Season's greetings and animal meetings at Mansfield college menagerie

Students on the level-three, two-year animal care programme welcomed the children of college staff members on a special tour of the unit, where they could handle animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, snakes, bearded dragons and more.

For a small donation, families were able to sit in the festive grotto and pose for photographs with their favourite animals and then learn more about the animals’ habitats, nutrition and care, thanks to the students, who are studying to go on to work with animals, or to university for higher education.

Students were on hand to introduce the children to the different rooms in which the animals live, describing how they are cared for, what they like to eat and how to maintain their habitats, which are all part of their studies at the college.

And it was not just the furry creatures who were handled. The children were introduced to a range of reptiles such as the bearded dragons, corn snake, uromastyx and geckos.

Parents and children could purchase greetings cards featuring the animals, with donations all going to the Jerry Green Dog Rescue, in Blidworth, with a total of £84.52 was raised through card

sales and donations.

Francesa Hammond, animal care teacher, said: “The students wanted to do some fundraising for local dog rescue Jerry Green, and after some brainstorming we decided to run an open day of the unit and showcase some of our awesome animals.

“Their qualification is technically demanding so the fun of imparting some of their knowledge onto the younger generation was really rewarding for them. I am incredibly proud of them all. Moving forward we are looking at doing numerous other open events at the animal unit and opening it up to more people.”