11 episodes

We are Wild Planet Trust, a conservation charity with zoos in Paignton and Newquay, local and national nature reserves and international field projects. In this new careers podcast we will be talking about what it is like to work in conservation, zoos and aquaria and how you can break into these fields.

So You Want To Work In A Zoo‪?‬ Wild Planet Trust

    • Business
    • 5.0 • 1 Rating

We are Wild Planet Trust, a conservation charity with zoos in Paignton and Newquay, local and national nature reserves and international field projects. In this new careers podcast we will be talking about what it is like to work in conservation, zoos and aquaria and how you can break into these fields.

    So You Want To Work In A Zoo? - How To Run A Zoo | CEO Dennis Flynn | Zoo And Conservation Careers Podcast

    So You Want To Work In A Zoo? - How To Run A Zoo | CEO Dennis Flynn | Zoo And Conservation Careers Podcast

    From odd jobs picking up seaweed and counting Lego bricks, to setting up his own business, and then running a conservation charity and two zoos, this episode covers a lot of ground talking to our CEO Dennis Flynn.

    So who is Dennis? 

    Dennis’ first 'career' was as an officer in the British Army with a focus on international crisis management and anti-operations. He was awarded the OBE for distinguished operational leadership. After his military career Dennis set up a consulting firm that provided crisis management and resilience services to top-tier companies and government agencies around the globe. In the private sector he directed consulting teams for global clients including; Deutsche Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, RBS, Rothschild, Virgin Money and Zurich Financial Services, to name a few. 

    In 2015 Dennis exited the consulting firm to begin a full-time academic and research programme to better understand why, in challenging conditions, some people and teams appear more resilient. He holds an MSc in Applied Positive Psychology. Positive psychology is the science of the conditions, behaviours and processes that contribute to the flourishing and resilience of people, groups, and institutions.

    Outside work his interests include trekking in remote hill areas. In 2017 he successfully completed a 13-day, 300km coast-to-coast self-supported challenge trek across the Scottish Highlands.. Dennis is also a keen downhill skier, an activity in which he has more enthusiasm than skill.

    As you can probably tell, we only cover a brief part of a storied career. You'll have to let us know if you want to hear more from our CEO Dennis Flynn in future episodes. 



    Visit Our Zoos:

    https://www.paigntonzoo.org.uk/

    https://www.newquayzoo.org.uk/

    Wild Planet Trust: https://www.wildplanettrust.org.uk/

    Support us through our Amazon Wishlists:

    Paignton Zoo: https://amzn.to/327HJeb

    Newquay Zoo: https://amzn.to/3tDeWty

    • 46 min
    So You Want To Work In A Zoo? - Is This The Most Important Job In The Zoo? | Zoo And Conservation Careers Podcast

    So You Want To Work In A Zoo? - Is This The Most Important Job In The Zoo? | Zoo And Conservation Careers Podcast

    Modern zoos are all about conservation. Here at Wild Planet Trust we run two zoo sites Paignton Zoo and Newquay Zoo, but we also run and look after other conservation projects both overseas and here in the UK. In this episode of the podcast Jo and Ollie are chatting to Dr Andrew Bowkett and Dr Tracey Hamston the people in charge of our conservation projects. 

    Dr Andrew Bowkett, is the Trust's Conservation Planning and Partnerships Manager, and at the time of releasing this podcast he is over in Nigeria having meetings about our conservation project with our partners there in the Omo Forest reserve. In this instalment we are focusing on how he has come to do what he does and we touch on some of our overseas projects through our discussion. For more details about our overseas conservation projects take a look at this page on the Trust's website: https://www.wildplanettrust.org.uk/wild-conservation/ 

    Dr Tracey Hamston, is the Trust's Conservation Officer, she looks after our conservation projects here in the UK. Of note are a series of native species reintroduction programs including the plants strapwort and sorbus, white-clawed crayfish and hazel dormice. She also oversees our marine conservation efforts across Torbay, protecting our important seagrass beds, as well as Slapton Ley a national nature reserve in South Devon. You can find more detail on our UK projects here: https://www.wildplanettrust.org.uk/wild-conservation/ 

    In this episode we barely scratch the surface of the work that these two do, so be sure to tune in for potential further updates from Andy and Tracey in the future.



