Volunteer thank you day and fund raising ideas

Today all the volunteers were invited along with their families to see and enjoy the cats at our leisure. It was really nice to be able to show them all the place where I have been hiding for the last six month, and also be able to introduce them to some of the best creatures on Earth - Mia and Murphy the two cheetahs top of the list. Needless to say they all loved it too. My nan was particularly taken with all the cats, and was planning a marathon knitting project to help raise money. This got us thinking of other ways to help...

Elephant house at Cobtree Manor Park

During this visit I was able to discuss some fund raising ideas with family and friends and some staff members. I happen to know the curator of a museum in Maidstone where in the depths of his collection are some artifacts that once belonged to Maidstone Zoo, which stood in what is now Cobtree Manor Park. I find the collection fascinating, and was thinking of ways to share it with other zoo fanatics in a such a way to raise awareness and possible funds for WHF. A possible exhibition collaborating the museum with WHF would be an interesting project for both myself and the curator, and no doubt interesting for the people of Maidstone to see some history behind the zoo - everyone that has ever visited Cobtree Manor Park is sure to know of the elephant house, pretty much all that remains of the zoo today.   

The zoo was owned by Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake in the early 1900s, closing in 1959. Tyrwhitt-Drake kept lots of animals on site, including big cats, so the possibility for comparison is certainly there. I even managed to find this old footage of Drake in the zoo with a little digging online - no doubt the museum has more images and clips. The museum still has a lot of the old signage from the zoo, and even the photos alone are interesting to thumb through. It's certainly something that I will dig into some more with the help of my curator friend!

Video from: http://www.britishpathe.com/video/private-zoo-1