Storms highlight important work of seal stranding investigation

The recent storms and resulting casualties amongst seals has brought the work of a local marine conservationist into sharp focus.

Catherine Barry, who completed her Foundation Degree in Marine Conservation at Cornwall College Newquay, has undertaken a project analysing the link between grey seal mortalities and the way in which marine strandings are reported around the county. 

“Since starting university, I have tried to be as involved as possible with the Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust, so I wanted to take the opportunity to look into seals and the threats to them,” she explained.

“The project investigates the increase in numbers of Grey seal mortalities around Cornwall and whether this is due to an overall increase in Grey seals dying or an increase in the reporting effort. The data was gathered through the use of the Marine Strandings Network database, which records all reported dead Grey seals across the South West.”

The Marine Strandings Network, run by Cornwall Wildlife Trust, consists of a team of over 100 volunteers who record all reported strandings of marine organisms on Cornwall's coastline.

The volunteers' main activity is recording and photographing all stranded dolphins, whales and porpoises, as well as seals, basking sharks and turtles. Recording stranded animals provides information about the marine environment and the health of marine creatures.

This information is vital in helping to conserve wildlife and provides an insight into causes of death and threats to survival.

Catherine’s analysis uncovered some interesting findings.

“The examination of the data suggested that there is both an increase in the amount of awareness for reporting seals, as well as an increase in the number of seals dying,” she explained.

“There is no certain answer to the project, just a number of suggestions such as a possible increase in danger, with stronger storms, increased bycatch from fishing and a larger amount of marine pollution being possible contributing factors. Or even that the seal population is reaching carrying capacity and therefore there is an increase in competition for food and shelter, we cannot be certain.”

The locational trend which was observed was the distribution of the data has begun to spread across the South West since 2000.

“This was when seal stranding records were added to the Marine Strandings Network, as well as the start of the Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust, which therefore could suggest that there had been an increase in awareness, thus an increase in people reporting strandings,” she explained.

“It is also worth considering that the number of visitors to Cornwall is rising each year, therefore people are exploring and visiting more places around the county, which is resulting in them inputting data from new locations.”

Caterine had the opportunity to present her findings recently at Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s annual Strandings Forum, alongside leading experts including Rob Deaville and Dr Paul Jepson from the Zoological Society of London. Although Catherine was ‘extremely nervous’, she enjoyed the experience: “I have never been confident when presenting in front of my fellow peers, so the thought of presenting in front of experts terrified me. But after mentally preparing myself, with the support of my lecturer Rebecca Allen and friends in the audience, I really enjoyed it.”

Since completing her studies at Cornwall College Newquay, Catherine is taking time out from education and alongside working she is volunteering with seal pup rescues and rehabilitation through British Divers Marine Life Rescue. She also has plans to volunteer with Archelon, a sea turtle rescue charity, at their rehabilitation centre in Athens in March for 5 weeks before returning to complete her Bachelor’s degree.


Catherine recalled her experience studying at Cornwall College Newquay: “I loved the connections that my course provided me with, it encouraged me to get out in the real world and be enthusiastic with the learning and education side. I also loved being up to date and aware of current global topics. It kept up my momentum to make me want to be out in the environment, feeling like I could help make a difference to the threats marine life faces.”

To report a marine stranding of any type, please call Cornwall Wildlife Trust's Marine Strandings Network 24hr emergency hotline free of charge on 0345 201 2626.

For more information on the range of Zoology, Surf and Marine courses available at Cornwall College Newquay visit www.cornwall.ac.uk/newquay or call 0330 123 2523.

Get a taste of a specialist university education in Cornwall

Cornwall College Newquay is hosting an upcoming taster day for those interested in gaining a specialist university education in the areas of zoology, marine conservation and surf science.

On Saturday 20th January, the College will open its doors to anyone passionate about pursuing a degree working with animals or within the marine environment; who is looking for more information on how to take those first steps towards a rewarding career.

