DINOSAUR DISPLAY HATCHES IN PENNYWELL!
Local residents are being encouraged to track down and report any unusual sightings of baby dinosaurs in their neighbourhood. It comes as a dozen lanterns were let loose in Pennywell and Muirhouse after featuring in the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Lost Worlds display at Edinburgh Zoo.
The batch of hatching dinosaur eggs – each symbolising a sign of the zodiac – can be visited in North Edinburgh Arts, Muirhouse Library and North West Locality Council Office until Friday 21 February.
The free event has been made possible through the City of Edinburgh Council’s partnership with the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), Urban Union, Robertson Partnership Homes and support from North Edinburgh Arts and Police Scotland.
Edinburgh’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, Cllr Kate Campbell, said: “Pennywell is a fantastic community which has experienced a great deal of redevelopment in recent years, so I hope the lantern trail will encourage lots of people to explore the area and see how it has evolved.
“Throughout all of this change, our mission and that of the community has always been to create new and exciting opportunities for residents and local businesses. We’ve worked with developers and the Scottish Government to do this, creating the Pennywell All Care Centre for health and wellbeing and of course the incredible North Edinburgh Arts centre, where dinosaurs now roam.
“More than £42 million has been invested in the area which has created 356 affordable homes and more for private sale. With investment of £2.5 billion planned over the next 10 years, we’ll be looking to replicate projects like this under our ambitious plans for council housing.”
The regeneration of Pennywell and Muirhouse is well underway and will deliver around 1,000 new homes for sale and rent, enhanced public services and retail offering and a new public square, alongside new opportunities for learning, arts, culture and employment.
Neil McKay Managing Director of Urban Union added: “Our new collection of homes builds on the success of Phase 2 and 1, by offering an exceptional range of modern, warm and welcoming homes, together with new local amenity.
“We hope the lanterns’ fun pre-historic theme and message of conservation are welcomed by the community and allows everyone to explore the regeneration of Pennywell and Muirhouse.”
James Freel, managing director of Robertson Partnership Homes, said: “We’re really proud to support events that embody the true meaning of community, bringing people together to not only enjoy the lanterns but discover the incredible transformation of the area.
“Regeneration has been at the heart of the whole project and we’re on track to deliver high quality residential units across the town centre. We’re looking forward to literally shining a light on the fantastic progress made so far.”
RZSS events and experiences manager Jonathan Brown said: “Giant Lanterns Lost Worlds gave our visitors the opportunity to discover the amazing creatures that once lived on our planet and helped us raise awareness of the very real threat of extinction faced today by endangered species around the world.
“We were thrilled to see so many people enjoying the event and learning about our wildlife conservation work. It is exciting to have this opportunity to bring it to light again within the local community.”
As a wildlife conservation charity, RZSS is dedicated to connecting people to nature and safeguarding threatened species. This year the theme for the lanterns at the Zoo was Lost Worlds, including hundreds of pre-historic creatures from the beginning of life on earth through to the ice age.
The City of Edinburgh Council and its partners are committed to the conversation of the planet and over the next decade, the Council has committed to planting one million trees and cutting carbon to net zero.
Earlier this week, a new Council report revealed Capital households are more climate aware and generate less waste per resident than those of any other major Scottish city. The city is prioritising plans to tackle climate change with ambitious plans to cut carbon to net zero by 2030 and was recently announced as the second most sustainable city in the UK.
The Pennywell display maximises the time Edinburgh has with these lanterns by reusing elements of the display and spreading the Zoo’s message of conservation.