Calderglen Park Top Up Tap Is A 'Keeper'

Staff at Calderglen Zoo in East Kilbride have officially launched Scottish Water’s latest Top up Tap at Calderglen Country Park.

The iconic blue water top up tap, situated near to the play area, lets visitors to the park and zoo top up with great-tasting Scottish water for free.

Calderglen Park’s is the 30^th tap to be launched as part of our Your Water Your Life initiative to encourage people to carry a refillable water bottle and stay hydrated on the go.

Georgina Reid, Scottish Water’s corporate affairs regional manager, said:

“We’re absolutely delighted to have one of our Top up Taps at this popular tourist attraction and thrilled that Calderglen Zoo is helping create awareness of this new facility among its visitors.

“We’re encouraging everyone – local residents, workers and visitors here – to make full use of the Top up Tap all year round by topping up their reusable bottles when out and about. It can benefit health and wellbeing, saves money and helps reduce waste and its impact on our environment.”

Samir Clark, senior animal keeper at Calderglen Zoo, is fully supportive of this Scottish Water initiative. He said: “We welcome 1,000’s of visitors each year to our zoo which is home to over 50 different species of animal. It’s a very popular attraction for families and offers educational opportunities for young people to learn about wildlife and nature from primary school through to degree studies. We’re sure that all of our visitors will make the most of the Top up Tap – it’s a fantastic addition!”

Scottish Water aims to deliver 70 public space water refill points by the end of March 2021.

Additional safety and cleaning measures have been put in place on all Top up Taps as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. This includes deep-cleaning, disinfecting and maintenance, as well as a special coating on the entire refill station which stops any virus and bacteria being absorbed.

Calderglen Zoo has been operating since 1982 when it was opened as a small children’s zoo. It is situated at the heart of Calderglen Country Park and is now home to a variety of species including birds, reptiles and small primates, as well as a small dedicated team of zoo keepers who work tirelessly to provide care and enrichment to its residents.