Tag Archives: ABWAK

Conservation, experience, Network and Sharing, Training & Development, Workshop

Spring – History, Countryside & Training

The seasons change again, although we can’t rely on specific dates or equinoxes to fix these changes. Climate change is having an impact, weather patterns and an unusually wet winter are being commented upon and recognised. However, action to mitigate these changes is still slow and the subject of political position and decisions.

The snowdrops looked wonderful all through February with a great display as usual at Scone Palace estate near Perth. This is also the ancient crowning place of Scottish kings (including Macbeth and Robert the Bruce) – where the Stone of Scone was used before being taken by Edward I to England. It was repatriated to Edinburgh Castle in 1996. As I write this the Stone has moved from Edinburgh to its home in the new Perth Museum.

It has been another good start to the year for the Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust, that I am honoured to Chair. The River Tay Way project has a new ‘hub’ public facility in Aberfeldy. Trees planted last year and this are growing and the Perthshire Nestbox project has delivered boxes to schools across the county (Fossoway Primary illustrated), and much more. Our funders and small staff team enable us to achieve a great deal for the people and countryside of Perth & Kinross.

This year also marks the 50th anniversary of ABWAK, the UK zookeepers association. I have been a member since 1987 and served on Council 2003-17, and was delighted to be invited to attend and speak at the Symposium held at ZSL London Zoo at the start of March. It was made extra special with the attendance of Jon Barzdo, founder of ABWAK. History is a key feature of the Regents Park site, including the ‘Lubetkin Penguin Pool’ (made from reinforced 1930s concrete that features heavily at Dudley Zoo). The ZSL Library was also good to visit again – not least to see some of the historic books and documents, including a 1st edition of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species’.

This March I was pleased to be asked to return to Longleat in Wiltshire to run my staff Communication & Presentation Skills workshops. It is always a pleasure working with the staff and team here supporting their public engagement, conservation messaging, customer care and professional development. The interactive workshop is always FUN and in the words of Darren Beasley, Head of Animal Operations:

“Longleat benefits not only from his expert knowledge but also receives a bespoke training package created on education, presentation and communication skills for our animal department gang. Those attending receive a full day of engaged learning, new skills and leave with confidence to deliver presentations to a high standard.”

This month I was also able to do a ‘guest training talk’ online to the team working with Luke Harding at Mandai Wildlife, Singapore Zoo & associated sites. It’s great that we can use technology to deliver training like this across the world. It is more effective in person and on site, however, there are benefits that can be gained from remote ‘teaching’ too.

Conservation, Network and Sharing, Qualification, Training & Development

Just one tree…

As the beautiful Autumn season arrives the felling of one tree – the Sycamore Gap at Hadrian’s Wall – filled news headlines and sparked anger, outrage and outcry. This senseless act should be a reminder that people are disconnected with nature and natural systems. At the same time many people care… but perhaps the sentimental affection for one tree is misplaced or needs some additional focus?

The Sycamore was ‘special’ because it stood alone as a feature of the landscape (possibly deliberately planted as such). There are many ‘special trees’. For me, and associated with the Perth & Kinross Countryside Trust ‘Perthshire big tree country’, the ancient Birnham Oak is special (and incidentally has some ancient sycamores near by). However, it is not alone, it exists in woodland on the banks of the River Tay, and further along is Neil Gow’s oak revered as the place the 18th century fiddler composed and played.

A tree is a ‘unit’ of a woodland or forest, a habitat. The outcry should be levelled at destruction of these habitats for human development (roads, rail eg HS2, building development, monoculture etc). Connection to nature can be ’emotional’ and ‘spiritual’, at the same time there is need for a regard to ecology and what is appropriate planting and management. However, encouraging more people to enjoy and access the countryside responsibly, hopefully re-builds connection and support for trees and ‘added value’ they give us.

Our connection to nature can also be promoted and enhanced through well designed and carefully thought out ‘experiences’ in wildlife parks. At Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park near Ipswich there is a new ‘rare breeds farm’ area, through the native woodland – where some pigs can be seen – and to the fields (with rare breed pigs, goats, sheep, Suffolk punch horses, Highland cattle).

It was an honour to be asked to speak at the UK’s first KEEPERFEST event held at Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park in early September. The event included talks from Jim Doherty, Adam Henson, Nick Baker and a host of ‘industry experts’, as well as practical workshops and stands.

