CVS Trust supports zoo’s accessible tree house

MEETING STREET student Mack, 9,  is helped to attach a symbolic leaf to the CVS All Kids Can Tree House banner at Roger Williams Park Zoo during Friday's dedication at the site of the future tree house.  /
MEETING STREET student Mack, 9, is helped to attach a symbolic leaf to the CVS All Kids Can Tree House banner at Roger Williams Park Zoo during Friday's dedication at the site of the future tree house. /

PROVIDENCE – The Roger Williams Park Zoo has announced a $500,000 donation from CVS Caremark Charitable Trust to build a universally accessible tree house for visitors of all ages as part of the new Children’s Zoo slated to open in 2011.

The tree house is intended to enhance zoo-goers’ understanding of the natural world through play and exploration. Rosanne Ramos’ Inclusion by Design (formerly, Multi Design for People) is collaborating on the project design along with Yoder & Tidwell Ltd. and Forever Young, a private nonprofit that aims to build an accessible tree house in every state by 2008.

“We at the zoo are very excited about the unique new experience that the CVS All Kids Can Tree House will bring to all our visitors,” Jack Mulvena, the zoo’s director, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled that it will allow hundreds of thousands of people of all ages and abilities to connect with the wonders of the natural world side by side, without barriers or limitations.”

The tree house is part of a seven-year, $35 million plan to “completely revitalize” the zoo. The “new zoo” master plan includes the renovation of the Plains of Africa exhibit; a new “world class” polar bear exhibit; the creation of a New England Trail exhibit, of which the Children’s Zoo will be a part; and a new veterinary hospital.

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The grant to the zoo is part of CVS All Kids Can, a five-year, $25 million campaign by the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust to make life easier for children with disabilities. This year, the trust has made more than $5 million in grants to nonprofit organizations in 22 states.

“We are proud to support the work that Roger Williams Park Zoo does in the community to provide environmental education and a connection to wildlife through a fun experience that everyone can enjoy,” said trust Vice President Eileen Howard Dunn.

To learn more about Roger Williams Park Zoo’s plans for the future, and the New Zoo capital campaign, visit www.TheNewZoo.org.

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