Education at the Monkey Sanctuary

As well as providing day-to-day care for the monkeys, one of the major aims of The Monkey Sanctuary Trust is to offer environmental education to both our visitors and the wider public on issues ranging from rainforest conservation and animal welfare through to sustainable development and fair trade. This work is as vital as our work directly with the monkeys as our belief is that by educating people on the issues facing our environment, and those people in turn making small changes in their day-to-day lives to reduce their environmental impact, this action will lead to a more secure future for not just monkeys, but all inhabitants of the world in which we live.

We want to ensure our visitors get the most out of their day and for them to have the opportunity to learn as much as they can about our work and the monkeys in our care. On your visit to the Sanctuary, you will notice that we always have staff on hand to talk to visitors about the monkeys’ behavior and management, the issues facing them in the wild, our work as a charity, and to answer any questions our visitors may have. This information might be delivered as an informal chat with a small group or as a more formal presentation in the height of season to hundreds of people at a time. For those who want to explore the site for themselves, we have different areas dedicated to different age groups and interests; our Display Room gives an insight into primate behaviour and welfare, whilst our Activity Room is aimed at our younger visitors who might want to engage in some art and craft activities or play monkey-related games. Our Bat Cave offers all you need to know about our colony of rare lesser-horseshoe bats that roost in the cellar of the main house and the gardens are annotated by signs explaining all about the local wildlife, both plant and animal, that makes its home there. You will even find educational information in our gift shop and café on fair trade, the importance of recycling and sustainable living.

As part of our wider education work, we have a dedicated Education Team whose role it is to expand our educational reach beyond our site here in Cornwall. This involves going out to schools across the UK to deliver talks, workshops and discussion groups, going to adult community groups to talk about our work and conducting workshops and tours when we have group visits on site. Workshops and visits can be tailored to suit each group’s needs to make visits relevant and accessible to all of our audiences, regardless of age or ability.

Our hope for the future is for the development of an education centre on The Monkey Sanctuary site. Built using sustainable methods and materials, we envisage the centre as a flagship for environmental education in the South West and will allow us to offer both the local community and visitors to the area a chance to participate in workshops, conferences and courses on everything from local conservation and environmental initiatives to sustainable development projects, children’s groups and primate-related courses for students.

What we offer

A Visit to You…

Enlightening and fun workshops tailored to your needs and age group, based around conservation, deforestation, environment, sustainability and, of course, primates! We are happy to arrange on-site workshops, lectures and slide-shows in any part of the UK for any age group, from nursery schools to universities, playgroups to adult groups and clubs.

A Visit to Us…

Our dedicated education team will be on hand to deliver curriculum-linked workshops, information and advice tailored to whichever aspect of our work interests you and your students.  For tertiary students, there is the option to carry our behavioural studies which is ideal for dissertation or thesis research.

For more information on our education work, to book a visit to the Sanctuary or to arrange for our team to visit your school or group contact the Education Team on 01503 262 532 or email education@monkeysanctuary.org

Teacher Information

Teachers please click on the links below to access our Risk Assessments, Health and Safety and Child Protection Policies and Educational Programme.

• Educational Programme 2009 Web Link
• Risk Assessments 2009 Web Link
• Health and Safety Policy 2009 Web Link
• Child Protection Policy 2009 Web Link

Alternatively, download the above information in PDF format below.

• Educational Programme 2009 PDF
• Risk Assessments 2009 PDF
• Health and Safety Policy 2009 PDF
• Child Protection Policy 2009 PDF