Weymouth SEA LIFE Adventure Park’s newest residents, a colony of 20 Fairy Penguins, have received 10 nest boxes from the Wareham Area Men’s Shed association.

The colony of Europe’s only Fairy Penguins moved into their new state-of-the-art enclosure in May and required some more nest boxes for the penguins to call home. Weymouth SEA LIFE commissioned the Wareham Area Men’s Shed to build 10 nest boxes and work began in July.

The Men’s Shed provides a social space for men of all ages and capabilities to get together to share skills and stories, and to be part of a team working on projects together. There are more than 25 members of the Wareham Area Men’s Shed and they meet twice a week to socialise and create things such as bird and bat boxes, garden tables and other useful items for individuals and the wider community to benefit from.

Chris Hockley, member of Wareham Area Men’s Shed, said: “This has been such a brilliant project to be part of and we are really proud to have worked together with Weymouth SEA LIFE to provide the Fairy Penguins with their new nest boxes. This was an unusual project for us to be part of, so we researched and used a similar design from New Zealand, which is where the penguin breed originates from. We hope the penguins will be happy in their new home.

“It was great to see the penguins exploring their new houses and we are so happy to have been asked to create something which will be seen by hundreds of thousands of visitors, for years to come.”

Sarah Lambert, marketing manager of Weymouth SEA LIFE added: “We were delighted that Men’s Shed were able to help by building 10 nest boxes for our new colony of 20 Fairy Penguins. It is important to us to support members of the community, especially an association such as Men’s Shed that raises awareness of men’s health and wellbeing.

“It was fascinating to see the penguins already enjoying their nest boxes and it bodes well for our breeding programme which we are hoping to establish in the coming months, as well as raising awareness of the conservation threats for the penguins.”

Over the next coming months, Weymouth SEA LIFE will give local school children the opportunity to decorate the nest boxes before they are varnished, with their most creative designs.

The park has invested in excess of £100,000 into the new Fairy Penguins enclosure, which gives visitors the opportunity to get closer than ever before and interact with them in a whole new way. A boardwalk allows visitors to take a stroll through Fairy Penguin Island and feel like part of the colony.

Weymouth SEA LIFE is the home to more than 1,000 creatures in 13 different zones such as sharks, turtles and stingrays. Guests are invited to learn all about the creatures which live in and around the sea and how we can work together to protect them from harm. Caribbean Cove is Dorset’s greatest outdoor adventure playground, which offers hours of entertainment along with the park’s Splash Zone. Daily talks and feeding demonstrations are also held at the park to further educate guests about the different species which live at Weymouth SEA LIFE Adventure Park.

Please visit www.visitsealife.com/weymouth or www.warehamshed.org.uk for more information.