Enrichment
For every course we offer, apprentices are invited to attend our enrichment days. These are designed to extend the learning beyond their main course of study and introduce them to animals and areas of the animal related industry that they may not see in their day-to-day role in a veterinary practice.
We offer away days to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park where they will learn about the environmental enrichment programme, enclosure design and meet the keepers and education staff who are always happy to answer any questions.
Held at BGT, James McKay from the Animal Roadshow, hosts amongst others, a reptile handling day. Many of the animals he brings will be seen very rarely, if at all, in practice and so may encourage a desire to learn more about the exotic field.
We are constantly looking for new locations and ideas for enhancing the excellent training we already offer, so watch this space !
Yorkshire Wildlife Park
Based in South Yorkshire, on the outskirts of Doncaster, the award-winning Yorkshire Wildlife Park is the UK's no.1 walk-through wildlife adventure with conservation at its heart!
Built on a former riding school and small farm attraction, Yorkshire Wildlife Park has come a long way since opening in April 2009. Now a dynamic centre for conservation and welfare, the park has some of the world's most endangered animals that call it home! The park is also home to the Wildlife Foundation charity https://wildlife-foundation.org.uk/
YWP’s Project Polar is the largest polar bear centre outside of Canada, being home to 6 bears. YWP are also the UK’s only Arctic Ambassador Centre for Polar Bears International.
The Sea Lion reserve featuring two naturalistic lakes, with one holding an incredible 1.9 million litres of filtered water makes it the largest purpose-built habitat of its kind in the world!
Our mission is to create a dynamic, interactive experience and regional centre of excellence for the conservation of biodiversity globally and locally that is sustainable both for the environment and business. To promote a wider understanding of the natural world and inspire generations to support and protect the world around us. https://www.yorkshirewildlifepark.com/
JAMES McKAY ANIMAL ROADSHOW
Home :: The Animal Roadshow (animal-roadshow.co.uk)
Founded in 1982, The Animal Roadshow’s unique service consists of exciting, hands-on educational sessions involving a wide variety of living specimens of different species, all of which are friendly, tame, handleable, and entirely trustworthy. All sessions are delivered by James McKay, a qualified zoologist, professional educator with full DBS clearance.
Photos from our days will be posted in the news section.
The man behind The Animal Roadshow, is zoologist James McKay. With over 30 years of practical teaching experience at all levels, James has been known to thousands as "THE ANIMAL MAN" since the 1970s, thanks to innumerable appearances in schools, and on countless television programmes, including:
Animal Crazy, BBC Radio 1, 2, and 4, BBC TV News, BBC Watchdog, Blue Peter, Calendar, Central News, GMTV, Good Morning Britain, Heart of the Country, How2, It's A Vet's Life, BBC Look North, Midlands Today, Motormouth, News at Ten, Sky News, The Time The Place, The Wide Awake Club, This Morning, Tracks, TVam, Wacaday, What's Up Doc?, Yorkshire Television to mention just a few!
If you or your pupils have seen the "Harry Potter" films, then you will have seen some of James' owls, now stars in their own right.
A regular contributor to countless TV and radio programmes, newspapers and magazines, James is the author of many books on animals and animal-related subjects. A scientific fellow of the Zoological Society of London, James' broadcasting, writing and work in general have established his reputation as an internationally recognised authority on many animal species and animal-related subjects – a true "ANIMAL MAN".
It is James' belief that learning is a multi-sensory activity and should be an enjoyable experience, and James not only knows his subject, but also has the rare talent of being able to communicate the topic with enthusiasm and zeal, to audiences of all ages and levels.