A first-of-its-kind programme in Europe has seen an Edinburgh children's hospital team up with the city's zoo to create a unique enclosure based on-site for them to learn all about animals.
Children at NHS Lothian’s Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) will soon be learning important conservation lessons from some very unusual teachers - a mob of meerkats based in the outdoor classroom within the hospital grounds.
Thanks to a partnership between Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC), NHS Lothian and RZSS, the inquisitive creatures, who will move in by next year, will give young patients, particularly those staying long term, the opportunity to learn all about nature and the environment.
Edinburgh Zoo currently delivers a weekly programme of educational activities at the RHCYP, including projects on penguins, pandas and tigers, all of which encourage children to think about their place in the world and the importance of wildlife within it.
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The meerkat enclosure will replicate their natural habitat and zookeepers from Edinburgh Zoo will care for them and provide meerkat educational sessions while on site.
CEO of ECHC, Roslyn Neely, said: “Some children are too unwell or have been in hospital for so long that they don’t have the opportunity to engage with the outdoors, or interact with animals.
“Many of the children who visit the hospital care passionately about nature and the environment. Our programme will allow them to learn from experts while getting up close to the best teachers of all – the meerkats themselves.
“The wellbeing benefits of engaging with animals and using nature in the healing process are well documented, and there’s great excitement within the hospital in anticipation of our furry friends arriving.”
Chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, David Field, added: “Our conservation education programme has already been a great success and now we are taking this incredible next step by creating the only meerkat enclosure at a children’s hospital outside of Australia, making this a first in the UK and Europe.
“Being close to nature and animals can have a tremendous impact on people’s mental and physical health and wellbeing. We also know that people and communities are more likely to help protect nature when they have had the opportunity to connect with our natural world.
“We are really looking forward to bringing a group of meerkats to live at the hospital next year and seeing the impact this will have for the children and their families.”
The programme is currently in the early stages of planning and it is hoped the meerkats will move into their new home at the RHCYP from 2024.
