A new education centre has been officially opened at the Welsh Mountain Zoo.

The new WILD (Wildlife Inspiring Learning and Discovery) centre was officially opened by the minister for culture, tourism and sport Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas last Thursday in front of about 100 special guests last week.

The WILD Centre will be used by schools, colleges, universities and other groups from in the area and afar in the aim to develop their knowledge of the natural world and conservation issues.

Nick Jackson, Director at the Welsh Mountain Zoo commented: "This is an incredibly important development for the zoo and one which will open doors to new visitors and groups who will be able to utilise the diverse tools and resources available.

“The new centre is also helping to facilitate a broader approach from us here, raising community awareness of environmental issues whist becoming a resource that the community can book for meetings, gatherings and events.”

Lord Elis-Thomas, following the opening, said it had been a pleasure to be on hand to open such an important facility.

He added: "It’s been a pleasure to open this new facility which aims inform and educate people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds about wildlife the natural world and conservation.

"I hope that the WILD Centre attracts many more visitors to the Welsh Mountain Zoo and will educate more and more people about our environment and the need to protect what makes Wales truly special.

"The quality of what we have to offer here in Wales goes from strength to strength and as it’s Wales Tourism Week this week – it’s an opportunity for us all to celebrate the industry and to showcase the outstanding quality of our vibrant tourism sector.”

The centre was made possible after a grant of £49,579 was awarded towards this project. This funding came from WREN’s FCC Community Action Fund.

The original Education Centre was launched in 1964 and has been providing an important community service to local people for many years; however, due to the level of use, the centre was beginning to show signs of internal wear and has now been re-built.