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Animal Care Students from Warwickshire College's Moreton Morrell Centre and Learn About Sustainability on Farm Visit

Students on an animal care course went on a farm visit to learn about sustainability as part of their studies to tie in with Big Green Week.

The Big Green Week was a cross-college theme week looking at sustainability and the environment, with display stands and information available at all six sites.

Students taking the First Diploma in Animal Care at the Moreton Morrell Centre toured the college’s farm as part of the Industry and Organisation module of their course.

They have been studying sustainable development and wanted to look at farming methods. Karen Archer, the First Certificate in Land Based Operations (Animal Care) Course Manager, arranged the tour and put together a work book.

Karen said: “For the sustainability module they are studying they certainly got something of it. We have been looking at different sustainability methods around the college particularly in animal welfare because we are recycling a lot in college. We even use our kitchen rolls and other cardboard for the animals to play with.”

Farm manager James Turvey and Dorothy Mann, from the farm office, explained how the farm tried to be as sustainable as possible.

Dorothy said: “I told them about how we grow as much of our own food for the animals as possible, we produce our own heifers and use use all the waste product from the cereal - the straw - and put it back in the system as bedding for the cows, or manure.”

The students were also told it is better for the cows to have heifers - female cows - rather than male as they could be used as part of the dairy herd.

The students were amazed to hear the farm is now buying specially-treated semen to artificially inseminate the cows to make it far more likely they will have heifers - making the herd even more sustainable and self-sufficient!

*The animal care unit has already adopted many sustainable policies of its own, namely:

Growing food - they grow food that can be fed to the animals, such as cress, spinach, tomatoes and spinach to reduce the amount of fresh food they need to buy

Compost - any waste food is composted and it can then be used around the centre to help with growing more food, and in enclosures where grass is sown

Muck heap - decomposable waste is taken to the farm where it is collected and used on the maize to reduce the amount of purchased compound fertiliser

Rehoming - where appropriate the centre accepts animals that are unwanted - from rescue centres and members of the public. The centre works in conjunction with charities, such as a donkey sanctuary and Cats Protection.

Recycling -

1 cardboard boxes and tubes are brought in and used to enhance the environment for the animals.

2 shredded paper from different areas of the college is used for animal bedding to reduce the amount of new bedding bought

3 newspaper is donated and used for lining cages

4 branches are donated from people who have been doing pruning and they are used for gnawing blocks, to save on wood being bought for that purpose.

All these tasks are carried out with students during practical sessions in the hope it will inspire them to continue with these policies when they enter the workplace.

Links to other outside organisations - Sainsbury’s donate their out of date fruit and veg for the animals, rather than throwing it away.

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Julie Chamberlain

Press Officer
Warwickshire College

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