Victoria Steed on placement

Victoria Stead is a final year student studying BSc (Hons) Countryside and Environmental Management and will graduate in 2015. She was involved in a large crayfish project during her placement year with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.

The highlights of my course have been …

Getting outside putting theory into practice.

Why did you choose to study at Harper Adams? 

Because when I visited the ‘feel’ of the place was great. The lecturers I met were friendly, approachable and knowledgeable. I liked the fact that they were involved in research on their subjects and they had a real passion for the subjects.

What sort of projects have you been involved in during your time here?

While on placement I was involved in a large crayfish project where we were moving the endangered white-clawed crayfish to areas where they would hopefully be protected from the invasive signal crayfish. For my dissertation project I have devised a method of safely tagging the endangered white-clawed crayfish so that its movements can be tracked in the wild.

How would you describe Harper Adams?

Welcoming, friendly and engaging

What’s the teaching like?

Really good, if you need any help outside of lectures then you know you can see your lecturers easily

What do you think of the campus?

The campus is beautiful. It is in a fantastic rural location but it is easy to reach the local town and Telford is only a short drive away.

Have you explored Shropshire and beyond campus? What are your favourite places?

Shropshire is a beautiful county and I think my favourite area is around the Long Mynd, it is so peaceful there.

Tell us about any extracurricular stuff you’re involved in (e.g. sports teams, SU committee, student ambassador, external competitions, volunteering, YFC membership, extra qualifications you’ve taken

I have been a student ambassador since I started on the Extended Foundation Degree Programme at Harper Adams. I have also gained my chainsaw licence during my time here.

Where did you spend placement?

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust where I was the conservation department’s placement student. I was basically to shadow one of the ecologists.

What would you do in a typical day?

I would typically carry out surveys with the ecologist and I also attended meetings with other agencies.

What was the best thing about placement?

The chance to work in my chosen field for a year.

Did you apply what you’d learned at Harper while you were on placement?

Yes. I was able to apply my knowledge of agricultural systems while on placement. This was appreciated because my employer had not studied agriculture.

Have you been able to use anything you learned on placement in your final year?

I think my people skills have been enhanced while on placement.

What support did you receive from the placement team?

I knew they were there if I had a problem.

Placement will help me in the future because …

During my placement I changed the industry I wanted to work in.