Running from 10am-3pm, the Taster Day is designed to provide an immersive insight into what it’s like to be a student at Cornwall College. Attendees will learn more about the specialist range of courses on offer, get to meet the team of expert lecturers and explore the small and friendly campus.  Dependent on your course choice, the Taster Day will also include a visit to either Newquay Zoo, Blue Reef Aquarium or the College’s beachside classroom on Tolcarne Beach.

Dr Mark Nason, Head of Campus, said if you have a passion for animals, the marine environment, conservation and ecology, surf science or zoology and would like a university education without moving away from Cornwall, “then we are the perfect choice for you”.

“Cornwall College Newquay offers a range of foundation degrees and full BSc degrees, many of which can be studied full or part-time,” he continued.

“Studying in Newquay gives you access to an amazing environment and incredible opportunities, including international field trips and taking advantage of our close partnerships with local businesses including Newquay Zoo, Blue Reef Aquarium, Cornwall Wildlife Trust and The Eden Project. The upcoming Taster Day is the perfect way to learn more about your chosen course and we look forward to meeting you there.”

There is no fee to attend the Taster Day and a small buffet lunch will be provided. The student services team will also be on hand to give information on the range of support available to students during their time studying.  As well as getting to hear first-hand the experiences of current student ambassadors, you’ll also get to meet other potential students so there are familiar faces when you enrol.

Former student Rhiann Mitchell-Holland completed the foundation degree in Wildlife Education & Media before doing a third year top up to a full BSc degree in Applied Zoology. Rhiann enjoyed her experience at Cornwall College Newquay and recommends it to everyone.

“Cornwall College Newquay is the place to go if you are interested in studying or working with animals, whether terrestrial or marine,” she explained.

“The opportunities that it opens up for you are endless; you can enter fields such as zoology, conservation, education, welfare, husbandry, research, wildlife filmmaking and many more. In terms of helping you to find your focus, Cornwall College is where it’s at.” 

Student Ben Sherratt moved down from Exeter to study the Surf Science & Technology foundation degree at the College. Ben said:  “Surf Science is a wicked course and I’m having lots of fun on it. I’d recommend it to anyone, even if you’re not a great surfer. As long as you’ve got the interest in board shaping, marketing and enterprise or other aspects of the surf industry then there’s something for you on this course.”


Please visit HERE to book your place on the Taster Day or call 0330 123 2523.

Employability Week 2017

Well done to all the students and staff who took part in our Employability Week. 

Designed to boost our student’s employability skills and knowledge, the week’s activities included an inspirational conference, taking part in mock interviews and hearing about their peers work experience placements. 

 Students showcased the work placement opportunities available to their peers in the region and abroad in an exhibition on the campus. Second year students held talks and exhibited displays about their summer placements to students who are currently thinking about applying for work experience opportunities to encourage them to think about their options. 

There was a wide range of different work placements on display including local businesses Newquay Marine Group, Blue Reef Aquarium, The Wave Project, Newquay Zoo, Cornwall Seal Group, St Francis Dogs Home, Paradise Park, as well as international Conservation companies EcoTraining in South Africa and Danau Girang Field Centre in Borneo.    

Lecturers also posed as employers in mock interviews to show students what they should expect when they attend a job interview. As well as getting used to the kind of questions they might be asked, students were also encouraged to attend dressed as they would be in the real situation.


The culmination of the week was an Enterprise and Employability conference where special guest speakers offered their advice on gaining employment. Inspiring sessions were delivered on a range of topics linked to employability by organisations including Made for Life by Spezia Organics, Leap Media and Surfers Against Sewage. 

Have a lovely Christmas after a busy week! 

Alumni- Rhiann Mitchell-Holland

A former zoology student has found a voice that she never knew she had following a work placement at the zoo.    

Rhiann Mitchell-Holland, who has recently finished a stint as a wildlife presenter at Newquay Zoo, never would have imagined of ending up where she has after graduating from her degree in Applied Zoology. 

