In 2015, Islands opened to the public. A £40 million project, 60,000 square meters, orangutans, tigers, crocodiles and countless unique plants, it was designed to be our first geographically themed immersive environment, taking visitors on a journey across six South East Asian islands.

With Monsoon Forest at the heart, the jewel in the crown, and also the UK’s largest indoor zoo habitat, this immersive habitat was an exercise in what progressive zoos should strive for.

But at the end of 2018, Monsoon Forest fell victim to a fire, causing a lot of damage to this amazing exhibition. What followed has been to a two-year long project to re-imagine the space, re-telling the stories that first captivated our visitors’ imaginations.

All over Indonesia the forests are falling silent because the songbirds that  once lived there are THREATENED BY EXTINCTION. We’re facing a crisis because these beautiful, remarkable and rare birds are being captured and trapped by local people to be used either in singing competitions or kept in cages as a status symbol. 

Throughout Indonesia millions of birds are kept in captivity, a tradition deeply embedded in Indonesian culture. It is believed that over 1.3 million songbirds are caught ever year! 

Understanding problems for species which are happening on the other side of the world can be a little tricky so we’ve put together this guide about the illegal bird trade. Take your learners through a journey through the bird markets of Indonesia using our resources to discover why songbirds face these threats and how you can help. 

We’ve lost nearly 1/2 of the world’s wildlife in the last 50 years due to habitat loss, pollution and poaching.  Many of the threats to wildlife are caused by humans, so it’s our responsibility to protect them in any way possible.  At Chester Zoo, we work in a number of different ways to prevent the extinction of endangered animals. 

Use our step by step guide to inspire your learners about some amazing endangered animals that we’re fighting to protect, show them ways in which the zoo is doing this and give them some actions to help in our mission of preventing extinction!

Did you know that over 50% of store cupboard products contain palm oil? The unsustainable production of palm oil is one of the BIGGEST threats facing the forests and wildlife of Borneo and Sumatra right now. That’s why, at Chester Zoo, we support the production of SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL.

We’re working together with partners in South East Asia to protect the incredible rainforests that are being threatened by deforestation for agriculture – mainly oil palm production.  By supporting sustainable palm oil plantations, who make a commitment to be deforestation free and create wildlife corridors, we can all make a huge difference to wildlife and our mission of preventing extinction!

Rainforests are AMAZING. These incredible places cover only 6% of the Earth’s surface but they contain more than 1/2 of the world’s plant and animal species! Not only that but they can be great inspiration for learning across a whole range of subjects. 

Our online learning resource platform contains more than 60 different resources to inspire learning about rainforests and rainforest species.  Follow our step by step guide below to get the most out of them. By making the research more or less detailed rainforest activities can be adapted for different ages, but most of these resources are best suited to learners aged 7–11 years.