Countryside Management (BTEC), Diploma
Starting dates and places
Description
Are you keen to work in the countryside sector? Our BTEC in Countryside Management will give you the practical and technical knowledge employers are looking for, helping to secure a career in conservation, woodland management or other related field in the countryside sector.Why choose this course?
• Our course offers a wide range of both practical and
theoretical modules which means you'll gain hands on experience
alongside building your managerial understanding of countryside
care
• Our course reflects what countryside management employers really
want
• Our excellent facilities for students are of some of the best in
the UK
• Your assessments will be based…
Frequently asked questions
There are no frequently asked questions yet. If you have any more questions or need help, contact our customer service.
Why choose this course?
• Our course offers a wide range of both practical and
theoretical modules which means you'll gain hands on experience
alongside building your managerial understanding of countryside
care
• Our course reflects what countryside management employers really
want
• Our excellent facilities for students are of some of the best in
the UK
• Your assessments will be based on real life industry projects
• You'll develop surveying and identification skills
• You'll develop livestock handling skills
• You'll undertake fieldwork and practical modules on our beautiful
200 hectare country estate
• You'll build vocational experience highly valued by employers
ensuring a successful career in countryside management or further
study
About the course
This BTEC course aims to
equip students with an understanding of countryside management
issues for those aspiring to enter the industry. This award could
be used towards entry onto the FdSc Environmental Conservation and
Countryside Management programme.
About Brackenhurst
Brackenhurst campus is
our beautiful, 200-hectare country estate. It is characterised by
picturesque woodlands, lakes, working farms and landscaped gardens.
The historic country house, built in 1828, serves as the hub of
this campus, which is complemented with the latest in student
facilities. It is the perfect learning environment for land-based
courses and people looking for hands-on education. The estate acts
as an outdoor classroom for developing practical skills and
techniques associated with countryside management.
Who will teach me?
Andy Alder
Andy worked in countryside
management as both Ranger and Project Officer and has run his own
coppicing business before he came to Brackenhurst in 1995 where he
gained his PGCE and Post Graduate Certificate in Countryside
Management and Recreation. Andy's research interests are ghost and
shadow woodlands, woodland archaeology, livestock grazing in
conservation and moorlands studies. Andy is a keen natural
historian, and regularly organises student projects within the
industry, particularly within the Peak District National Park.
Matt Edwards
Matt graduated in Countryside
Planning in 1994 and subsequently has gained experience across a
broad range of countryside management topics. Matt is a keen
conservation volunteer and works with the Trust for Conservation
Volunteers and the National Trust for Scotland. Additionally Matt
spends time within the local authority continuously developing his
estate work skills and enhancing his habitat management experience
in a variety of different habitats. Since graduating with a PGCE in
2002 Matt has proven teaching experience across further and higher
education courses.
Brackenhurst is home to a wide range of wildlife
species
Our estate is part of the DEFRA Environmental
Stewardship scheme that supports effective environmental management
of farm land and countryside estates. Initiatives include the
establishment of six metre field margins of permanent grass to
protect hedgerows and ditches from fertilizer sprays and soil
leaching. Over the year’s species of wildlife have flourished at
Brackenhurst including barn owls, lapwings, yellowhammers,
butterflies and moths.
- Check out our Flickr photostream!
- Visit the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences.
What will I study?
- Woodland Habitat Management: You'll learn about woodland ecology and history; how to identify woodland trees and flora and learn to survey and classify woodlands.
- Woodland Management: You'll explore the management principles of woodlands in both theory and practice and learn how to write an industry standard management plan for woodland.
- Greenwood Crafts: Over the past few years, there has been a resurgence of interest in items produced in a sustainable fashion from our native woodlands. You'll carry out a variety of projects such as willow bed management, pole lathe projects, build a traditional wattle hurdle and design your own greenwood project. Every year the course team demonstrate at the National Forest Wood Fair.
- Heathland Management: You'll learn about the history of lowland and upland heathland and gain practical experience carrying out heathland surveys and undertaking field identification techniques. You'll build your knowledge and develop practical heathland management skills.
- Livestock Use in Conservation Management: You'll study the land management issues in conservation that are being solved by the use of grazing by a variety of herbivores. You'll learn about the management of livestock, develop condition scoring skills, and gain hands on experience during our lambing period with the Brackenhurst sheep flock.
- Farm Livestock Husbandry: You'll develop the knowledge and skills required for the successful care and management of farm livestock. You'll learn to to handle farm livestock in order to carry out specific husbandry techniques including both beef cattle and sheep.
- Farm Habitat Management: You'll gain understanding of Environmental Stewardship, the history and development of farmed landscapes, and learn how to survey farmland bio diversity and use methods to enhance, create and restore habitats.
- Estate Skills: You'll gain practical experience undertaking hedge laying, managing woodland, fencing, tractor driving, surveying and learn how Public Rights of Way work.
- Principles of Wildlife Populations, Ecology and Conservation: You'll be introduced to the fundamentals of ecology, including the ecology of populations and develop the skills to survey a wide range of habitat types and species, such as flora surveys, breeding bird surveys, dragonfly surveys and mammal surveys.
- Understand Ecological Concepts and Application: You'll learn how to apply ecological principles in the field by carrying out surveys, and you'll develop a wide ranging portfolio of species identification skills.
- Investigative Project: You'll have the opportunity to specialise and develop expertise in a specific interest area - such as veteran tree surveys, conservation grazing projects or upland surveys in the Peak District National Park.
- Work Experience (300 hours): Our work-related experience module enables you to develop knowledge and skills that relate to a specific role of employment in the countryside management sector. We have a wide range of work experience providers such as Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and the Forestry Commission.
- Emergency First Aid (optional): You'll be given the chance to undertake an emergency first aid course alongside your studies.
Where will my learn take place?
You'll
mainly be based at our Brackenhurst campus in Southwell where you
will spend lots of time on our 200 hectare outdoor classroom
estate. Throughout the course you'll also spend time going out on
field trips where you'll work on sites all over Nottinghamshire and
Derbyshire. Transport will be provided from campus for trips and
activities further afield.
Field trips
There will be the opportunity to
attend a week-long residential field trip to the Peak District
National Park. You will spend time carrying out comparisons between
Dark and White Peak vegetation, conducting heather moorland
assessment surveys, using basic hill skills such as
micronavigation; and investigating archaeology and landscape
history.
Contact time and typical timetable
Contact
time will be 16 hours a week, with home study and assignment work
set outside of these hours.
Typical time table is Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.
How will I be assessed?
Assessment is by a
mixture of practical tests and activities and written assignments,
at pass, merit and distinction grades.
How many places are available on this
course?
22
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