The event nicely complimented the work that ABWAK have been doing for many years in helping keepers to network and develop their skills.

Over the summer I also wrote a short-course on Environmental Education for learndirect and this is available for people to study online as a validated 3 module short-course: https://www.learndirect.com/course/level-3-award-environmental-educator

Training & Development

Training for the future of planet Earth

There are many challenges facing our planet and the environment. Fortunately there are environment, conservation and nature champions making a difference and new generations of inspiring conservationists. I’m honoured to play a small part in training and supporting people and giving them ideas for sharing their passion and enthusiasm for nature with others.

This April I spent a few days with the latest participants on the Durrell Endangered Species Management Graduate Certificate [DESMAN] in Jersey.

The Spring 2023 DESMAN group from 11 countries – Brazil, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Mauritius, & Seychelles

“Teaching” conservation education theory and practice in a very short space of time is a challenge too, so my approach is largely one of mixing ‘lecture’ with example and active participation – and demonstrating through presentation techniques how everyone can contribute to conservation communication and action.

The latest DESMAN group have just completed their 12 week course and through the carefully constructed programme by Durrell Conservation Academy leave equipped to play a greater role in conservation back in their home countries and elsewhere. Each group is different but have shared goals, ambitions and aims appropriate to the context within which they work and I always enjoy the new perspectives and points of view they bring, alongside inspiration from their dedication and optimism that change is possible.

Durrell Conservation Academy, Les Noyers, Jersey

Apart from working with the students, visiting the Zoo and the island, I am always grateful to be part of this course delivery not least having been inspired by Gerald Durrell all those years ago – and actually attending the opening of the training centre (academy) in 1984.

Opening slide to my presentation at ABWAK 2023, Yorkshire Wildlife Park

Ever since I first began working in zoos I have been involved with ABWAK, the Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers, and I enjoyed being a speaker at the Annual Symposium held at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in March. My talk focused on the ‘business of talking’ in zoos and the fact that many keeper talks can be improved by focusing more on specific outcomes, using stories and editing out excessive “facts”, especially in this day and age where most visitors carry all the basic info in their pockets via smartphone and internet search.

At this time I am also busy working with the BIAZA approved Sparsholt College Zookeeper and Aquarist Apprenticeship students who are doing the module on Customer Care, Visitor Experience & Learning which I lead and wrote the assignments for. This is their last module in the c.2 year apprenticeship and so soon they will undertake the end point assessment.

After my years of experience it is still great to be training the future generation of keepers, through the apprenticeship, my continued involvement in Sparsholt’s DMZAA and CMZAAV, and through ABWAK and running workshops.

Network and Sharing, Training & Development

Giving A Presentation :)

After 35 years working in conservation education I still enjoy giving presentations and helping others with techniques to improve theirs. In the modern age of Tik-Tok, Instagram and YouTube many have greater skills and effectiveness than me in those media. However, the face to face and “real” presentation is still a very important aspect of sharing our work and especially engaging with visitors.

It was an honour to be the first speaker on day 2 of the 2022 ABWAK Symposium attended by over 200 people and held at West Midlands Safari Park in early March. My talk “Arabian Giraffes and Indonesian Ambassadors” was an opportunity to share the great work of Sharjah Safari and Orangutan Haven whilst discussing the importance of public engagement and education in zoos.

Keepers are increasingly involved in direct visitor engagement and ‘education’ activity. I was therefore delighted to be asked back to Longleat Safari Park to run ‘Presentation and Communication Training’ for small groups of keepers and safari tour guides. Many of the staff there interact with guests on site, give talks and tours and of course some are ‘famous’ through appearances on ‘Animal Park’ on TV.

I was pleased to work with some who had been at Longleat several years as well as those who joined in the past 12 months. Through a day of activities and information, participants are encouraged to understand what the desired outcomes are and ways that they can enhance their communication skills to be most effective. I particularly enjoy using a diversity of techniques from acting to tongue twisters and it usually gets a smile or two from participants. The philosophy of learning by doing is central to the approach, and it is known that ‘doing something’ is more memorable and likely to have impact.

Seeing animals for real is core to the zoo and aquarium experience. Our exposure to TV and media may bring wildlife stories to our living rooms but this is largely passive. However, the zoo visit can also be passive, and so needs to have focused opportunities and interaction. The role of all staff, from the entrance to the shop, is important in contributing to the message and story. Keepers are a critical part of the experience and our visitors look to them for information and engagement.

