SRUC Matters - Issue 6 2021 by Scotland's Rural College (SRUC)

The SRUC Alumni & Friends Magazine / 2021

SRUC MATTERS

ISSUE 6

Welcome Alumni

& Friends of SRUC I am delighted to have recently joined SRUC’s Advancement team as Alumni Relations Manager and I very much look forward to connecting with many of you over the coming months. We have some exciting developments in the year ahead including the launch of the Alumni Entrepreneur Network, new online events and podcasts for the alumni community, and we are also developing a new philanthropy programme to support SRUC students.

WELCOME

Firstly, huge congratulations to our new graduates, the Class of 2021. Your cohort have proven themselves to be highly resilient, having had almost two years of your studies impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. We warmly welcome each and every one of you into our alumni community and wish you all every success for the next stage of your journey. In this edition of SRUC Matters you’ll find a fantastic mix of inspirational stories about you, our alumni. From medal winning Olympians to sustainable golf course design, successful young entrepreneurs to farm diversification and renewable energy – you will find a common theme running throughout this magazine: environmental impact and sustainability. We also look at some of the excellent research SRUC is undertaking into areas such as food security and digital technologies in the natural economy, vital in tackling today’s global challenges. I would like to thank our alumni who have shared their stories with us. Keep an eye out for more of these on our website, in our newsletters and social media channels. Your support is vital in encouraging a new generation to study with SRUC to achieve their dreams. I do hope you enjoy reading this 2021 edition of SRUC Matters. Bridgit Edmonstone Alumni Relations Manager Scotland’s Rural College SRUC MATTERS / Alumni & Friends

STAY CONNECTED If you studied or worked at SRUC, SAC (North, West and East of Scotland Agricultural Colleges), Barony College, Elmwood College, or Oatridge College – we welcome you to the SRUC Alumni & Friends Community. Stay in touch to: • Keep up to date with SRUC news • Promote your business • Reconnect with classmates • Find out about job opportunities • Hear about SRUC events www.sruc.ac.uk/alumni

Tell us your stories! Do you have a story to share? Have you launched a new business? Are you planning a class reunion? We are always delighted to hear from SRUC alumni to find out what people are up to!

Contact:

Bridgit Edmonstone, Alumni Relations Manager alumni@sruc.ac.uk www.sruc.ac.uk/alumni SRUC, King’s Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG / T: 0131 535 4488 Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @SRUCAlumni Printed on environmentally sound paper from sustainable sources Designed by Laura Hopcroft, SRUC Communications Articles written by Julie van den Driesche, Bridgit Edmonstone, Rosie Free, Tom Maxwell and Michael McGarvie, with contributing guest writers.

CONTENTS

Silver Linings Olympian and alumnus Harry Leask

A Sustainable Future Supporting the local economy with renewable energy

From Students to Staff What might your future hold with SRUC?

Fun on the Farm Diversification aplenty on a Stirlingshire farm

All Creatures Great and Small Alumni working in veterinary referral hospitals

It Takes Two Entrepreneurial couple begin business whilst students at SRUC Glow-worm Quest Researching Scotland’s glow-worm populations

Cultivating Remembrance Custodians of the Commonwealth War Graves

Wild About Animals SRUC alumna stars in wildlife television programme

On the Ball SRUC alumni leading the global golfing stage

Transparency Builds Bridges Improving public perceptions of agriculture

Empowering Students to Grow Donors ensure a bright future for SRUC students

CONTENTS

The Bigger Picture New Challenge Centres at SRUC

SILVER

LININGS Every four years there is a degree of controversy as a number of new disciplines are thrown into the mix at the Olympic Games. Among the events introduced in Tokyo were skateboarding, karate and surfing. But if the International Olympic Committee ever took the unusual decision of adding tractor racing to its summer schedule, it would leave Harry Leask in a bit of a quandary. “I don’t think I could choose between driving a tractor and rowing,” laughs the 26-year-old. “Couldn’t I do both?”

SILVER LININGS

Harry Leask (L) with his teammates on the podium at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Fortunately, it’s a decision the former SRUC Oatridge student is unlikely to have to make, and not only because tractors aren’t on the IOC’s radar – at least not yet. After securing a thrilling podium finish at this year’s Games in Tokyo, Harry’s sole focus is now on turning silver into gold.

