New Video Player LIVE on ARES Homepage

We are proud to annouce that the launch of our new video player is live on the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences homepage (www.ntu.ac.uk/ares)

Have a look at our 'we need forward thinking scientsits' video and let us know what you think at are.feedback@ntu.ac.uk.

Veterinary Clinical Coach Standardisation Workshop

Alison Simpson, Internal Verifier for the Foundation Degree in Veterinary Nursing at the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences.  The event is aimed at veterinary industry professionals who have a relationship with the University through our placements programme, which is part of the Veterinary Nursing course.

The workshops cover a practical skill tasks, todays task is injection techniques ran by Valerie McPherson. The group will then have a chance to complete sections in their nursing progression update, finishing with an open forum session on current issues.

For more information about the Veterinary Clinical Coach Standardisation Workshops contact Alison Simpson or 0115 8485203.

Alison demonstrating injection techniques.

Lincolnshire Show 2012

Staff at Brackenhurst is getting ready for #LincsShow today. Our stand is at DZ09, come along and introduce yourself.

We have information on all the courses you can do at the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences including our Further Education courses in Agriculture, Animal Management, Horse Management, Horticulture and Countryside Management.

If you have liked what you have seen at #LincsShow and want to know more why not book onto an Open Day by visiting www.ntu.ac.uk/ares.

Biomass Boiler Work Starts Today...

Work has started today (Monday 18 June 2012) on the installation of the new Biomass Boiler on campus, we'll keep you posted on the progress of the development. The boiler will provide heating for the student village, academic offices and the new library development.

Work started on the boiler, 18 June 2012.

Positive Feedback on Facebook!

Visitors to our Open Days are using Facebook to congratulate us on the quality of our events.

One comment was particularly positive saying “The open day was amazing. Everybody was really friendly and the facilities are top quality. Still can't believe the size of the rooms. Look forward to applying for vet nursing end of this year and hopefully coming if I get a place”

We love to hear your Open Day feedback, either write on our Facebook wall or email are.feedback@ntu.ac.uk.

Staff recognised for their hard work and dedication

Eleven staff from NTU including Julia Davies from the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences have been recognised for their hard work and dedication in the University’s first ever ‘Outstanding Teaching Awards’. A packed ceremony, held in the University’s Arkwright Building, saw the culmination of weeks of voting bringing the year to a close with a celebration of academic success.

Students voted in their hundreds for the tutors, lecturers and support staff who they felt had made the most positive impact on their learning this academic year. The criteria for the nominations included prompt and relevant feedback; expert knowledge; and a stimulating, enthusiastic and consistently challenging environment.

Over 60 staff were nominated in the Students' Union run initiative, with eleven winners eventually emerging.

Brackenhurst wins Jubilee Cricket Match

On Wednesday 30 May a Brackenhurst Cricket XI visited Norwood Park at the invitation of Sir John Starkey to play a Jubilee celebration match, as part of the long-standing links between Brackenhurst and Norwood.

Captained by final-year student Liam Roberts, the Brackenhurst team featured eight students and three staff members. Despite a short burst of heavy rain, all 44 overs were bowled, the Brackenhurst team winning by a comfortable 80-run margin.

The student players acquitted themselves very well, being complimented for both their cricketing skills and their conduct as ambassadors for the School of ARES and the University. The three staff players (Stephen Jackson, Bill Turner and John Clarkson), despite having a collective age almost as great as all eight student players combined, rolled back the years to make important contributions with both bat and ball.

Team:

Nicholas Brown, Dave Clark, John Clarkson, Owen Harlow, Stephen Jackson, Richard Paul, Liam Roberts (c), Dave Siggins, George Skinner, Bill Turner, Peter Wilson.

Food Events @ Brackenhurst

Insider Magazine, Hospitality Round Table Event.

Insider Magazine hosted an industry relevant event at the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences. The hospitality event was well attended with delegates discussing issues which challenge the hospitality industry today, including the changing nature of cash flow and the effects of localism has worked with the hospitality sector.

The event was attended by industry professionals from a range of businesses in the East Midlands; including Park Plaza Hotel, Shelton Imports and the National Skills and Drink Academy.

                                Insider Breakfast Event, Monday 11 June 2012

National Skills Academy, Fresh Produce and Regional & Rural

Industry Action Group.

Guests from across the country attended an Industry Action Group at the Brackenhurst campus on Tuesday. This event organised by the National Skills Academy was designed to aspire the fresh produce and regional & rural group to ‘grow its own talent’.  The event was attended by businesses including Booths, Munoz, Greenvale, Manor Fresh and Bourne Prepared Produce. The group discusses issues facing the fresh produce sector today, including the impact of voucher culture and the changing trends of value and premium products.

