‘A sustainable future for generations of all species’
Symbio Wildlife Park has long had a significant commitment to environmental sustainability and the critical, ecological balance that must be conserved.
Every day, we educate visitors on the plight of endangered species, which so often is caused by loss of habitat through environmental destruction.
Our Sustainability Vision Statement is:
‘A sustainable future for generations of all species’
This was developed by the entire team at Symbio through a collaborative approach – It is a statement that resonated with all levels within the business as it highlights the delicate balance between the environment, wildlife and humans as well as the critical role that Symbio plays in regards to wildlife conservation, environmental sustainability, and education.
Our accomplishments in this area include:
- Reduce electricity consumption per visitor
- Reduce water consumption per visitor
- Diversion of 98% of organic matter from landfill
- Integrate sustainability into our existing staff and public programs
- Provide further sustainability education and information to the public and community
- Expand the reach of our rainwater tank supply to service new areas
- Improve on-site water quality
- Employ sustainable building practices
- Source alternative, sustainable supply chain and procurement opportunities
To elaborate on these:
One of the most significant achievements over the last 12 months is that with over 16 acres of landscaped grounds, and over 500 animals, we have managed to retain 98% diversion of organic waste to landfill.
All garden and animal waste is treated on site in a 4 bay composting system over a 12 month period. The quality of the process reduces the material by 60%, and all of the organic matter treated over the last 12 months has been imported back within the grounds for both our new Ring-Tailed Lemur and Cheetah habitats, and the extensive gardens surrounding these new projects.
Through our electrical efficiency strategies, we have achieved lower power consumption per visitor of 2.154 kW/h, which is a total saving of 21,054 kW/h annually.
Through additional water saving strategies, which include a number of our 12 month goals including additional rainwater storage, activating further roof collection space and extending the network of our rainwater tank plumbing, we have not only produced a lower water consumption per visitor, we have decreased our total water consumption for the whole site by 707 kilolitres. This is made more remarkable due to the 25% increase in visitation, increased staffing levels, and two major projects being constructed, including surrounding landscaping.
Through the commission of a commingled recycling service, we have reduced our waste services from 27 to 24. Again, this is made more significant by the 25% increase in visitation.
On site water quality has been improved by way of market leading biological filtration and monitoring, which has measured a 95% reduction in ammonia levels to date.
Our supply chain management and procurement policies have resulted in higher levels of recyclable packaging, eco-friendly bags in our retail area, and more ethical purchases of products containing either “palm oil free” or “certified sustainable” palm oil.
Symbio have been awarded:
– Large Scale Development of the Year – Zoo and Aquarium Association, for our ‘Reptile Experience’.
This prestigious award is judged by our peers and sustainability had a weight of 20% in the overall score. This highlights the success of our sustainable building strategies and use of thermally effective products. The facility is 270 m2 and houses over 40 species of reptiles and amphibians, it has 60 solar panels installed which has produced 22,804 kW/h, and collected 229,500 mL’s of rain water to storage in the last 12 months.
– Excellence in Sustainability – IMB Business Awards 2016, for our overall excellence and achievements in Sustainability practices throughout whole of business.