Finishing second behind the Dutch team alongside Tom Barras, Jack Beaumont and fellow Scot Angus Groom was an historic achievement in itself – it was the first time Team GB had ever won a medal in the men’s quadruple sculls. “The rest of the crew didn’t believe me when I yelled that we’d finished second,” says Harry. “I was in the bow seat – closest to the line – and I knew that we’d got the silver, but the others wouldn’t believe it until they saw the official result flash up on the board.” The crew’s scepticism was perhaps understandable – they finished just 0.22 seconds ahead of Australia, who had to settle for bronze. “It was an unbelievable feeling,” says Harry. “It took a few moments for it to sink in, to finally realise that all our hard work had paid off. We knew that, if we rowed our best race, we were capable of a top-three finish, but we didn’t try to put too much pressure on ourselves. We just tried to give it our best shot.” The occasion was extra emotional as, like virtually everything else, the world of rowing had been brought to a standstill last March at the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown. “It was tough,” says Harry. “I went from being out in the boat several times a day, six or even seven days a week, to training on a rowing machine in my living room. As you can imagine, it’s not quite the same. It was the middle of July before we were finally able to get back out on the water. Naturally, we were a bit rusty around the edges, but it was amazing how quickly the technique came back.” SRUC MATTERS / Alumni & Friends

Great Britain celebrates their silver medal.

Harry later rowed for Clydesdale in Glasgow and left school at 16 to study Agricultural Engineering at Oatridge.

“It was a bit of a roller coaster, to say the least,” he says. “The final Olympic trial took place just before lockdown and it’s always going to be a day of such contrasting emotions anyway. It’s very hard to sit next to a friend who hasn’t made the team, but you’re obviously ecstatic about being chosen. It’s a case of feeling sheer joy for yourself but knowing that others have just seen their dreams crushed.”

“I grew up next door to farms while living in Heriot and West Linton in the Borders so I’d always been fascinated by tractors and farm machinery,” says Melrose-born Harry. “I played with toy tractors, rather than toy boats, so studying Agricultural Engineering at Oatridge was a natural choice. It was a fascinating time as the industry was just progressing from a more mechanical way of doing things to the computer-dominated world we now live in.”

In the end, the postponed Games meant that everyone had to go through the whole process all over again a year later, with Harry again making the cut. But while British Rowing appreciated Harry’s abilities, the same couldn’t be said of his old school. “My brother Jack and I went to school at George Heriot’s in Edinburgh,” he explains. “He’s two years older and, when I was about 12, I’d go and watch him rowing for the school club on the Union Canal. I was still too young to join the Heriot’s rowing club but George Watson’s used to row there, too, and they asked me if I’d like to row for them.”

His time in West Lothian served him well as, after recovering from a back injury and making the move to London in 2012, he carried out contracting work in Reading to support his passion. Now a member of Leander, one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, Harry reflects that there was at least one good thing to come out of the Olympics being postponed, “It means we only have to wait three years rather than four to try to win gold in Paris.”

SILVER LININGS

By this stage, Harry and the rest of Team GB knew that – just like Euro 2020 – the 2020 Summer Olympics had been postponed by a year.

A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE SRUC MATTERS / Alumni & Friends

A SUSTAINABLE

FUTURE

For SRUC alumni Elaine Booth and Peter Robertson, the importance of supporting the local economy and interest in renewable energy is something that has been passed on to them by their parents. “I’m steeped in SRUC because my father was with SAC (now SRUC) for 40 years,” says Peter.

The couple have been managing Ednie Farm, in Aberdeenshire, since 2001. The farm, which has been in Elaine’s family for over 100 years, has suckler cows and an arable business growing Scottish traditional crops such as winter barley, winter wheat, oilseed rape, oats and spring barley. Like many farmers, Elaine and Peter have diversified their farm with environmental initiatives, producing silage for the local biogas plant and a forestry enterprise. “We use woodchip for biomass,” says Peter. “We’ve stopped using kerosene and diesel in drying grain. Instead, we dry woodchip and then dry grain with the woodchip, and we get a small amount of woodchip sales as well.” Elaine and Peter have also been producing electricity since 2009 after they obtained planning permission for a 0.8 megawatt turbine, followed by another two 0.8MW turbines, as well as four bigger 2.3MW turbines on their other farm, in collaboration with 20 local shareholders. “We are in an area of heavy clay land, and the output for agriculture can be very bumpy if

