Harper Adams University - Prospectus 2024

The world is facing a number of global crises – biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, climate change and threats to food and energy supplies. Biodiversity underpins a range of ecosystem services which support our social and economic health and wellbeing. If you have a passion for wildlife conservation and want to make a difference to the quality of the environment we leave for future generations, both in the UK and internationally, this is the course for you. You will learn the science andmethodology behind effective care of our protected species, howwe monitor practical habitats, ecological assessment of planning projects, and managing the ecological impacts of agriculture and the climate crisis. You’ll also gain hands- on experience in collecting, analysing and interpreting data for the conservation of our wildlife and natural resources. The programme is founded on the study of ecological science: the interactions between species, the physical environment and humans. Key aspects focus on the ecology of protected species, animal behaviour, practical habitat management, ecological assessment of planning projects, and managing the ecological impacts of population growth, food production, land management and the climate crisis. You will also develop professional skills in species identification, field survey techniques, data management, and project management. These topics will be underpinned by a sound knowledge of how key international and national legislation applies to practical conservation of species and habitats at home and abroad. Your understanding of animal behaviour and welfare, population ecology, field skills, conservation science and underpinning legislation will open up opportunities, once you graduate, in sectors revolving around sustainable management of land and biodiversity. Graduates will find a diverse range of employment opportunities within the fields of ecological management, wildlife conservation, sustainable development and land management, including acting as ecological consultants and ecologists working to mitigate the impacts on wildlife of infrastructure projects, food production and climate change. Alongside these roles are opportunities with relevant organisations in the public and private sectors. Career routes include: • Ecologist • Environmental Manager • Wildlife Biologist • Conservation Manager • Forestry Officer • Ecological Consultant • Renewable Energy Officer • Countryside Manager • Environmental Education Officer About Wildlife Conservation andEcology * “The practical work and the experiences on offer sold the degree to me. A lot of universities don’t have the surroundings Harper does, its acres of fields and a farm - we could survey on our doorstep and practice, whereas at other institutions that seemed to not be the case," says Wildlife and Conservation student and Millichope Foundation Scholarship recipient, Jenna. Having completed her placement as a research assistant at Bristol Zoo, Jenna hoped to put her conservation skills to the test - and she did. "I [got] to practice what I've already learnt and do the practical side of things I'd only learnt the theory of. "Bristol Zoo [was] brilliant and really considered what I wanted to get out of my placement" Read more here. *subject to validation Student Story: Jenna Churchill HARPER.AC.UK | 49