PROJECTS
Red Panda Yard
BE PART OF THIS PROJECT!
Valley Zoo Development Society
The Valley Zoo Development Society (VZDS) is a registered charity and friend of the Edmonton Valley Zoo (EVZ). The VZDS is proud to take a lead role in the EVZ’s stunning transformation into a special place that inspires love and learning of the natural world.
Impact of Your Support
Children are fascinated by the natural world, especially by animals. By providing them with a fun setting where they can learn about animals & nature, we can create life-long ambassadors for the long-term health of our planet.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR DONATION!
Red Panda Yard Project
Budget: $50,000
Current Phase: Design in Progress
Project Start Date: Fall 2025
Estimated Completion: Summer 2026
The Red Panda Yard Landscape Project will bring fresh life and adventure to the Edmonton Valley Zoo’s red panda habitat. This initiative will design and install new plantings, boulders, and climbing features—carefully planned to minimize disturbance to the existing environment—while creating a dynamic, enriching space for these charismatic animals.
By increasing habitat complexity and weaving in natural elements reminiscent of the red pandas’ wild Himalayan home, the project will offer both the animals and visitors a more immersive experience. Guests will enjoy seeing the red pandas explore, climb, and interact with their revitalized surroundings, deepening their connection to this endangered species and its faraway mountain ecosystem.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS:
New plantings, boulders, and climbing features that will create a dynamic and enriching environment for our Red pandas.
Habitat complexity more closely resembles the Red panda’s native habitat.
Project creates a more immersive, animal-focused environment that inspires and educates.
WHY THIS PROJECT MATTERS
The Red Panda Yard Project is designed to enhance the quality of life for these charismatic arboreal animals by increasing the habitat’s complexity, creating a more dynamic and stimulating environment. By adding varied climbing structures, layered vegetation, and microhabitats, the yard will better replicate the red panda’s natural forested home, encouraging natural behaviours such as climbing, foraging, and exploring. A complex habitat not only supports the animals’ physical health through exercise but also provides mental stimulation, reducing stress and boredom. These improvements contribute to overall animal wellbeing and align with best practices in modern zoo habitat design, where environments are crafted to challenge and engage the species that live in them.
This project helps deepens guests’ appreciation for the species and reinforces the ecological connections between Red pandas and treetop habitats.Â
Grow the Red Panda Yard With Us
Looking for In-Kind Donations
To help create a space that reflects the Himalayan mountains red pandas call home, we are seeking in-kind donations of natural materials to bring texture, enrichment, and authenticity to the habitat.
We’re looking for 9 irregularly shaped logs to create natural climbing structures for our red pandas.
Ideal sizes include 60% medium (152 mm diameter) and 40% large (>203 mm diameter), providing opportunities that encourage our red pandas to explore their environment and stay active.
We’re seeking 63 limestone boulders to bring natural texture and climbing opportunities to the red panda yard.
Preferred sizes include 30% small (254–406 mm), 30% medium (406–610 mm), and 40% large (>610 mm), helping to recreate the rugged Himalayan terrain these animals love to explore.
We’re seeking healthy, new, or very well-maintained perennials to enhance the Red Panda Yard with natural vegetation.
Needed plants include:
- reed grass (x6);
- coneflower (x7);
- coral bells (x4);
- Christmas fern (x9);
- pincushion (x9);
- woolly thyme (x20)
We’re seeking healthy, new, or very well-maintained shrubs to help create a naturalistic environment for our red pandas.
Needed plants include:
- osier dogwood (x2);
- buffalo juniper (x1);
- dwarf mugo pine (x3);
- coyote willow (x6);
- Tannenbaum mugo pine (x3)
Want to help bring the Red Panda Yard to life?
If you or your company would be interested in donating boulders, logs, shrubs, or perennials, please reach out to our Director of Sponsorship & Fund Development at dzelinski@buildingourzoo.com
*In-kind donations may be eligible to receive a charitable tax receipt