Staff and students at Writtle University College (WUC) were pleased to welcome Paradise Wildlife Park's site coordinator, Aaron Whitnall, as a guest speaker.
Aaron is the third generation of his family to work at the park, which was founded by his grandfather, Peter Sampson. Peter bought and revolutionised a previously dilapidated zoo with the aim of improving conditions for animals. Aaron is now an integral part of the family business. He consults with the ongoing work carried out by Paradise and its sister site, the Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, onsite and around the world.
On November 10th, he delivered an inspirational virtual lecture on Current Issues in Companion and Zoo Animals. The online event was attended by third year WUC students and in addition to a number of recent graduates, who wanted to benefit from Aaron's advice and expertise.
WUC lecturer Yvonne Owen said: "This was an outstanding opportunity for our students and alumni. We would like to thank Aaron for his generosity in making the time to speak to us. He is highly respected within the sector and gave us a fascinating insight into a range of important issues."
At Paradise Wildlife Park, Aaron supports each department to ensure the welfare of the animals and team and also contributes to planning the future of the park with new developments onsite. He helps with ongoing conservation work while finding new ways to support projects throughout the globe.
In 2019, Aaron and his brothers Tyler and Cameron joined a family friend for a 'Drive 4 Wildlife' mission to East Africa. Their African safari and animal conservation project took the team trekking across four countries to deliver vital equipment and funds to wildlife charities.
If you would like to see more of the work Aaron and his family do at Paradise and around the world, then you can watch his new CBBC series 'One Zoo Three' which is now available on the BBC iPlayer.
'One Zoo Three' - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000n1cw