Fi Thompson, Business Development Officer gave a presentation entitled ‘grow your own talent’ to the group outlining the story of one of our students on the recently established Foundation Degree in Food Science and Technology. For more information about our range of Food Science courses, visit www.ntu.ac.uk/food. 

Derby College Visit

Students on BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Animal Management from Broomfield Hall, Derby College visited Brackenhurst yesterday for a Higher Education taster day. Visiting fellow Jeremy Kemp-Symonds gave a Veterinary Nursing Lecture on Oncology and technical staff gave demonstrations on enrichment and tours of the facilities at Brackenhurst.

The students gave really positive feedback about the campus, facilities and student ambassadors at the event, and most of them are considering entering Higher Education.

For more information about the Schools, Community and College Liaison team

Further Education and Professional Courses Awards

Our Further Education and Professional Students received their awards in the tranquil setting of Southwell Minister, last Friday. The event was a fitting tribute to the dedication and care students have taken with their studies while at Brackenhurst. Many of the students at the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences excel across their programmes; below is a list of our prize winners this year.

                         FE and Professional Awards, 2012


Emma-Lauren Green, The Equine Trophy

Lucas Sivers, The Richardson Cup

Ashley Wright, The MJ and JA Saxby Trophy

Rachel Brennan, The NFU Trophy

Kate Dumbleton,The Peter O’Dell Trophy

Michelle Mettam, The Singleton Bowl

Julie Davies, The Kelham Cup

Laura Mackey, The Schering Bowl

Joe Thompson, The Lawton Prize

Lynn Preece, The Institute of Horticulture Prize

Jodie Bentley, The A and V Squires Challenge Cup

Liam Higgins, The Alph Moch Sheild

Tony Smith, The Alderman Crocker Cup

Bronwyn Ward, The Sir Stewart Goodwin Shield

Dave Gooden, The Hinsley Prize

Rebecca Northern, The Hince Bowl

Congratulations to all our students on their prizes, the photographs from the event will soon be on our Facebook page.

The Big Bang 2012

Staff and Students from the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences where at The Big Bang 2012 at the NEC in Birmingham. 44,000 school children visited the fair from around the East and West Midlands. We ran a Food Mile Challenge, which lots of children, teachers and parents took part in.

For more information about Schools and College Outreach, contact Janet Northover.

FOODEX'12

The Food Team from the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences were recently at FOODEX'12 at the NEC in Birminhgam. Visit the NTU Fusion website to see our new look food provision.

If you have any questions about NTU Fusion you can contact Fi Thompson or call 0115 8485238.

Post App Open Day for Environment and Geography

Very successful event today with applicants attending from Northumberland to Cornwall.  We also promoted the environmental focus of the university as a whole - helped by Rachel Staten, a second year BSc Hons Physical Geography student who is working with our Environment Team on placement.  Her role as an Environment Engagement Assistant involves delivering sustainability projects across the university.

UTC application continues to progress

I attended a seminar hosted by the Baker Dearing Trust in London with Mike Hamlin, Senior Education Adviser at the Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust. The seminar covered in detail the process of establishing a UTC and was very useful background for our forthcoming interview in Sheffield at the Department for Education. The final outcome of this round of UTC bids will be announced by the Department at the end of May....this time we are hopeful that the Government will see the value of our focus on greenskills and landbased industries.

Spring has definitely arrived at Home Farm!

The farm baliff Neil Hodgson and agricultural staff led by Dominic Heneghan, Agriculture Programme Leader are busy supporting students getting experience with lambing and calving at Home Farm for the next few weeks...

Also down on the farm we are considering new cattle housing for our Lincoln Red herd. One of the ideas is a roundhouse from Simpson & Allinson in Yorkshire - in my experience a perfect cattle and student friendly facility! (http://www.roundhouseltd.co.uk/)

International Students Awards Evening 2012

A very enjoyable event which celebrated scholarships for students from 27 countries studying across the University. It was great to see Melissa Stephenson from ARES collect her award. Melissa is studying on the MSc Equine Health and Welfare and is at the project planning stage for the final part of her Masters.  She came to study at Brackenhurst from the United States as there are very few Masters level equine courses in her home country.