“We could see early on that the big companies were cherry picking the good sites. The profit then disappears overseas. Our motivation is – local projects, local people, keep the spend local. That has to be good for the north-east and Scottish economies, and that’s a huge motivator. Every £1 spent on renewables by a local company like us generates another £6 for the economy. For every £2 the big energy companies spend, only £1 is generated. Our multiplier is far bigger.” Elaine and Peter have another innovative and ambitious renewables project under development. “We have planning permission for bigger ground-mounted solar panels which we’re hoping to develop over the next few years,” says Elaine. “We also have plans to get wind turbines, solar panels and battery storage at a new farm adjoining the St Fergus Gas Terminal. To join these three things together will be quite an innovative project. The gas terminal has such a huge demand for electricity, we would be able to supply a portion of that. It’s quite an exciting project.” As parents, Elaine and Peter are driven by the need for the agricultural industry to play its part in reducing Scotland’s emissions of all greenhouse gases to net-zero by 2045. Continued over

A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

“When he first came to SAC there was no UK oil industry. My dad and his fellow researchers conducted initial research in anaerobic digestion at Craibstone from 19681971 where they were using pig slurry, silage, and even human slurry to make biogas. It was then totally shelved because North Sea oil came along in the 1970s.”

it’s a wet year or a dry year, affecting the cattle and the crops,” explains Peter. “One thing we have a mega amount of is wind. If you think of the north-east of Scotland, we’re right out on the tip, so there’s wind coming from three sides. It’s probably the windiest site on the UK mainland.

A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

“There’s clearly a financial driver with the wind projects for us,” says Elaine, “but we are also driven by climate change issues. We need to look forward. We’ve got a young daughter who is very concerned about what’s going to happen to the world. “We should all be trying to do our bit, where we can, to try to improve the climate issue.” The couple’s views have also been shaped by their education and work experience at SRUC, which is playing a leading role in reducing the carbon footprint of agriculture. After completing her PhD through SRUC, Elaine worked for many years at the Craibstone campus before joining SAC Consulting, part of SRUC. “I started off as an oilseed rape specialist and various projects led me to look at the non-food use of different crops for industrial purposes and energy,” she says. “For a short time before I left SRUC, I was the climate change project co-ordinator at SAC Consulting. I’ve always been interested in novel uses of crops and renewable energy and trying to address climate change through those methods. Peter is also an alumnus of SRUC Craibstone, having completed an HND in Agriculture, followed by a Farm Business Organisation and Management diploma and Honours degree.” Even for day-to-day farm management decisions, they recognise the value of SRUC MATTERS / Alumni & Friends

“

We are real products of SRUC, says Elaine. We’ve got every degree of that time between us! If you cut us in half, there’d be an SRUC core like a stick of rock, adds Peter.

”

research in helping them to farm more responsibly. “We bought a bull the other day,” says Peter “Figures show that, for every kilogram he puts on, he eats 2.5kg less food than the average animal. That’s a great move forward for the industry. That’s where SRUC has a massive role to play – to get the research done and move it down the line to the teuchters like us to implement on farms.” Elaine, who is Chair of their local NFUS branch, adds, “In Scotland we have a good story to tell about how farmers are really contributing to reducing climate issues. “We’ve got mixed agriculture and I think that’s a big step in the right direction – that you’re recycling the nutrients from the animals, using less nitrogen fertiliser, things like that. “We are firm believers – through our SRUC experience – that as an industry, agriculture has to tackle climate change. We’ve got the resources and the land to make a difference through renewable energy. We’ve got a responsibility to invest in these things where we can, if they’re profitable.”

FROM STUDENTS TO STAFF What might your future hold with SRUC?

