Community Access Scheme

Charity and community partner organisations

ZSL's Community Access scheme provides discounted tickets to:

• Low-income households
• Refugees
• People with additional needs or disabilities
• People over the age of 60 and may be at risk of isolation

The scheme is currently open to people living in Greater London, and we work with a wide range of local councils, charities and community groups who apply for tickets and distribute them to the individuals and families they work with. Organisations in 31 out of the 33 London Boroughs are currently participating in the scheme. If you already have a relationship with such an organisation, please ask them if they’re already one of our partners. If not, we’d love to hear from them – please email us at [email protected].

How to apply to the scheme as a community organisation

If you are an organisation wanting to provide Community Access tickets to your service users, please apply to the scheme on the button below. We provide tickets to a wide range of organisations that meet the following criteria:

1. Your organisation works with or supports one or more of the following: 

• People from low-income households, including refugees
• People with additional needs or disabilities 
• Older people (60+) 

2. Your organisation works with people living in any of the 33 London Boroughs. 

If you would like to enquire about the scheme, please contact our Community Engagement team at [email protected].

If you would like to apply directly, please do so on the link below:
Apply here

Good to know

We know that travel and food & drink can really add up on a day out. We have wonderful restaurants, cafes and refreshments areas in our zoos, but if you are on a budget you are welcome to bring your own food and drink.

Our shops sell keepsakes and souvenirs from as little as £1.

Our Zoos may differ from others, so if it’s your first time at our Zoos it’s good to know that:

• Your food is for humans only! We don’t allow visitors to bring food for our animals. For their wellbeing, they all have a very specialist controlled diet.
• We have talks, but not ‘shows’. We want our visitors to enjoy and learn about our precious animals, and for the species we look after to have as natural wild behaviour as possible. So, you can enjoy fun and informative short talks from our presenters throughout the day – but we don’t ask our animals to participate in ‘shows’.
• The homes we build for our animals are carefully designed to provide places for them to explore, rest and, yes, sometimes to hide if they’re feeling shy! You’re sure to see a whole host of amazing animals during your day, but some may be more challenging to spot, so our friendly volunteers and staff are always happy to help.

We are proud to be working with the National Lottery Heritage Fund.