Learn about wildlife and connect with local nature
Schools can use our camera traps to monitor wildlife on their site. At the end of the loan period, your pupils will have followed the wildlife monitoring process from start to finish and learned valuable skills that real conservationists use to monitor and protect wildlife.
If you have a school group who would like to get involved, please contact education@colchesterzoo.org for more information.
Schools get:
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One full-term long loan of a camera trap
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Full instructions for the operation of the camera trap
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Check-in email and support throughout the loan
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Teacher pack of cross-curricular activities to investigate the wildlife you spot
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Certificate of Participation
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Participation stickers for your class
Exciting Changes!
To celebrate the anniversary of becoming Colchester Zoological Society, we’re introducing some big updates to our Camera Trap Loan Scheme in January 2025.
You can still reserve a camera for the Spring and Summer Terms of 2025. We’ll share the full details of the changes soon!
Please email us (education@colchesterzoo.org) to check availability and reserve a camera.
Camera Traps at Colchester Zoo
UmPhafa Private Nature Reserve rangers use camera traps to observe wildlife living on the reserve. Using camera traps, the UmPhafa team discovered leopards living on the reserve – a fantastic find! Once we know what wildlife is living in these areas, we can ensure that we protect and conserve them.
Colchester Zoo supports a wide range of field conservation projects. Many of these projects involve monitoring wildlife to discover the best ways to protect them and their habitats. Supporting and supplying these field projects with vital equipment, including camera traps, helps these wild researchers learn more about the animals out there as well as ways to conserve them.
In Colchester Zoo’s Nature Area, there have been sightings of foxes, deer, badgers and small rodents, but camera traps also captured footage of an otter near the stream! Otters were previously classified as rare in England, so knowing that they are active on zoo grounds means we are home to a very special animal.