FdSc Sport Horse Management & Coaching Students in the Bramley Newspaper

Students are hosting a charity show jump on Saturday 3 March in aid of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance. The event is part of the FdSc Sport Horse Management and Coaching course. For more information contact Laura Bentley on laura.bentley2012@my.ntu.ac.uk.

Inaugural Lecture by Visiting Professor Doug Wilson

"Living on the Edge" was the title Doug chose to discuss with his audience at his  inaugural lecture last night at Brackenhurst.  Doug described how the 1972 book "The Limits to Growth" by Meadows et al. was an early influence on him and he explored how - since this publication and its successors - we had continued to exploit the earth's resources and live beyond its long-term capacity.

The quality of questions was an indicator of the depth of the audience's interest in this area and today Doug developed these ideas further with our geography and environmental science students.

Get involved with community volunteering through NTU!

Janet Northover - our Schools, Colleges and Outreach Officer, presented at the recent student forum to encourage students to take up one of the numerous opportunties to volunteer through NTU's community projects.  Many of these are funded so students gain valuable work experience and get paid for their input.
After the forum Janet had lots of interest from students so hopefully this will follow through to more volunteers.  We particularly need some Brackenhurst students in the main University Ambassador team!

Full details at http://ntu.ac.uk/business_professions/our_students/student_volunteering/index.html

The Forum also discussed lots of issues relevant to the students' academic experience and it was good to hear that everyone was happy with the speed and type of feedback received last term on their assignments.
There will be a fuller update on further IT improvements shortly...

Oxford Farming Conference 2012

The Oxford Farming Conference is something of an institution which each year tries to address a significant issue facing agriculture.  The theme for the 2012 conference was "Who holds the power in global agriculture" and the Power in Agriculture report produced for the conference makes fascinating reading.  (http://www.ofc.org.uk/papers ). Dr. Alan Renwick SAC's Head of Land Economy and Environment Research Group, lead author, gave a very fascinating summary of findings - it was interesting to hear for example how few companies are now involved in the production and distribution of key inputs such as fertiliser and seed across the world - does this make global agriculture vulnerable? 

Other speakers ranged from representatives of Transnational Companies - the so called TNCs - to small businesses developing niche products. Caroline Spelman Defra Minister entitled her talk "Big Chances for a Small Island" and was applauded by some of the livestock farmers in the room for her stance on the badger cull but there was very little else of note in her speech which mainly focused on the challenges of CAP reform without giving many definitive examples of the UK's stance.  The RSPB's Director of Conservation Martin Harper gave a strong account of why the declines shown by the Farmland Bird Index are particularly relevant in the light of potential intensification - but I felt that the farmers were left feeling that there was little new information to inform their land management.

International Agents Dinner

Brackenhurst hosted the final day of the NTU International Agents conference at which  agents from around the world visit the University to see what it has to offer prospective students. Despite the rather wild and windy weather, they enjoyed their visit round the estate and dinner in our Hogwartesque dining room! We were joined by several international students who were able to share their experiences of studying here.

Greg Dyke - distinguished lecture

Greg Dyke , who left his role as DG of the BBC rather than back down over the reporting of the controversy surrounding the Iraq dossier, gave a very personal - and at times very insightful view of where television is heading in the next decade.  His conviction is that both local television and internet television will flourish which made me wonder whether we are doing enough to teach our students how to take advantage of these new routes for communication...  I must revisit NTU's Centre for Broadcast Journalism - especially as their Dean announced yesterday they were now one of the UK's top 3 communications departments.

NTU Chamber Choir at benefit concert in Southwell Minster

Matthew Hopkins, Director of Music led the Chamber Choir at a wonderful concert in Southwell on Wednesday. It was a benefit for Age UK and Age Concern and the Minster was packed with more than 500 people. The Chamber Choir contributed 4 carols and were greatly appreciated by the audience who loved the musicality and atmosphere they brought to the event. Their faultless diction was also favourably commented on by this particular audience!

Another successful Open Day

This open day had been cancelled last year due to snow so we were not sure what to expect but in fact were 45% busier than 2009 which was great. I spoke to lots of students keen on seeing the new equine facilities as well as plenty of environmental and conservation students. There were also postgraduate enquiries about the new Masters programmes in Endangered Species Conservation, Biodiversity Conservation and Equine Health and Welfare. 

If you have missed this term's open days please get in touch via our web site and come and visit!

We need forward thinking scientists

Nottingham Trent University's School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences present 'We need forward thinking scientists'.

Find out why the world needs skilled graduates to tackle the problems of climate change, hunger, clean energy, endangered species and waste management. Find out more at www.ntu.ac.uk/ares (created by Seismik.co.uk).