Opal Rowe, Lecturer in Horticulture, Team Leader, Glasgow Queen’s Park “Being a lecturer in horticulture is great as I get to talk about plants, hang out with planty-people (staff and students), and play with plants in the glasshouse.” Graduated with BSc (Hons) Horticulture (2016)

Kerry Xu, Lecturer in Golf Management, Elmwood Campus “Elmwood gave me a chance to change my career and I was delighted to join the team in 2021, where I can give back and open up opportunities for whoever is looking to build their own careers in golf.” Graduated with PDA Golf Course Management (2009)

Mellanie Robson, Lecturer in Agriculture, Aberdeen Campus “I enjoy being a lecturer, it gives me great satisfaction being able to pass on my knowledge and experience to students. Agriculture is my passion.” Graduated with MSc Agricultural Professional Practice (2019)

Calum Johnston, Consultant, SAC Consulting “I work in the Food and Enterprise team within SAC Consulting. My role is extremely varied working with farming, crofting, and rural business clients across Scotland.” Graduated with BA (Hons) Rural Business Management (2016)

Check out our online jobs board to find out about the latest graduate and alumni roles posted by SRUC. Go to www.sruc.ac.uk/alumnijobs

FROM STUDENTS TO STAFF

Mhairi Dalgleish, Agricultural Consultant, SAC Consulting “There is so much variety day-to-day and great opportunities to develop your skills and knowledge on certain topic areas.” Graduated with BSc (Hons) Agricultural Science (2017)

Colin Hardacre, Programme Leader, Wildlife and Conservation Management, Aberdeen Campus “Lecturing on Wildlife and Conservation Management keeps me in touch with a real breadth of topics… and you get a backstage pass to the coolest places for ecology and nature.” Graduated with BSc (Hons) Countryside Management (2013)

THE

BIGGER PICTURE Over the past 18 months, SRUC has appointed new senior academics to lead the organisation on some of the biggest challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. Here we introduce you to Professor Mads Fischer-Møller and Dr Hannah Rudman – and invite you to join us in a live online event followed by a Q&A session with each of them early in 2022. Scotland can expand the diversity of food produced and eat outside the traditional ‘meat and two veg’ scenario and how to produce food for a growing population. Food that is healthy, more sustainable and ultimately more resilient.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Mads Fisher-Møller Tell us about yourself? I’m Mads Fisher-Møller, Professor of Food Policy at SRUC and Leader of SRUC’s upcoming Future Food Systems Challenge Centre. Where have you come from? I was a sort of ‘entrepreneurial bureaucrat’ – a civil servant at the Nordic Council of Ministers, looking for ways to change the narrative and the vision around food. I was tasked with seeing how policy could bring the best of the niche into the mainstream food system. What is the aim of the Future Food Systems Challenge Centre? How can Scotland be better in how we use our land? We are only using around 5 per cent of our good agricultural land for the food that humans actually directly eat, while most of our agricultural landscape is for feed and industrial purposes – is this what we should be doing? I would love to inspire conversations about how SRUC MATTERS / Alumni & Friends

How will you make an impact? No change happens without the farmers. SRUC is really well positioned as a trustworthy, credible partner in the farming world. We now need to link that with our work with the food industry, with our awareness of the business opportunities and with the debates on health and climate change. For example, Scotland’s population does not have enough fibre in its diet – it’s a big problem. However, we’re already producing the fibre we need, it’s just being taken out of our food during processing. Through the Future Food Systems Challenge Centre we can create a partnership with the Government, retail industry, farmers and millers, to figure out how to change this. We could easily start eating our sandwiches on dark fibre bread, and it would be so much better for public health. In Denmark I helped create a whole-grain partnership. Over 10 years the Danes more than doubled their daily intake of wholegrains, which is hugely beneficial for diets, and the producers can now make more money from selling better quality products. We are the friends of the farmers, we work with the policy makers – in this way SRUC can enable the discussions about food to move forward.

Takeaway message We are probably in a time where the food policy debates have never been so open or lively. There is a recognition that we have to change what food we produce, how we produce it and what the future could look like. So let’s have a discussion!