The professionalisation of keepers in the UK and Ireland has been promoted by ABWAK throughout its 48 year history and it’s good to see that public engagement is now considered core to many keeper jobs. There are various routes into the profession, and a variety of courses and qualifications. For many years I have been involved in the Diploma in the Management of Zoo and Aquarium Animals (DMZAA) and its volunteer-keeper version CMZAAV, run by Sparsholt College for BIAZA. In the ‘modern’ (and covid) world we can effectively utilise online systems to support learning, so it was good to be guest speaker on a webinar for DMZAA / CMZAAV students, giving them background on zoos and education and pointers on successful assignments.

Giving a presentation is and should be something we enjoy and in so doing we can contribute to sharing our passion, enthusiasm and excitement for wildlife, nature, wild places and conservation.

Training & Development, Uncategorized

2022 – Africa in Arabia & More

A belated Happy New Year and Year of the Tiger. Here’s hoping that 2022 is a healthy and successful one.

After the impact of covid-mitigation measures and various factors affecting delivery of projects over the last two years, it’s great to see the year kick off with some good news. It is wonderful to report that on February 17th Sharjah Safari opened. This amazing huge safari park (8km2) brings Africa to Arabia and has taken nearly 7 years to create. The park utilises the natural environment at Al Bridi Reserve, Al Dhaid, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, which has many acacia trees and gravel beds with natural aquafers. Further trees have been planted and suitable environments for the animals created.

Well done and congratulations to the team involved in creating this remarkable project – primarily the team from Sharjah’s Environment and Protected Areas Authority, EPAA (includes many staff members from Europe, southern Africa and elsewhere with great wildlife experience) and design team Maguari-One Zoo Consultants. The park fulfills the vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi.

I was fortunate to have a very small part in this massive project, helping the education team develop their strategy and plans, whilst also assisting the training of Emirati staff to guide visitors. I look forward to visiting again at some point in future now the Park is open. If you are planning to go to UAE and visit this unique attraction, be aware ticket numbers are limited and the Park will be closed in the hottest months of the year.

(pictures from Sharjah Safari)

Meanwhile IN CHINA, Chimelong Group with whom I have worked since 2018 but covid has prevented further visits are opening their multi-million, world’s largest (370,000 m2), new Marine Science Centre and Leisure Complex at Zhuhai next to Ocean Kingdom. I saw the building in construction – it is truly immense, and the photo makes it look like something from Star Trek. It’s a very ambitious project aiming to link marine education and science with wow visitor experience and featuring many marine species.

However, SOME CLOSING NEWS

Sadly at the same time, Bristol Zoological Society have now announced the official closing date for Bristol Zoo, Clifton, as September 3rd. This historic site – the oldest zoo in the world not in a capital city, opened in 1836 – will partly be developed into a residential site, with some of the gardens remaining. Sadly many staff jobs have gone already and some animals will no longer be kept. The money raised will go to expansion of sister site ‘Wild Place’ to be the ‘new Bristol Zoo’ in South Gloucestershire. I spent a large part of my career at Bristol Zoo (1989-2003) helping develop the education department and involved in various exhibit design projects, so this is personally sad news too. As I write this further sad news comes from the International Centre for Birds of Prey (ICBP) in Gloucestershire that has now closed its doors. Jemima Parry-Jones’s work will continue with birds at a new site not open to the public.

LOOKING FORWARD – I am happy to be preparing for a variety of events in the next weeks, from ABWAK to Staff Training at Longleat and DESMAN22 at Durrell in Jersey, as well as further voluntary work in my Trustee roles with Perth & Kinross Countryside Trust and Dudley & West Midlands Zoological Society.

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In The Beginning…

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My zoo career began in Spring 1987 when I got a lucky break and a job as a Zoo Education Officer based on my enthusiasm and general knowledge – I was not qualified in biology or teaching at that time. Today, it is much more difficult to get that first, (and second), break and get into the profession. So I was really pleased to be part of the launch of the new Zookeeper and Aquarist Apprenticeship programme at Sparsholt College this August.

The 24 month Apprenticeship programme gives participants a structured and supported way of learning the practice of zookeeping /being an aquarist both in work and with ‘college’ sessions.