    Visit Our Zoos:

    https://www.paigntonzoo.org.uk/

    https://www.newquayzoo.org.uk/

    Wild Planet Trust: https://www.wildplanettrust.org.uk/

    Support us through our Amazon Wishlists:

    Paignton Zoo: https://amzn.to/327HJeb

    Newquay Zoo: https://amzn.to/3tDeWty

    • 1 hr 5 min
    So You Want To Work In A Zoo? - What It Means To Be Zoo Curator | Zoo And Conservation Careers Podcast

    So You Want To Work In A Zoo? - What It Means To Be Zoo Curator | Zoo And Conservation Careers Podcast

    In a Zoo you need a curator, they're the person in charge of what animals the zoo works with. At Wild Planet Trust we have a curator for each animal department, Mammals, Birds and Lower Vertebrate and Invertebrates (LVI). In this Episode of 'So You Want To Work In A Zoo?' Matt and Ollie are chatting to John Meek, the person in charge of our LVI department.  

    Previously John was a keeper, deciding on that career when he was only 8 years old, a head keeper and even curator at Newquay Zoo before he started looking after LVI across both Trust Zoos, Newquay and Paignton. In the discussion, they touch on moving animals, collection planning, conservation projects, returning animals to their country of origin and the classic question... What's you favourite animal?



    Visit Our Zoos:

    https://www.paigntonzoo.org.uk/

    https://www.newquayzoo.org.uk/

    Wild Planet Trust: https://www.wildplanettrust.org.uk/

    Support us through our Amazon Wishlists:

    Paignton Zoo: https://amzn.to/327HJeb

    Newquay Zoo: https://amzn.to/3tDeWty

    • 42 min
    So You Want To Work In A Zoo? - Jobs You Might Not Expect In A Zoo | Zoo And Conservation Careers Podcast

    So You Want To Work In A Zoo? - Jobs You Might Not Expect In A Zoo | Zoo And Conservation Careers Podcast

    A zoo cannot run without a lot of work behind the scenes, in this episode, we're going to hear from people with jobs at the zoo you may not have expected. 

    Sarah Lavin, is our zoological registrar, she coordinates local, national and international animals moves between our zoos and other zoos around the world. This is a truly special job as there is no way you could run a zoo without animals moves.

    Dr. Holly Farmer, is the Trust's Research Manager, she manages the students, lecturers and research that is an essential part of zoo day to day business. If we didn't do research or education we wouldn't have a zoo licence. 

    Kerry Willis, is one of our talented graphic designers, within the Trust's wider creative team. All of those pretty animal ID's, posters, leaflets and guidebooks need to look good so you will interact with, or, buy them so we can continue to operate and ultimately help halt species decline. 

    • 40 min
    So You Want To Work In A Zoo? - What It Takes To Be Zoo Vet | Zoo And Conservation Careers Podcast

    So You Want To Work In A Zoo? - What It Takes To Be Zoo Vet | Zoo And Conservation Careers Podcast

    Have you ever wanted to know what our zoo veterinary team get up to, how to become a vet or vet nurse and what those jobs are like? Well here's your chance! In this episode of "So You Want To Work In A Zoo?" we're talking to two members of the vet team Rebecca, one of our veterinary officers, and Kelly, a vet nurse. Both are based at Paignton Zoo and we're finding out what are the highs and lows of being a vet or vet nurse.

    As you can imagine, working within the veterinary space can be very demanding and rewarding at the same time. You can learn more about this and more on what our vets do in other videos on our YouTube channel 

    here: https://youtu.be/EcUmsYQqXhs 

    and here: https://youtu.be/E3NAM6cuJvE 



    Visit Our Zoos:

    https://www.paigntonzoo.org.uk/

    https://www.newquayzoo.org.uk/

    Wild Planet Trust:

    https://www.wildplanettrust.org.uk/

    • 40 min
    So You Want To Work In A Zoo? - From Zoo Keeper To Head Of Campaigns And Programs - Steve Nash | Zoo And Conservation Careers Podcast

    So You Want To Work In A Zoo? - From Zoo Keeper To Head Of Campaigns And Programs - Steve Nash | Zoo And Conservation Careers Podcast

    In this episode Matt and Ollie will be talking to Steve Nash, the head of department for Campaigns And Programs for Wild Planet trust. Steve is responsible for overseeing a number of teams, including: 


    Education and engagement
    Communications 
    Conservation and field projects 
    Higher education and research
    Graphics and creative teams

    Steve was previously a zoo keeper, and went on to teach zoo keepers how to be zoo keepers at Sparsholt College. Before that though, Steve made sure the your cheese and onion crisps were cheese and onion-ey enough, made sure your supermarket sandwiches were safe and very briefly worked in an undertakers office.

    Visit Our Zoos:

    https://www.paigntonzoo.org.uk/

    https://www.newquayzoo.org.uk/

    Wild Planet Trust: https://www.wildplanettrust.org.uk/

    Support us through our Amazon Wishlists:

    Paignton Zoo: https://amzn.to/327HJeb

    Newquay Zoo: https://amzn.to/3tDeWty

    • 55 min

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