Conservation charity takes students Inside Nature

Students of biology can now get inside nature without leaving their classrooms, thanks to a first-of-its-kind education programme created by ZSL, the international conservation charity behind London and Whipsnade Zoos.

ZSL has today (Friday 28 November) launched Inside Nature, a brand new, completely free, education programme designed to bring real-world wildlife science directly from its Zoos to students across the UK. The new initiative offers biology students, from GCSE through to T Level Animal Care and Management, unprecedented access to wildlife necropsies carried out at ZSL’s two conservation zoos.

Each learning pack, which can be accessed through the Times Educational Supplement (TES), includes a dissection video combining real-life footage with animations and microscopic imagery, a teacher’s guide, and downloadable worksheets containing exam style questions and mark schemes, allowing students to truly visualise what they are being taught, bringing their biology lessons to life.

At the heart of this novel project, funded by ZSL supporter Lucy Panter, is ZSL’s long-standing commitment to training the next generation of conservationists. To develop the new learning materials, ZSL created two unique apprenticeships with their own learning objectives. Ex-science teacher Charlotte Miles was appointed to transform complex, real-life case studies into engaging digital content, learning how to film, edit and create educational videos, and Fiona Wilkinson was recruited as a Learning Apprentice, who had to get to grips with the complexities of varying national qualifications to ensure the learning packs were curriculum-aligned throughout.

ZSL’s Head of Conservation Education, Cat Hickey said: “Inside Nature was borne of a desire to inspire the next generation of conservationists, and to give them access to the huge educational opportunities at our conservation zoos.

“We know that educators of GCSE and A-Level classes struggle to find the time to get their students out of the classroom, due to schedule clashes with other chosen subjects, so we’ve devised a way to take the work of the zoo to them – providing memorable content which actually illustrates what they’re being taught. And thanks to the generous support we received for this project, we’ve been able to make it completely free of charge.  

“Teachers are amazingly creative when it comes to explaining biology to their students – we’ve heard of shag carpets being used to represent the lining of a stomach, for example – but with Inside Nature, we can show students an actual animal’s stomach lining and make that learning moment one that sticks in their mind forever. ”

Inside Nature was designed in consultation with teachers to ensure it supports key learning objectives, while staying true to ZSL’s 200-year of ethos of inspiring scientific curiosity. The charity hopes these resources will empower educators, enrich lessons, and help cultivate the problem-solvers and conservation leaders of the future.

Cat added: “Each Inside Nature learning pack is based around specific necropsies conducted by ZSL’s pathologist, Dr Simon Spiro, whose work provides critical insights into animal health, emerging diseases, and the pressures facing species in the wild. By translating these findings into accessible, student-ready material, Inside Nature gives learners a rare glimpse into the scientific processes that inform conservation efforts across the globe – and showcases a career in conservation they may not have otherwise considered.”

ZSL Supporter Lucy Panter said: “ZSL’s veterinary team are doing incredible work to increase global understanding of endangered species – informing not only how they can be cared for, but how they can be better protected in the wild. By inviting in the apprentices on Inside Nature to film and document this work, ZSL is now also giving biology students, at multiple stages of education, a real-life look at what they’re being taught in their classes and lectures; it’s such a powerful way to learn. It’s a really inspiring project that I’m very proud to have supported.”

ZSL is inviting schools across the UK to participate, with the first wave of digital materials now available and additional resources planned for release later this academic year. Visit www.zsl.org to find out more.