Meet the graduates: Victoria Scott

Victoria Scott, 22, is seeking to share her passion for the environment with the next generation after graduating from Harper Adams University with BSc (Hons) Countryside Management.

The graduate from Oswestry, Shropshire, said: “My placement year inspired me to go on and gain my PGCE. I spent it working at a country park where I helped deliver their education offering. We were going into schools to do assemblies and workshops and the schools would also visit the country park itself.

“The country park was in the north London, Watford, Hertfordshire area and a lot of children had not seen cows in the fields before for themselves. They didn’t really know where their milk came from; they didn’t have that association as they’d never been taught. Having these centres and having people going into schools is really important.

“I saw that a lot of other centres really liked having a qualified teacher as they’ve got the required background knowledge; such as classroom management skills and know how the curriculum works.

“While doing my dissertation, I looked at people being scared of nature and the mentality people have that they have to be clean and if children get dirty the parents clean them. They’re almost afraid to get out and learn new things. I think people should just go out and visit, for example, a farm. Yes, they can be dangerous places, but they can also be a really good source of learning, children can see where food comes from as part of a wider learning experience.”