“Presenting was the last thing I thought I’d do,” Rhiann explains. 

“When it came to talking in front of a group, presenting my own work, I could barely sleep the night before as I was just so nervous. I would have rather done a thousand assignments than one presentation as I was quite shy and never felt like it was my strength.”

When Rhiann saw placement opportunities at Newquay Zoo advertised, she knew she wanted to work there, but initially applied for an education assistant role, instead of a presenting job that would require her to face her fear of speaking in public. 

“However, after talking to a friend of mine from the zoo, they persuaded me to go for both and after a successful interview, I got the presenting job.”

And while Rhiann admits the first two weeks “were really nerve-wracking”, she adds “but grew to absolutely love it. I gave talks to crowds of over 400 people and I didn’t feel nervous at all.” 

Rhiann’s route to graduating from Cornwall College Newquay was not straight forward. After initially gaining a qualification in Hair & Beauty after school, Rhiann took some time out to have her 3 children before returning to education to do an Access to HE course and then finally onto a degree programme in Zoology.

Rhiann has always loved wildlife and has had a passion for saving animals for as long as she can remember.  

She explains: “I was the one saving insects in the swimming pool on holiday as a child. It’s an innate passion and desire and I knew that I wasn’t going to be happy doing anything else. So when my kids were old enough, I thought now is the time to go back to uni.” 


After initially applying for a veterinary course, Rhiann found out it wasn’t for her. 

“Conservation, education and welfare was more what I was about. So I applied for the course at Cornwall College in Newquay, got a place and the minute I sat down, I knew it was where I belong. One hundred percent I’d made the right decision.” 

Rhiann completed the FdSc Wildlife Education & Media course before doing a third year top up to a full BSc degree in Applied Zoology. Rhiann enjoyed her experience at Cornwall College Newquay and recommends it to everyone. 

Rhiann explains: “Its helped me in many aspects of my life, not just my career and knowledge base, but my confidence, my self-esteem, how I approach and talk to people now, I feel like I can do anything and its given me a new zest for life. The size of the campus is great as you get that one-to-one tuition, you can always find lecturers for guidance and support when you need it”. 

“Cornwall College Newquay is the place to go if you are interested in studying or working with animals, whether terrestrial or marine. The opportunities that it opens up for you are endless, you can enter fields such as zoology, conservation, education, welfare, husbandry, research, wildlife filmmaking and many more, it really is huge. In terms of helping you to find your focus, Cornwall College is where it’s at.”  
    

Rhiann has now completed her six month work placement at Newquay Zoo but will return to complete another seasonal placement in March 2018. Rhiann said: “The job at the zoo was incredible; I made so many friends and shared so much knowledge. I always thought I was more of an animal person than a people person but I’ve learned that people are amazing and each one of them has something to teach me. I formed friendships with so many unique people on a daily basis, who can say that they do that in their job? It was really humbling and massively rewarding, I can’t wait to return next year.”   

For more information on the range of Zoology, Surf and Marine courses available at Cornwall College Newquay visit www.cornwall.ac.uk or call 0330 123 2523.

Cornwall leading the UK fight against invasive species

Conservationists from across Cornwall continue to lead the UK’s battle against alien invaders.

The second annual Cornwall Invasive Species Forum, organised by Cornwall- based conservation group SINNG (Student Invasive Non-Native Group), was held at Porthcurno Telegraph Museum recently with delegates from across the region attending.


A full house of representatives from a wide range of stakeholder groups were present to contribute  including the National Trust, Natural England, Duchy of Cornwall, South West Water, Environment Agency, Cornwall Council as well as other ecologists.

The aim of the forum event was to coordinate action and awareness on the impacts of invasive non-native species with a range of organisations collaborating, looking at the problems these species pose and discussing possible solutions.

Nicola Morris, a Lecturer at Cornwall College Newquay and Project Coordinator of SINNG, said: “The forum was a huge success and I was pleased to see so many people in one room intent on making a difference to the environment in Cornwall by taking action on invasive species.”