The course induction at Sparsholt involved Jo Judge, CEO of BIAZA outlining the importance of zoos and the role of BIAZA and outgoing course coordinator Penny, outlining the course and welcoming all the students. Penny had pretty much created the programme and coordinated the ‘subject experts’ that will deliver aspects of the work to be undertaken.

My role on the induction was to inspire and excite the new apprentices about the profession they are entering into and introduce the role of zoos, giving a historical perspective and some thoughts on the modern ‘keeper’. I also took the opportunity to talk about ABWAK, the UK & Irish Zookeepers association.

As Sparsholt has its own licenced zoo collection some time was spent outdoors looking at the centre, and undertaking a brief “browse identification” exercise. And students also got enrolled onto the college computer network to gain access to the online portfolio system that will be their record-keeping mechanism throughout the apprenticeship.

The group were great to work with at the start of their careers. All much younger than the 34 years I have worked in zoos! and most very recently enrolled in the profession. I wish the apprentices all the best for the course and their work, and look forward to further contact in future.

NEW beginnings don’t just come at the start of a career. As I write this I am about to travel to the UAE and do some on site work with the EPAA, on their amazing new Sharjah Safari with whom I have a consultancy contract. Its been a while in the planning, I started discussions with them back in April 2019, and of course covid got in the way and delayed things more, but I’m looking forward to seeing the site for real, meeting and working with team.

Network and Sharing, Workshop

Real People, Real Engagement… and more to come

July saw my first face to face engagements for over a year!

ZooStephen Communication and Presentation Skills workshop was run at Woburn Safari Park in July for members of staff from different departments that had joined since April 2021. This full day workshop was designed to give a range of background to zoos, practical communication skills and consideration of customer care issues.

The group were great and we enjoyed activities from story-telling to tongue-twisters and most importantly the day helped build confidence in speaking to others. Covid restrictions had just been lifted in England, however, we maintained comfortable social distancing and optional mask wearing in the session. It was so much better than via online systems and great to properly interact and react to the group’s needs.

  • Woburn Safari Park, July 2021

Being invited to be the keynote speaker, and run a workshop, at the first UK Animal Care Technician’s conference was the other highlight of July. This had been delayed for a year, so UKACT2020 became UKACT2021 and thanks to the hard work of Joe Cooke and team at Halesowen College, West Midlands, and the attendees from all over the UK, it was a great success.

It was wonderful to be able to speak on ‘education and collaboration’ to a room full of people, to react and receive reaction. My workshop on demonstration and presentation skills was to give a flavour of how technicians can better be prepared for and to support student learning and activities. With good weather we were also able to enjoy lunch outside and spend time looking at the animal collection at the college.

Animal Care Technicians in colleges are responsible for a diversity of animals, whose main role is to assist the training and development of those who wish to pursue a career in animal care. The animal collections in some colleges are licensed zoos, and species kept range from rabbits and goats to iguanas and lemurs. There are also good collections of invertebrates and some aquatics.

Zookeepers have had ABWAK (Association of British and Wild Animal Keepers) to help their networking, training and development, for nearly 50 years, UKACT is providing a great network, using a facebook group and now this first, day long, conference for the animal care technicians.

Fingers crossed with the roll out of vaccines and appropriate mitigation the worst of the Covid situation is over. However, I am mindful of the disparity in vaccine provision across the world. However, I am very pleased to have just taken on two international projects, more will be shared in due course – these are with the Environment & Protected Areas Authority (EPAA) of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; and with Orangutan Haven (SOCP and YEL) in Medan, Indonesia.

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Career Advice & Preparing for job interviews

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In my career I have interviewed a few hundred candidates, and gone through several thousand CVs and application forms. Fortunately, I have been on the other side of an interview just a few times. So it was good to use this wealth of experience and help create the first ABWAK Associate Members Careers Workshop held at Sparsholt College in mid March 2017.

Alongside presentations and activities from ZooStephen on my career, understanding job adverts, CVs, application forms and interviews, the day included advice on volunteering and networking from ABWAK Council member Daniel O’Loughlin (Sparsholt) and career case studies and question time with Kathy Doherty, ZSL Whipsnade Zoo and Meg Fieldhouse, Marwell Zoo.

