Plan Your Visit to Edinburgh Zoo
We are open every day of the year, including Christmas Day, from 9am until:
| 6.00pm | April - Sept. |
| 5.00pm | Oct. & March |
| 4.30pm | Nov. - Feb. |
How you can help
The natural world needs our help...and we need yours! Please consider making a donation to support our conservation, education and research work, both within our parks and across the world.
Zoo and Environment Skills Training (ZEST)
Zoos provide a unique working environment due to the variety of vocations all working together in one place. The ZEST programme aims to allow students aged 15-17 to take part in a work experience programme with us. We offer students placements with the keepers, marketing, development, gardens, education, and visitor services teams at Edinburgh Zoo. At the Highland Wildlife Park we have offered work with the animal and education department.
ZEST runs from the end of August to the following March and includes 1 week of work experience in October, 5 additional work experience days throughout the year and 5 outreach visits by RZSS staff to their schools. The students not only partake in work experience but learn essential employability skills such as writing CV’s, preparing for interviews and communicating with other staff members.
The programme is geared towards vocational students (Access 3 – Intermediate 2 level) which may be preparing to leave formal education at the end of secondary school. The programme offers a chance to achieve 2 units in the Personal Development award (Int 1) as well as the Employability Award. Furthermore, the students learn about the role of modern zoos, international and native species conservation and environmental issues.
The programme began in 2009 and ran with 8 students, it was expanded to 17 in 2010 and a further 17 students have now begun the 2011-12 term of ZEST.
At the moment this programme is only open to students from Uddingston Grammar School, Craigmount High School and we are currently searching for a third school to take part in the Highlands area for the 2012-13 term.
This website page will be a source of information for the teachers and students involved in the course.
Follow Zest on Facebook:
Resources to Download
Website lists for the ZEST project
Assignments to Download
Vocational Project Booklet 2011-12
