THE Royal Agricultural University (RAU) is celebrating the graduation of its first cohort of foundation degree British Wildlife Conservation students. 

The two-year course has been a success with over a third of students being awarded a distinction.

The focus on conservation of British wildlife was developed in consultation with prospective employers and industry experts in order to prepare students for a career or further study within UK-based conservation enterprises.

Students do academic and practical topics and complete a work placement.

Kelly Swallow, British Wildlife Conservation course manager, said: “It has been fantastic to begin this programme with such a dedicated and keen group of students.

"They have proved that taking every opportunity offered here at the RAU really does lead to success.”

The course includes a number of trips and visits, to gain an insight into a variety of different conservation focussed projects and organisations.

Highlights include bat surveying, river management, orchard creation, and a beaver reintroduction programme in Devon.

A particular success was a student project by Martin Smith on the impact of grassland management on small mammals, which was presented at the Mammal Society Student Conference in April 2016.

Many students will now progress onto the BSc (Hons) Countryside Management at the RAU.

To find out more, contact course manager Kelly Swallow at Kelly.Swallow@rau.ac.uk.

To find out more about the university, please visit www.rau.ac.uk