Nicola continued: “Through the forum we now have a means of linking anyone working with invasive non-native species in Cornwall with other projects in the county and further afield.”

Through the support of the Environmental Records Centre for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (ERCCIS), there is now an invasive species recording page for Cornwall which will soon be embedded into the SINNG website.  The ERCCIS is also mapping the various projects in Cornwall relating to Invasive non-native species that will provide more detailed information to forum members.”

Animals and plants from all over the world have been introduced to Britain by people and while most are harmless, 10-15% spread and become invasive. This can lead to them harming the environment and our wildlife, impacting on the economy, or even posing a risk to our health and the way we live.

Nicola continued: “Most people are familiar with the problems that Japanese knotweed can cause. But other species are becoming a serious problem such as American skunk cabbage and some animal species such as the freshwater zebra mussel.”

Nicola, who chairs both Cornwall and the South West Invasive Species Forums, sees the forum events as being umbrella groups supporting a wide range of stakeholders, able to offer support, share knowledge, expertise and potentially offer practical support where possible.

Nicola explained: “With such a wealth of experience in Cornwall from people who have been working with invasive species for many years, we are in a good position to coordinate management of these invaders in order to be most effective in the control of invasive species and raise awareness of their impacts. I would like to thank everyone who contributed; including a hugely entertaining presentation from beekeeper Martyn Hocking, who found and reported the Asian hornet in Devon. We learnt how to identify the hornet and tell it apart from the larger native European hornet and were thoroughly entertained and engaged by Martyn.”

Nicola also thanked Simon Hocking from the National Trust, who not only provided the venue and catering but an informative guided walk as well: 

“We were also fortunate to have Simon from the National Trust lead us on an afternoon field trip to see some of the areas where he is tackling the problems caused by invasive species.  The weather was glorious which made for an enjoyable walk.”

Cornwall is leading the way with this type of conservation work and with The EU Commission regularly engaging with SINNG online, Nicola couldn’t be happier: “The EU Commission regularly tag SINNG in tweets and they re-tweet our posts. To have the Cornwall Invasive Species Forum having regular national and international engagement is just fantastic.”


Anyone interested in joining the Cornwall INNS Forum please contact Nicola Morris on: nicola.morris@cornwall.ac.uk

Student Q & A- Jade Clayson

During her time studying her foundation degree in Conservation & Ecology at Cornwall College Newquay, student Jade Clayson has co-founded the charity Thailand Elephants. We sat down with Jade to find out more:

Your passion for animals seems to be limitless, where did it all begin?
Jade: Well I guess you could say it all spawned from the close relationship I had with my best-friend, our family dog, Jack. In every single photograph of me as a child he’s right by my side and was with me from the day I was born up to around the age I was 16. I do feel like growing up and having a dog as part of a family instills a surge of compassion and unconditional love from such an early age. From a kid I’ve always just been naturally drawn to animals. I use to watch Lion King every night religiously as a child on the VCR (without fail).


Can you describe the circumstances that led to you co-forming your charity Thailand Elephants?
After a 6-month internship on an elephant reintroduction programme in the North of Thailand I left feeling like I needed to do more for the elephants suffering every day in the name of tourism. Especially when this entertainment is predominantly fuelled by travelers from my own home. Gemma (current base manager of this project at the time) and I realised there was a large gap that needed to be filled. The public were being educated about the awful treatment of elephants in the entertainment and tourism industry, the shocking truths behind their poor husbandry and welfare: all to allow several unaware tourists to sit on saddles on their backs…. but there was nowhere/very little for people to turn to make the right decisions, to be ethical travellers, to support the better places that focus solely on the happiness of their elephants.

That’s where Thailand Elephants came in, we started off as an educational website and now have developed into a very successful charity with several trustees and advocates. All our work is predominantly voluntary. We are a charity dedicated to raising awareness and educating the public about the exploitation of elephants in tourism. We also research and promote ethical elephant venues in Thailand through our own extensive research and expertise – we have a recommended list of venues on our website. Our charity’s website: www.thailandelephants.org. If as a reader you or anyone you know is visiting Thailand and plan to see elephants, please ask them to contact us via our website or on any other social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).