Hannah Rudman

What is your background? I ran an IT consultancy. I used to lead multimillion-pound national digital transformation programmes in the creative industries, and I was a tech entrepreneur – creating products that gave people agency to reduce carbon in their businesses and lives. For example, in 2009 I launched Envirodigital, which gave people the opportunity to attend conferences virtually and without travelling – through a new technology called webcasting! Its commonplace to us all now, but was bleeding edge back then! What can you bring to the strengthening of Scotland’s natural economy?     The Thriving Natural Capital Challenge Centre at SRUC has been set up to show how Scotland’s

natural capital (the assets of nature) is essential to address UN Sustainable Development Goals. Our work focuses on developing ecosystem services and informing decision makers on the restoration of natural capital and its sustainable use. How will you make an impact? The Centre will build ecosystem markets – market-based mechanisms and innovative finance to fund the conservation and restoration of sustainable management of nature – through projects that meet net-zero targets and reverse biodiversity decline. We support rural communities to take up regenerative agriculture and conservation practices they can make money from, ensuring a just transition. For example, we are working on new carbon codes that will help to organise the voluntary carbon market better. Next year I will also be part of the Dandelion festival. This will be the largest community-led growing experiment undertaken in the UK, where children will become citizen scientists comparing future farming techniques with traditional growing. Look out for it and take part! Takeaway message If you’re interested in understanding more about natural capital and ecosystem markets and how we’re supporting their creation and development in Scotland, listen to my podcast and come along to the live event in March.

Live Online Events with Mads and Hannah

Join us at our live online events to find out more about the work Mads and Hannah are doing at SRUC.

The Bigger Picture with Mads Fischer-Møller:

Scotland as a Brown Bread Loving Nation: How big changes are needed in our eating habits for a sustainable future. 23rd February 2022 at 7pm / www.bit.ly/MadsFischer-Møller

The Bigger Picture with Hannah Rudman:

Traps, Apps and Maps: practical digital devices to measure natural capital. 23rd March 2022 at 7pm / www.bit.ly/HannahRudman

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Tell us about yourself – why are you passionate about what you do at SRUC? I am passionate about the opportunities that digital technologies and their data can bring to the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis challenges we face. At SRUC, I am a Senior Challenge Research Fellow where I co-direct the Thriving Natural Capital Challenge Centre and create digital technology training sessions -SRUCBytes – for everyone. I am also convenor of Trustable Credit; co-leader of the Scottish Conservation Finance Pioneers Group; I work as an advisor with other organisations such as Agrimetrics and the European Commission’s Research Executive; and I am also a Trustee and Director of the Board of the National Galleries of Scotland.

FUN ON

THE FARM 12

FUN ON THE FARM

Autumn 2021 was a blur for Duncan and Rebecca McEwen of Arnprior Farm in Stirlingshire. The couple, who run one of Scotland’s most popular pumpkin patches, welcomed a record number of visitors onto the farm – which has been in the McEwen family since 1936 and is run jointly with Duncan’s parents. A visit to Arnprior for the autumn festivities has quickly become one of the area’s favourite experiential attractions with tickets selling out for the month-long event in hours. What started off as a bit of fun, has become the catalyst for a very successful diversification project, which also includes a heated swimming pool, glamping pods and lambing experience. Duncan, who graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture in 2005, explains how the business has grown into a popular agri-tourism destination. “Arnprior became a Quality Meat Scotland monitor farm in 2012 and after going through this process, we had a fairly good grasp of how the business was performing, both technically and financially,” he says “It was at this point, we really started to make changes to improve and build on what was a good foundation. “The first thing we did was to simplify our livestock system by selling our suckler herd and doubling our sheep numbers to 1000. The sheep have subsequently increased to 1300 and we winter cattle on a B&B basis for a number of local farmers. “It was after a family holiday in the USA that the idea of growing pumpkins started to take shape. Pumpkin Patches are big over there and we were impressed that visitors didn’t come to simply pick a pumpkin, they came for the whole experience including farm-based activities as well as food and drinks. Our children were still very young at the time and Rebecca had a pretty demanding career in the media, so the time was right to look for a project which would allow Rebecca to be at home and at the same time use her creative skills to market and grow a new part of the business. We decided to give it a go and it has grown from there.” Rebecca adds: “It’s been a great experience so far but of course there have been some bumps along the way. In our first year, we didn’t imagine how popular we would be and how many people SRUC MATTERS / Alumni & Friends

