‘An incredible experience’.
That’s how our School of Animal Care and Land Management students have summed up an adventure-packed Turing Scheme placement with Tuli Wilderness, in Botswana.
Ten Level 3 students, plus two members of staff, got to put their training into practice during the trip – by tracking and observing wild animals in their natural habitat.
The visit included night-time safaris, trips out to see ancient cave paintings, a litter pick along a dried-up riverbed and even a fun session teaching local children the Hokey Cokey.
Student Scarlett Hartshorne said: “This has been an experience I will remember for the rest of my life!
“On one of the days, we hiked up Eagle Point and studied Bushmen paintings, and the guides taught us about how they lived.”
For Keavie Kelliher, the trip exceeded her expectations. She said: “It was my dream to be able to do something like this.
“It has been an incredible experience that has prepared me for a future career in conservation.”
For many of the students, the wildlife they encountered and observed, which included a pack of lions, was the highlight.
Damien Brown said: “We took part in a night game drive so we could observe some of the nocturnal animals and develop our night-time tracking skills.”
Kayleigh Bentley said: “It was really interesting to see animals in their natural habitat; watching the lionesses make their kill and observing how long it takes for them to eat the animal.”
Charlie Farr, meanwhile, was fascinated by contrast in the behaviour of the animals in the wild compared to those he has watched in British zoos.
Tia Battle-Lewis really valued experiencing a new culture within the context of animal conservation. She said: “One of the aspects I enjoyed the most was visiting the village and learning how the differences in money and funding can impact the way the children learn in the school.”
Maison Worral echoed those sentiments: “I loved seeing all the wildlife, experiencing the culture and learning all about the locals’ lifestyle.
“Participating in this project has inspired me to seek further social impact opportunities.”
Lucy Turnell, who was one of the accompanying staff, added: “It has been lovely to watch the group experience a wildlife safari, which is a dream for most animal care students.
“They got to use knowledge from their course in a real, wild situation.”
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Our students have taken their calls for local bus service improvements to the very top.
Learners from Park Lane and Quarry Hill campuses, as part of their Friends of the Earth My World: My Home project, asked fellow students to name the environmental issues most important to them.
From the responses the 12-strong group chose to focus on public transport, and specifically the quality of local bus services. They then went about securing a meeting with the Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin’s team.
To make an impact the group created an eye-catching visual petition featuring signatures written on tiny bus passenger figures, and took it along to the mayor’s headquarters in Leeds.
The strategy worked and the students got an opportunity to sit down with Head of Transport Policy, Helen Ellerton, and other staff to discuss their concerns.
During the meeting, they made the case for:
Eighteen year old Deborah Adumaza, who is studying A levels, said: “At first I was shy, but everyone was so nice and kind.
“We were all able to share our different stories and the mayor’s team were all able to relate, which was amazing and made things much easier for us to discuss and to suggest different ideas to improve bus services in Leeds.”
Our Social Action Leadership Coordinator, Florence Smith-Drayson, was impressed by both the students’ efforts and the response from the mayor’s office.
She said: “In the meeting they discussed franchising the bus network – as it has been Ms Brabin’s ambition to take the buses under control of West Yorkshire Combined Authority – and the benefits this would bring for bus passengers.
“The staff at the mayor’s office took the students’ concerns very seriously and said that they will be taking the feedback to the mayor. Their plan is to improve all of the areas that were discussed through franchising.
“When the mayor received the petition and heard about the work the students were doing her office sent the students an email on her behalf, thanking them and saying: ‘It’s campaigners like yourself that make real, positive change in communities!’.”
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