What’s the best bit about your course at Cornwall College?
Definitely the people, I’ve met so many inspirational wonderful people through my degree, that either work for an organisation or are just truly dedicated and passionate about what they love and it makes me aspire to be even a fraction of that. I would like to thank Nicola Morris who runs the Student Invasive Non-Native Group (SINNG), Nigel Dawes and Tristan Holmes who run the Treloggan Community Action Group as well as everyone involved with the Cornwall Reptile and Amphibian Group (CRAG). The volunteer networks I’ve got involved with since starting my degree are a wonderful community I am so grateful to be a part of such positive environmental achievements!


What do you enjoy about studying at the Newquay campus? What’s been your favourite part so far?
The small size of the campus allows for a real community feeling, the lecturers are extremely supportive and from a mature student’s point of view I’m very grateful, they go out of their way to help. I love that aspect. My favourite part about my degree is probably the networking and having the opportunity to go on so many visits/trips to local organisations/venues, meeting influential people in the field and getting involved in real conservation.

What do you hope to go on to do after you have finished studying?
Honestly, I have no idea but I love the fact I don’t follow a certain path. Doors seem to open when you least expect it. All I know is that I want to travel the world, part of my life will always be in Thailand and I want to settle in Africa eventually, (this place stole my heart the summer of 2016).

Anything else that you would like to add?
Thailand Elephants will be hosting the Global March for Elephants and Rhino’s in Bristol in October 2018, so please all come and march with us! If anyone is keen to help us spread the word of get more involved you can sign up to be an advocate, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

 www.thailandelephants.org

New Initiative creating a Blue Future for the County

Hundreds of young people in Cornwall are stepping up and creating what is rightfully theirs: a healthy planet a thriving economy and a brighter future, thanks to a new initiative.

The new Beach Rangers Academy, developed by Cornwall College Newquay and Cornwall Wildlife Trust, is a programme encouraging young people aged 16 to 24 to connect with Cornwall’s marine surroundings through a structured programme of personal development. Through engaging activities that will build confidence, teamwork, communication and other life skills, the programme not only increases employability but also raises awareness of important environmental issues to a wider audience.

Beach Rangers Academy Leader Brender Willmott said: “It’s a really exciting opportunity for young people to gain training, awards and rewards that will make them more employable. The Academy recognises the special places we live and encourages young people to celebrate and protect them.”

This winter will see hundreds of young people embarking on Beach Ranger Academy Training, creating the next generation of blue leaders – despite the shorter days and wilder weather. The Beach Rangers Academy is being run this year at both the Cornwall College campus in Newquay and in Falmouth at the Dracena Centre.

Youth Engagement Officer Jenn Sandiford encouraged young people to get involved:  “The Beach Rangers Academy is an adventure, engaging young people to learn new skills that they need for their future.  Enhancing young people’s employability skills whilst educating them in marine conservation means they become more effective volunteers for local groups.  It instils best practice so that when they become the future employers and employees, the best practice is already in place so helps the environment.”

The Academy is part of the Your Shore Beach Rangers Project, a partnership project between Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Cornwall College Newquay. The project will be running hundreds of events over the next three years, so that by 2020, it will have engaged thousands of Beach Rangers, school children, and community members. As a result, people of all ages and abilities will have an increased understanding of the marine environment and be in a better position to protect it, whilst a network of young people will have improved their skill sets, in education and life, to enable them to progress into the future and become leading voices for the environment in Cornwall and beyond.

A fantastic, new interactive website has been developed to help guide people into the programmes. If you are looking to learn new skills, meet interesting people, be part of a community and achieve qualifications that will look great on your CV, we would love to see you get involved.

For more information on the project, please see www.beachrangers.com

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