Nestled on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River, the Edmonton Valley Zoo is an intimate zoo that provides authentic and engaging animal experiences.
The Edmonton Valley Zoo is a cornerstone experience where generations have gathered to connect with animals in a space dedicated to the care and conservation of our natural world. Modernization efforts continue to expand opportunities for community connection, celebrate Edmonton's climate, inspire conservation action and protect our wild spaces in an inclusive and welcoming space.
Capital investments from the City of Edmonton along with contributions and donations generated by the Valley Zoo Development Society support the continuous evolution of the zoo.
Big things are happening at the Edmonton Valley Zoo!
We have started the Enclosure Renewal and Enhancement Project, which focuses on modernizing habitats for Lucy and our carnivores. You will encounter fenced-off zones and rerouted pathways. Some animals have been moved to allow for safe construction.
Our Vision Statement
A sustainable world where all living things thrive.
Our Mission Statement
Leverage our unique role to connect people with animals, care about wildlife and conserve the natural world.
Our Focus Areas
The Edmonton Valley Zoo's decisions are guided by 5 focus areas that equally contribute to our approach:
Animal Wellbeing
Provide the highest standards of care for animals, ensuring both physical and psychological well-being while supporting conservation, research and educational goals.
As stewards, the Edmonton Valley Zoo provides the highest quality of care to the more than 350 animals that live at the zoo. The living, breathing, animal residents that call our zoo home are the soul of the facility, situated in the remarkable North Saskatchewan river valley in the heart of Edmonton. Caregivers tend to the physical and psychological well-being of our animals, while supporting the conservation, research and educational goals of the zoo.
A priority of zoo renewal is to ensure our animal habitats are complex and dynamic natural spaces that enhance the quality of life of the animals and create immersive and impactful viewing experiences for guests. These efforts support the best of care for the animals and showcase to zoo guests the need to make changes in their own lives to help habitat conservation efforts here and around the world.
Animal Welbeing Strategies
To ensure the animals receive the best possible care from highly skilled caregivers, the Edmonton Valley Zoo team focuses on continuous learning and employing best practices in veterinary medicine, nutrition, enrichments and habitat design.
Learn more about the Edmonton Valley Zoo care team and animal care strategies.
A veterinary hospital opened in 2010. It includes a surgery, laboratory, quarantine area and space for animals needing longer-term care. This facility, along with advanced medical equipment, allows the zoo's veterinarian, animal health technologists and other staff to more effectively and efficiently care for the animals.
The zoo has also implemented the Zoo Information Management System – an international electronic records database – to enhance local care, protect population health and support international conservation efforts.
The Edmonton Valley Zoo's animal care committee pulls together expertise from various sources to strengthen the focus on animal enrichment, nutritional standards and behavioural training.
Conservation
Inspire and take conservation action to reverse the decline of vulnerable wildlife and unsustainable use of their habitats.
The Edmonton Valley Zoo team is passionate about working to preserve the natural world and promoting environmental responsibility. Zoo staff work with local and international organizations on ethical and strategic conservation projects, either actively working to protect species in the wild, or raising money and awareness to support conservation initiatives around the world. The zoo also models green strategies in all it does here at home in an effort to promote environmental responsibility and reduce the environmental footprint of the facility.
Conservation Strategies
The Edmonton Valley Zoo supports the conservation of North America’s Parkland wildlife and ecosystems by assisting with conservation work both in the field (in-situ) and onsite at the Zoo (ex-situ).
In-situ conservation, work at the Edmonton Valley Zoo includes supporting research and partners that contribute to improving conservation success for flora and fauna in the wild.
Our ex-situ work is focused on protecting endangered Parkland species through breeding programs such as the Northern Leopard Frog Breeding Program or past Swift Fox Breeding Program.
With Edmonton’s more northern position, historical climate records indicate that Edmonton is warming at a faster rate than the global average. In the absence of climate action, research predicts that Edmonton’s annual average temperature of 2.1 degrees Celsius will more than double by the 2050s and quadruple by the 2080s.
As 1 of only 6 Arctic Ambassador Centers in Canada, the Edmonton Valley Zoo works with Polar Bears International to help educate our visitors about the effects of a warming climate on northern biodiversity. We work to empower visitors and partners to reduce their carbon monoxide (CO2) emissions to protect wildlife that are at greatest risk of being negatively impacted by a warming world.
The Edmonton Valley Zoo models the use of green practices in all it does to promote environmental responsibility and reduce its own environmental footprint. It works to implement and showcase resilient green practices for climate mitigation, adaptation, and biodiversity benefits. Learn more about Environmental Responsibility at the zoo.