The delegates, mostly at the start of their ‘zoological’ careers, engaged in discussion and activities designed to help them improve their own CVs, understand the recruitment process better, and prepare for their future careers.

The day was also designed to provide an honest appraisal of the job situation and employment in the ‘zoo industry’, and so delegates were made aware that jobs are very competitive, salaries still low, especially at junior level, and that many are using ‘volunteering and internships’ as additional routes to employment (but there are no guarantees, and risk of working for nothing). Sometimes being an excellent candidate is not enough, there is an element of what some call luck – being there at the right time, knowing the right people etc. Being the best candidate on paper doesn’t necessarily mean being the best person for the job. Unfortunately it is also true to say that the best person for the job may be passed over – and this may be because on paper they don’t have the best qualifications or experience, or they are over-qualified etc. It’s life, and it’s not always ‘fair’.  Be persistent, pursue the dream and passion… but be prepared to alter path and modify goals in the light of experience.

Feedback from delegates showed that 81% strongly agreed that the presentations and activities were excellent (with the remaining 19% agreeing excellent).  And comments included:

Really informative, found all of the talks really interesting and helpful.

Really interesting day to give insight into a process that is frustrating and usually comes without any feedback.

Really enjoyed the day. Excellent information about CVs and interviews which is really relevant.

The day was very beneficial to help me understand the positives and negatives of zoo work. Also have new ideas and changed path to achieve my goal.

Absolutely fantastic! I don’t think it could have been more helpful!

Thanks to Sparsholt College for hosting and to Daniel, Kathy & Meg for their input and to ABWAK.
More ABWAK Career Workshops are planned, and I offer careers talks as ZooStephen.

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The importance of networking – in praise of ABWAK

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For 160+ keepers, 4-5 March 2017 was a very full weekend of networking, talks, workshops and activity held at Colchester Zoo. The annual ABWAK Symposium was once again a huge success, and I was proud to be Chair of the meeting, and complete my term as Chair of the Association and be honoured with the new role of Vice President.

The weekend featured many different topics and taxa, but was framed around our theme of expanding knowledge and networks. The two keynote talks – David Field, Zoological Director ZSL and new ABWAK President on day 1, and Lesley Dickie, CEO of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (& Jersey Zoo) on day 2, focused upon both the importance of knowledge and of networks – but also the pitfalls of ‘fake news’, having trust, responsibility, ethics and honesty and having ambition, learning from failure, and being brave in career choices and development.

The network of zookeepers (and private keepers, along with those aspiring to be keepers through courses etc) has significantly advanced and grown since ABWAK was founded in 1974, not least with the development of the international network ICZ which held its first meeting in 2003.

I joined ABWAK in March 1987 when small groups of keepers met occasionally including for social activity such as inter-zoo quizzes, & the keeper training course (national extension college) was well established, but the network was small. However, over the years and especially so in the past decade, the association has become praised for its symposium and knowledge sharing, alongside its training role with well received workshops on a diversity of topics.

The ABWAK / keeper network is important and now has over 1000 paying members. It has directly helped many participants in both developing their own knowledge and practice but also in career moves. It is often those ‘casual’ relationships and conversations that lead to opportunities, and knowing who might be willing to volunteer to help on a studbook or have ideas and advice … as well as those that may be possible new employees or employers.

To this end, I’m delighted to be helping ABWAK deliver its first Associate Member workshop on 18th March at Sparsholt College, focusing upon careers and helping those aspiring to become keepers to improve their job selection, application forms and CVs, and interview techniques. Then once they have entered the profession to utilise the network effectively and contribute to the development of their profession into the future.

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ABWAK – supporting keeper development

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I’m pleased to announce publication of the March issue of RATEL, the Journal of the Association of British & Irish Wild Animal Keepers (ABWAK).  I have edited and produced RATEL for over 10 years now and it is great to assist the UK, Irish & International zookeeeper community to share knowledge and expertise.

March RATEL features articles including: Barbary macaque conservation; operant conditioning in otters; positive reinforcement for lions; anthropormorphism in a zoo; and mixed exhibit of warty pigs and spotted deer.

This issue comes out as we prepare to meet for our annual ABWAK Symposium at Folly Farm, in South Wales (5-6 March). Over 160 people will be gathered together for a weekend of networking, presentations, training. Guest speakers include TV vet Steve Leonard and Barbary macaque conservationist Sian Waters.

RATELMarch2016