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Conservation and Countryside Courses at DCG

Safeguarding wildlife habitats, monitoring biodiversity, maintaining waterways, managing estates, helping people to enjoy and understand the environment … there are many exciting and fulfilling aspects to a conservation and countryside career. At DCG you’ll learn all about working in the countryside – and how the countryside works.

Careers in the great outdoors – such as countryside ranger, conservation worker, ecologist and environmental education officer – are highly competitive, so it pays to have recognised qualifications and wide-ranging practical experience under your belt.

At DCG you’ll build hands-on estate skills and operate land-based machinery, while learning how to conduct ecological surveys, identify wildlife species, monitor pollution and undertake countryside crafts like dry stone walling and hedge laying. The setting could not be better: Broomfield Hall is a haven of ancient woodlands, rolling farmland and historic gardens but you’ll also be able to broaden your horizons with work placements, field trips and investigative projects in the wider land-based industries.

Our Diploma in Land and Wildlife Management will put your career plans on track. We also support Countryside Worker apprenticeships and run part-time courses for anyone interested in themes like ecology, woodland management and butterflies.

oh who won my name is Paul Foskett and I

lecturing countryside management here at

Broomfield Hall welcome to the DC G

virtual information event I’m here to

talk to you about our conservation and

countryside courses here at Brimfield

hall but I’ll give you a bit of

background knowledge about the college

first to put you everything into

perspective for you so we were made up

of four campuses including Broomfield

Hall where your studies will take place

but we also have the Roundhouse the

Joseph Wright Center and Ilkeston all

together these make up the Darby college

group also known as DC G so why choose

DC G we have a multitude of support

areas available to every student at DC G

from the moment we meet you right up and

to have completed your study program and

are deciding on your next steps whether

you still need to go in your maths and

English GCSEs or if you are looking for

top quality work experience to help gain

valuable industry knowledge we will

offer you tailored support to suit your

individual needs as you will see this

evening

DCG has invested in first-class industry

standard equipment which you can view in

more detail after this presentation we

do everything we can to help you succeed

during your time here and this has been

recognized by Ofsted who have graded us

as a good provider which is the second

highest rating that is available to any

school or college another fantastic

asset we have here at DC G are our

employer academies these have helped our

students gain valuable work experience

create key industry contacts and really

bring to life or their college learning

experience our students are at the heart

of everything that we do and our

inclusion and support service at DC G is

here to help you maximize your potential

and reach your learning goals whatever

learning difficulty or disability you

may have we can offer you tailored

support to match your individual needs

we work in partnership with teaching

staff other internal services and

external organizations to provide

a person-centered approach we have

teamed up with career coach which is

designed to help you find a good career

by providing the most current local data

on wages employment job postings and

associated education and training head

over to the careers and courses section

of our website and select career coach

from here you can easily browse or

search for the available courses at DCG

that lead to the career you want you can

also take a career assessment on career

coach to learn about yourself and then

it will give you a career suggestions

based on your interest all free of

charge as you can see the projected

employment count for the conservation

and countryside industry and related

occupations in a DCG region is predicted

to keep rising each year from now

through to 2028 and here are a few of

the top posted job titles over the past

year for this industry these are the

industry recognised qualifications that

we currently offer at Broomfield hall

the level 2 & 3 apprenticeship in

Environmental Conservation and a level 3

full-time

technical in land and wildlife

management the mission of Derby college

group DCG

is to predict and serve the needs of our

business and civic communities we are

committed to working in partnership with

employers to co-create talent for the

success of the region generate new jobs

increased social mobility and bolster

economic prosperity we are therefore

always working hard on securing the best

most relevant employer partners to help

support our students here is an example

of a few of our countryside and

conservation employer partners so some

of the questions asks are there jobs

available yet plenty of jobs for

experienced people cancel our job

surface is an excellent website where

you can start to look at the jobs and

careers out there that you can apply for

once you’ve got the qualifications and

experience our apprenticeships offer you

on-the-job training and our technical

in land and wildlife management gives

you plenty of practical experience in

fencing HLA machinery and surveying

techniques this with your academic

subjects gives you the knowledge

industry expects you will also need a

relevant work experience position I can

advise at Interview Darby College has a

significant impact on many individuals

businesses and the wider community we

are committed to producing a talent pool

equipped with the right skills and

attitudes to meet the needs of employers

we are proud of our contribution to

economic growth and social prosperity by

guiding people onto learning pathways

that lead to positive destinations we

encourage progress and aspirational

outcomes many of our learners have gone

on to achieve great things since leaving

the college and here are a few examples

of the many inspirational success

stories we have to share with you now

please feel free to have a look around

and ask any questions you may have we

also have our lovely student helpers

showcasing some of their work this

evening so take a look at that too and

ask them any questions about their

experience at DCG that you may have

they will then lead you back to the

Roundhouse once you’re all ready and you

can either have over to another subject

area or you can have a chat with one of

our many support areas back in the round

we have a detailed step-by-step guide on

how to apply which is accessible from

both our website and in our perspectives

that you should have been given tonight

here is a summarized breakdown of the

steps you can expect to take during the

application process with DCG when you

head back to the event home page after

this head over to our student services

team who are here to help you apply now

if you wish to or at least they can give

you advice and answer any questions you

might have in relation to the

application process thank you very much

for listening to me and have a good

evening

Conservation and Countryside – Course Listings

Course Type: Adult and Community
Location: Broomfield Hall
Start Date: 11/10/2025

Course Type: Adult and Community
Location: Broomfield Hall
Start Date: 27/10/2025

Course Type: Apprenticeships
Location: Broomfield Hall

Course Type: School Leaver - Vocational/Technical
Location: Broomfield Hall

Course Type: School Leaver - Vocational/Technical
Location: Broomfield Hall

Key Information

Our expert teachers come from different backgrounds in the land-based economy and have excellent contacts with employers such as local authorities, national parks and environmental organisations as well as voluntary groups. These collaborations give you the chance to take part in projects that benefit the wider community, such as creating outdoor study areas for schools.

DCG students have gained work and voluntary experience with organisations ranging from the Heights of Abraham to the Butterfly Conservation Trust. We have also joined forces with Derby and Sandiacre Canal Trust to launch an Employer Academy, paving the way for you to contribute to projects aimed at restoring biodiversity and accessibility along the canal route.

Discover our campuses and facilities here. Each campus page contains:

  • 360-degree images of our facilities
  • A location map
  • A list of courses that are run at the campus
  • Student Success Stories
To find out more about our Conservation and Countryside courses, attend our next course and career event or contact us on 0800 028 0289
Press the Apply Now button, that can be found at the top and bottom of every course information page and follow the instructions for the InTouch applications portal. If you are unable to apply online, contact Student Services who will help you complete your application form and will be able to help and guide you to make a decision on the course of study to meet your needs and ambitions.

Related Careers

 

Conservation and Countryside – Success Stories

Leo Kokoszko

School Leaver Vocational

Leo Kokoszko

Helen Towle

Adult and Community

Helen Towle

Graeme Turner

School Leaver Vocational

Graeme Turner

View all DCG Success Stories all role models

360 Tour