Sources include Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Foresight: The Future of Food and Farming, Government Office for Science and Worldometers.info

DaNES 2011 Exhibition: Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire Entomological Society at Brackenhurst Campus

DaNES 2011 Exhibition at  Brackenhurst Campus

The Society’s annual exhibition enabled members to present their various project studies and exhibits but also view displays and information from a number of other organisations and groups in the region.

Exhibitiors included:

Manchester Museum with specimens from a range of insect Orders to illustrate their comprehensive collections and to emphasise that their use for further research is greatly encouraged.

Nottingham University Museum presented a range of set material to similarly illustrate the wide range of shape, size and colour of the insects. It also gave an opportunity to investigate the other collections in the museum.

Live specimens included: spiders, phasmids and cockroaches.

The subject and study of slugs was a special exhibit.

Water invertebrates were displayed along with live specimens.

Lots of organisations participated e.g. http://lensweb.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/danes-insect-exhibition/

Notts County Council - Culture & Environment visit

Steve Bradley - now Group Manager of Nottinghamshire County Council's Culture and Environmental Services visited Brackenhurst today with his colleagues Phil Baker and Gary Richards.  We discussed the NCC provision for schoolchildren "learning in the outdoors" which we host on Campus. Run by Corby Lewington, the centre welcomes some 4000 children every year who explore the history and environment of Brackenhurst. Students from NTU's School of Education now work with Corby on placement which seems to working out as a win-win. Today we discussed how to add further value to this successful partnership between NTU and the County Council.

HE Awards Presentation at Brackenhurst

Wednesday was a very happy occasion when former students and their families enjoyed lunch with staff followed by the presentation of awards for significant achievements on our HE programmes. It was a pleasure to celebrate their success and learn about their current endeavours in further study or work. We trust they will all continue to keep in touch with us directly and through the University's Alumni Association.

IUCN Peatlands Report launched

Today the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) UK Commission of Inquiry on Peatlands launches its findings.

Dr Jill Labadz, an academic in the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, led the hydrology review for this global IUCN inquiry, which has revealed the enormous importance of our peatlands for both people and wildlife.

Dr Labadz’s review team investigated how water behaves in peatlands and the drivers of change including climate, pollution, land-use and management. The team looked at the impacts of peat drainage and best practice in this activity, and considered projections of future climate and land-use impacts on UK peatlands.

Peatlands are areas of land formed over thousands of years from carbon-rich dead and decaying plants in water-logged conditions. This ‘Cinderella’ habitat – overlooked and undervalued – covers less than 3% of the land surface of Earth, but contains twice as much carbon as the world’s forests. Far from the hostile, barren wastelands that peatlands are often seen as, these stunning landscapes provide irreplaceable ecosystem services.  

In ARES this subject is also linked to work in the Horticulture group which undertakes industry research for companies seeking to develop high quality peat alternatives.

Let's hope the report of the Review gets the serious attention it deserves.  Read more at:
www.iucn-uk-peatlandprogramme.org/resources

'Working with Industry' Case Study: Pork Farms

Nottingham Trent University's Food Science team offer commercially focused training to professionals working in the food and drink manufacturing industry.

This case study documents a bespoke training event created for Pork Farms New Product Development team, focusing on the benefits of working with university expertise.

Based at Brackenhurst campus, NTU has industry standard pilot plant facilities that enable the delivery of short courses and continuing professional development (CPD) training for the food industry.

We are an approved centre for the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Innovation. If you would like more information please contact us on +44 (0)115 848 5238 or email fi.thompson@ntu.ac.uk

International students give their views on Brackenhurst

Brackenhurst has a growing number of international students - this year on every level of course including MSc.  I met them for a discussion over lunch to learn more about their experiences of being a student here. Overall, they were very positive - giving examples of the friendly campus life and interesting courses.  We homed in on some areas where we could improve - for example, giving non-UK students better directions how to get here in the first place!  In the City Campus there is excellent support for international students - and we discussed how to improve access to this - and how to integrate Brackenhurst students into the wider University international student scene. We also discussed the peculiarities of the British sense of humour...whereas I can certainly do something about most of their recommendations, I am not sure this one is easy to solve ...

The 2011 ARES  international student contingent includes:   
MSc Endangered Species Conservation - Hong Kong, MSc Equine Health & Welfare -USA, BSc Zoo Biology - China,  BSc Animal Biology - India,  BSc Wildlife Conservation - India,
BSc Environmental Conservation - China,  BSc Equine Sports Science - Russia, FdSc Veterinary Nursing - Singapore,  FdSc Sports Horse Management and Training - Canada, BTEC Level 3 Horticulture - Georgia


They are a very inspiring group who are completely committed to their courses and already planning to go on to postgraduate taught and research degrees.

