On 12 October 2023 ten colleagues helped in rebuilding a henhouse into a cuddly loft where children can cuddle with rabbits and guinea pigs in a safe, secure sealed surrounding for both children and animals.
This petting zoo for children has a size of 3 ha and lies in de middle of city Nijmegen in a green surrounding. It houses animals such as pigs, pony’s, cows, rabbits and many more. The access to the petting zoo is free of charge, for 7 days a week. The petting zoo is depending on volunteers, but there is also a rental agreement with healthcare organization ‘de Driestroom’. A group of 20 people with a distance to the labor market is taking care of the animals. They also work in the kitchen, garden and other additional activities.
First, we had to demolish the existing loft in a controlled manner. Once empty we could start installing the new fences. It was quite a challenging job and our team consisted of practical people who were not afraid of using heavy tools. The manager was very satisfied with our commitment in getting our job finished. The volunteer carpenter will make the cages in the loft. In a while we will visit the petting zoo again to see how the final result has turned out.
