Action” organisation have been partners in the “Friends for Wildlife Project” which works with schools in West Lothian “in order to get pupils in two very different locations talking about wildlife conservation.”
Adam also said that “Over the past couple of years pupils involved have collected and shared camera trap images, created posters about their local wildlife and written letters introducing their local environment and conservation issues.”
All these initiatives are being undertaken against the backdrop of a fully functioning animal rescue centre which aims to increase its visitor numbers in order to use the admission income to finance its invaluable work.
With an on-site restaurant, play park, indoor soft play and gift shop it makes for a great day out.