SASKATOON ZOO RECEIVES $377,000 FROM PROVINCE THROUGH THE BUILDING COMMUNITIES PROGRAM

Visitors to the Saskatoon Forestry Farm and Zoo will soon be able to take advantage of improved facilities thanks to a $377,475 Building Communities Program investment from the province of Saskatchewan.

"The Saskatoon Forestry Farm and Zoo is a vital part of the city's cultural and recreational infrastructure," Culture, Youth and Recreation Minister Sandra Morin said. "For many families, the Zoo offers a unique and exciting opportunity to learn about our world. This is one more way in which we are making Saskatchewan a great place for people to live, work and build a future."

Morin was in Saskatoon today to announce funding for the Saskatoon Forestry Farm and Zoo. The provincial investment will go toward the construction of a year-round education centre to support environmental education programs. The new bear exhibit will allow the Zoo to bring grizzly bears back to Saskatchewan. The new facilities, which are scheduled for completion in early 2009, are expected to add to the attraction of the zoo and increase visitor numbers.

"It takes a team effort and many partners to raise the necessary funds to build projects like the Education Centre and the Bear Exhibit," Saskatoon Zoo Foundation president Curtis Kimpton said. "It is great to have the Province on board in joining the Zoo Foundation, the City and the many partners from private industry and the general public to help make Saskatchewan's only Zoo a premier attraction."

The Building Communities Program is the largest per capita cultural and recreational infrastructure program in Canada. The Building Communities Program is providing $100 million for cultural and recreational infrastructure over three years, beginning in 2006-07. The program seeks to ensure the sustainability of cultural and recreational infrastructure in communities throughout the province.

Information on the Building Communities Program can be found on the Culture, Youth and Recreation's website at www.cyr.gov.sk.ca.

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For more information, contact:

Janet Peters
Culture, Youth and Recreation
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4967
Email: jpeters@cyr.gov.sk.ca