The Edmonton Valley Zoo engages the conservation community to inspire conservation action by our partners and visitors. We work to inspire conservation action by incorporating conservation education in all that we do, working with partners, like the Valley Zoo Development Society, to raise funds for conservation and work with action-oriented partners in our interpretive programs.
Education
Provide education that elevates our communities' knowledge and conservation actions.
Thousands of Edmonton region students attend zoo school each year. Zoo school educates young people about animals, their habitats and the challenges to their survival. The zoo also provides structured public programming for all ages through day camps and specialty programs. Staff have been able to broaden the scope and reach of educational programming with the state-of-the-art education centre. The zoo also supports research through education partnerships and conservation program participation.
Learn more about Zoo School and day camps/programs.
Education Strategies
The Edmonton Valley Zoo will continue to deliver high-quality curriculum-based programs that are relevant and engaging. Through outreach and community-based educational programs, new audiences of all ages will have more opportunities to connect to our natural world. Plans are underway to look at ways to maximize the use of technology to support the reach of the zoo, enhance educational messaging and understanding of our shared conservation roles.
Organizational Excellence
Cultivate an environment and culture that ensures our people excel and our physical assets and finances are sustainable.
As a municipal organization we are committed to the public with a focus on people, place and partnerships. With the aim of optimizing revenues, managing expenses and increasing partner involvement we intend to continue to modernize the Edmonton Valley Zoo with facilities, amenities, and programs that welcome and appeal to diverse audiences.
Organizational Excellence Strategies
Everyone at the zoo approaches their work with enthusiasm and a desire to create memories for all who visit. The zoo will continue to cultivate a culture focused on providing memorable experiences, through the attraction and retention of a diverse, engaged and talented workforce.
Keeping pace with industry best practice is key as we ensure physical assets from animal habitats and guest amenities to staff spaces and equipment are well planned, maintained, and uphold industry best practices.
Exceptional Experience
Deliver a memorable, inclusive, and engaging guest experience that wows and connects people with animals and the natural world.
At the Edmonton Valley Zoo, we recognize that for learning to be engaging and memorable, it should be fun! And when you visit a zoo the fun centres on animal experiences and learning through play and activities.
Children can appreciate the scale of a whale as they play on a full size whale skeleton replica; they can observe ground squirrels and then imitate these animals in an interactive play burrow. Visitors will walk through a unique Arctic landform – the pingo – where they will discover the cold heart of the pingo's ice core. The trail system features atmospheric play — an interactive feature that interprets rain systems and allows visitors to cool off on a hot day. These experiences and others will keep younger visitors engaged as they learn about the world around them.
Exceptional Experience Strategies
The fun begins even before visitors walk through the main gates. Guests are greeted by frolicking North American river otters. From there, visitors are invited to follow The Wander Trail that features trout ponds and water play areas, along with spots to picnic.
More guest amenities to support year-round enjoyment are planned, along with immersive experiences for explorers of all ages.
Delivering high quality, relevant and engaging programming is at our core. From spontaneously partaking in daily animal talks, seeking new adventures at a zoo event or expanding your knowledge by participating in a school or group program, we excel at turning visitors into storytellers of the animals in our care and environments we collectively are working to conserve.
History of the Edmonton Valley Zoo
Climaxing months of planning and construction aimed at making the zoo one of the best of its kind, the Edmonton Valley Zoo welcomed its first guests on July 1, 1959. According to the article in the June 30, 1959 Edmonton Journal, a huge crowd was expected to “invade the grounds following the official opening by Mayor Hawrelak”.
The children’s zoo in Laurier Park cost the City $500,000 at the time. Admission was set at 10 cents for children and 25 cents for adults, and a bus for transportation to the location was scheduled to run every half an hour from 102 Avenue and 142 Street.
Since 1959, the zoo has continued to evolve and grow. In 2009, the City announced the current revitalization that is to completely overhaul the zoo — the redevelopment of the former and beloved Storyland elements that have earned their places in the hearts of Edmontonians.
While the Storyland Zoo was leading edge in 1959, times have changed and the City of Edmonton is continuing to move forward, transitioning the zoo into an innovation focused on learning and conservation initiatives.
Photo Highlights
Photos courtesy of the City of Edmonton Archives
National and International Recognitions
The Edmonton Valley Zoo is proudly recognized by:
Contact Us
Edmonton Valley Zoo
Email attractions@edmonton.ca
Phone 311 | Outside Edmonton: 780-442-5311
Address 13315 Buena Vista Road (87 Avenue) PO Box 2359 Edmonton, AB