Doncaster residents go wild for animal themed event

The wildlife park day at the zoo idea was created by mum-of-two Bekki Harvey who encouraged residents in Barnby Dun to get creative and build animal inspired installations in their gardens.

Families were then encouraged to get out and about with the ticklist she had created to see how many animals they could spot around the village.

Mrs Harvey, vice-principal of Atlas Academy, Prospect Place, Doncaster, said: “Thank you so much to everyone that took part.

“People put so much effort into their displays, it was just incredible and was just a really lovely day.

“It was so nice to see so many families out and about with their little tick-lists, the children loved it.

“I’ve had a lot of messages on Facebook asking if we can do it again next year and make it an annual event, which I think would be a great idea as everyone really got into it and made such an effort.

“It was great to see such a sense of community spirit, especially with everything that’s been going on, it was just nice for everyone to have a day to go out and about, see people they know and get excited about spotting the different animals.

“We have annual passes to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park and have missed going there, so this was a nice way to create an animal themed day out.”

From lions and tigers, to spiders and seascapes, residents let their imaginations run wild to transform their gardens into animal enclosures for the day.

Mrs Harvey’s children, Cooper, aged five, and three-year-old Klay were also keen to create their own animal for the occasion.

She said: “They had a great time making their rhino with balloons and paper mache, at one point I think they had more glue on their arms than the animal, but they loved it and really enjoyed seeing everyone elses animals.”

Residents in Barnby Dun are among those who have been thinking outside the box in a bid to create fun filled activites during the coronavirus pandemic whilst lockdown measures have been in place.

The UK's coronavirus alert level has been reduced from four to three and further easing of the lockdown rules were expected this week.