Osberton International Horse Trials 2011

It is good to get letters from industry praising the input from our students!  We make every effort to ensure our courses are a good mixture of theory and application - and this is a great example of a win-win for tutor Sam York and her students on the FdSc Sports Horse Management and Training.
 

 

  

OSBERTON INTERNATIONAL HORSE TRIALS 2011

Dear Sam

I have felt compelled to write, and would be grateful if you could pass this on to your students who attended Osberton International to assist us in the running of the event, and, I hope, gain valuable experience whilst doing so.

The students who attended were a credit to the University.  They performed the tasks assigned to them with enthusiasm and very good grace.  The weather did help this year, but they all had a smile on their faces and were polite and conducted themselves immaculately. 

They performed their tasks admirably, as some, such as some of the dressage tasks, are far from inspiring, but are necessary to ensure the smooth running of the event, and are just as important as other more interesting tasks they were able to perform later in the week!  They arrived promptly on time, and were happy to continue the tasks until completed without complaint and grumble. They were polite, used their initiative where needed and were commented on by our chief stewards and judges who were most complimentary.

I believe for the students to encounter “real” situations, where time can often be of the essence and deadlines are a fact of life, it is an experience they benefit from when dealing with their own situations.

Once again, I would like to say a huge thank you for their tremendous input into Osberton and reiterate once again, what a credit they are to you and your organisation.

With best wishes from us both

Stuart and Anna

Stuart and Anna

Green Impact launch at NTU

Green Impact is a Defra sponsored environmental accreditation scheme with an awards element designed for university departments.  It recognises that Universities should be catalysts of behaviour change to lessen impacts on the environment - particularly with respect to energy usage.  Hosted by the Environment Team the event was well attended with staff from across the University keen to lead initiatives and teams in their departments to do more in this regard.  ARES students and staff who want to get involved please get in touch with me or  John Clarkson - we need to make sure we are at the forefront of this initiative!
http://www.eauc.org.uk/green_impact

House of Commons Reception for UTCs

The reception was celebrating the emerging University Technical College (UTC) movement, led by the Baker-Dearing Trust, which aims to establish new schools for 14-19 year olds- focusing on one or two key areas in which there are skills shortages.  NTU is involved in a bid with the Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust to establish the Brackenhurst Greenskills Academy - for rural and environmental industries.  The Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, John Hayes, addressed the reception and singled out our partner Barry Day - Chief Executive of the GDFT - as someone who has been pursuing excellence in this area for many years.

Although the recent allocation of funds for the first UTCs was dominated by projects aiming to deliver engineering skills, we are still considering progressing the partnership as the joint bid could create a really innovative school which tackles skills shortages of great relevance to rural Nottinghamshire. It remains to be seen whether, within this programme, the Government choose to fund green areas as well as motorsports for example!

Student Forum gets off to a great start

The inaugural meeting of the new Student Forum took place this afternoon. Extremely well attended by student reps from every year and course, the Forum included presentations on the proposed new library and Information Systems improvements plus plenty of chance for student discussion of other matters which affect their academic experience.

This forum links to our Programme Committees - and gives a chance once a term to compare student experience across the whole School. Thanks to the Student Union Brackenhurst Liaison officer Toby Mitchell and VP Jonny Ellison for their input regarding the Union system for future training for reps.  Look out for information for Tuesday!

Greening the farm fleet project - enabling precision agriculture

The School was delighted to receive two new tractors on the farm today through University investment in greening our fleet.  

These will enable us to teach precision agriculture to agriculture, horticulture and countryside management students. In addition, the cab is fitted with a sophisticated GPS, enabling a wide range of students to use the field data generated from this.  

October 15 Open Day at NTU Brackenhurst

Today's Open Day is humming - people from all over the country are finding out what studying at Brackenhurst is all about - and with the sun shining and the non-stop tours of the estate it's a great atmosphere. 

If you've missed it, your next chance is Saturday December 3rd 2011 starting at 10.00am!

Animal Blessing Service at Southwell Minster

Some of Brackenhurst's many animals had an unusual experience on Sunday when they were welcomed into the Minster to be blessed by Canon Jacqui Jones! 

The community enjoyed seeing the ponies, snakes and bearded dragon in a new setting -  many thanks to Cat Sanderson and students for organising our participation.