The Lion Foundation have contributed towards Wildbase Recovery’s June fundraising push, donating $150,000 towards the 2900-square-metre rehabilitation facility. The Wildbase Recovery facility is scheduled to open in the Palmerston North, Victoria Esplanade, early 2018.

Wildbase Recovery will provide a special place for native wildlife to recover from illness and injury after treatment at Massey University’s Wildbase Hospital, New Zealand’s only dictated wildlife hospital. The facility will include five display and nine off-display rehabilitation aviaries, designed to allow public viewing of recuperating wildlife in a natural habitat environment.

Once established, Wildbase Recovery will include the Powerco Education Centre where the public will be able to view a range of static, interactive, video and audio educational displays. In addition to on-site educational tools, the Wildbase Recovery education programme will reach out to schools nationally complementing the DOC national education strategy and the New Zealand school curriculum.

Since opening its doors in 1987, The Lion Foundation have supported all aspects of local New Zealand communities including Education, Health, the Arts and Sport.

“The Lion Foundation are lucky that we have such responsible venue operators in Palmerston North, who help us generate the funds to redistribute back into the community,” says Marcus Reynolds, Head of Partnerships. “Thanks to our venue partners, we’ve been able to provide $150,000 towards the Wildbase Recovery project.

“We were drawn to this project due to its uniqueness, being a recovery centre, a centre of learning and a community asset,” says Mr. Reynolds. “Major projects, like Wildbase Recovery, also have an ongoing impact across the Palmerston North community, which is important for large grants such as these because, at the end of the day, it’s the communities’ money that we are investing.”

The Wildbase Recovery Community Trust is tasked with raising $5.69m needed to build the wildlife recovery facility. Community funding to-date has included grants from Central Energy Trust, Lotteries, Eastern and Central Community Trust, Palmerston North City Council, other funders, corporate donations and public donations.

Read the Manawatu Standard’s story here.