The Curraghs Wildlife Park will host signed talks as part of Deaf Awareness Week.

The talks will take place on Bank Holiday Monday, 2nd May. Lucy Buxton, a volunteer at the park, will deliver talks about a range of animals. Siobhan O’Connor, a Communication Support Worker with the Manx Deaf Society will sign the talks in British Sign Language (BSL) to provide access to the Deaf community. She has a BSL level 3 qualification.

Standard park admission charges apply. There is no additional charge for the talks.

The timetable is:

11am – Penguin feed talk at the penguin pool
12pm – Meet a snake, Rainforest Theatre
2pm – Meerkat feed talk, meerkat enclosure
2:20pm – Meet a snake, Rainforest Theatre
3pm - Penguin feed talk followed by great white pelican feed talk, penguin pool/pelican enclosure.

Talks will last 10 to 15 minutes.

Kathleen Graham, General Manager of the Park, said: ‘We are pleased to mark Deaf Awareness Week by making some of our most popular talks accessible to our Deaf visitors.’

The Manx Deaf Society will stage various events during Deaf Awareness Week which runs from 2nd to 8th May. For more information, visit the Facebook page ‘Manx Deaf Society’, email iomdeafsociety@gmail.com or ring/text Lucy Buxton on 07624 202875.

The park, in Ballaugh, is open seven days a week during the summer from 10am to 6pm (last admission 5pm). Individual and family tickets and annual memberships can be purchased online via www.curraghswildlifepark.im.