Land-based students meet the industry experts

Our Agriculture, Animal Care and Horticulture students have been hearing from a range of guest speakers as part of Land-Based Industry Week.

Throughout the week, over 15 sessions took place where students had the opportunity to listen to professionals from local and national businesses within the land-based industry allowing them to explore the variety of exciting careers available after finishing their studies.

On Monday, students engaged virtually with Helen Spicer, Blue Cross Education Officer, and discovered what it is like to work in animal welfare and learned about career opportunities in a charity like Blue Cross.

Students virtually spoke to Stuart McPhate, Sales Manager at ZooLab, on Tuesday morning, about their ethical and engaging animal encounters, as well as the careers available at ZooLab and the attitudes, qualifications, expectations and skills required.

In the afternoon, students visited Sheffield Botanical Gardens and encountered 5,000 species of plants within 19 acres of land and learned about how Sheffield Botanical Gardens Trust raises funds to look after, improve and refurbish the plant collections.

Wednesday saw Chester Zoo representatives discussing the conservation master plan and the role of the zoos in preventing extinction, before a playful visit from the Therapy Huskies, where students learned about the work they do across the country, how Adrian looks after the dogs and the training involved.

Some students also attended visited South Yorkshire Police to see how dogs are used across the country in tracking, detaining, apprehending suspects and searching for missing people or property as well as horses.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park staff visited the Wigfield Farm campus on Thursday with students learning about the different roles and responsibilities at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, with a special focus on what it takes to be an animal ranger.

Finn Holmes-Kellett, who has worked in the Zoo industry for most of his career, also presented his journey after successfully completing his BSc Animal Behaviour and Welfare degree programme at the University of Chester and being the first in his family to go to university.

Thursday finished up with a wellbeing session from Jo Kennedy who used a parabolic microphone to listen to the sounds from the animals and the surrounding nature areas.

The week closed with the UK’s leading cat charity, Cats Protection, spoking to students virtually about feline behaviour, including comparing the domestic cat to the African wildcat. Students also considered the effects of genetics, the environment and medical factors on feline behaviour, as well as feline communication and how to interpret body language and vocalisation.