FUN ON THE FARM

would turn up. It was chaotic. There were cars and visitors were everywhere – the neighbours weren’t too happy! We had to quickly clear additional areas for parking and manage the situation. We have learned from our initial mistakes but given the bad press farming often gets, the biggest reward is seeing children enjoying tractor rides and roaming around the sheep. It’s a fun day out but it’s also helping families understand our industry, which can only be a good thing.” It was through chatting to visitors during the pumpkin and lambing experiences that the plan for the glamping pods and the swimming pool was formed. Today, the Arnprior glamping site houses four uniquely designed, luxury pods sleeping up to five people each with its own private hot tub. There’s also a party pod which can be hired out to holidaymakers and the local community. Cleverly, excess heat from the farm’s wood chip

biomass plant is used to heat the swimming pool which is used by the glamping pod guests and is now proudly home to the Arnprior Swim School. Duncan says: “As far as diversification goes, we would describe ourselves as doing it a bit by accident. The pumpkins started as a fun experiment but have now developed into an important part of the business. The success of this whet our appetite to explore other avenues of diversification and the business as it currently stands, evolved from there. “We are now in a consolidation phase and are focusing on improving our customer offering as well as looking at projects which will help to make the day-to-day running of the farm more efficient. It’s been a lot of hard work and a huge learning curve for both of us. “Hopefully soon we might even get some down time to enjoy the pool!”

ALL CREATURES

GREAT AND SMALL 14

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

Jillian and Leanne at Aberdeen Veterinary Referrals.

So, what does veterinary nursing look like in a referral hospital? Vet nurses in referral hospitals have a dedicated and expert role within the team. Some may look after emergency patients or those requiring intensive care. Others are skilled in surgical care. Some nurses focus on complex cases treated by medicine, such as pet patients with cancer. “There’s so much that you can do with your education,” explains Denise Mayne, HND Veterinary Nursing graduate from SRUC Barony, who is an Emergency and Critical Care nurse at Vets Now, a veterinary emergency and referral hospital in Glasgow. “You can become any kind of nurse you want.” Denise sees a variety of animals which may be receiving surgical or medicine care. “We currently see a lot of aspiration pneumonias in brachycephalic dogs, which are flat faced dogs like pugs, boxers, bulldogs and Boston terriers. We also see a lot of immunemediated cases, where the immune system attacks the body’s blood cells. And a lot of oncology cases come through too. That’s why I’m so interested in the role, I see a great variety of cases.” SRUC MATTERS / Alumni & Friends

When your pet needs their annual check-up, or requires a routine surgical procedure, they will undoubtedly have been under the care of a Veterinary Nurse in a general practice. Sometimes, more specialised care is needed and owners will need to visit a referral hospital for additional expertise and equipment. Paula Logan, who works alongside Denise as a Surgery Nurse at Vets Now, completed a Level 3 Veterinary Nursing Diploma at SRUC Oatridge. “As a surgery nurse my predominant role is anaesthesia and fulfilling the role of the circulating nurse, which includes performing diagnostic imagining and preparing patients for surgery,” she says. “I have had experience in both general practice and charity work prior to referral, but my role as a surgical referral nurse is more intense than my previous roles and has improved my capability in calculating drug dosages and constant rate infusions, as well as massively enhancing my knowledge of both anaesthesia and analgesia.” Veterinary nursing can be full of surprises and Paula has first-hand experience of relying on her newly developed skills in an out-of-hours emergency surgery with a small team on duty. “The patient was having surgery to investigate a wound following a dog attack,” she says. “The wound investigation took an unexpected turn due to trauma penetration of the thorax resulting in a double thoracotomy, a surgical procedure in which a cut is made between the ribs to reach the organs in the chest. This

was a challenging, critical anaesthesia in which the patient required positive pressure ventilation, which helps the patient to breathe when they are unable to breathe on their own. My newly gained knowledge and use of advanced monitoring equipment made me feel confident and calm throughout this situation.” Leanne Barry, who completed her HND in Veterinary Nursing at SRUC Barony, works as a Senior Nurse, specialising in Medicine at Aberdeen Veterinary Referrals (AVR). “It’s all or nothing sometimes – but an average day might be investigating a mass or a vomiting/diarrhoea case, and administering weekly chemotherapy treatments,” she says. “I go and help on the surgical side of the practice at times too, so I get to work on a lot of the different cases that come in.” Jillian McHugh, a fellow HND Veterinary Nursing graduate from Barony, works alongside Leanne. As the Assistant Head Vet Nurse, she is involved in day-to-day nursing, but also in management of the team. “AVR has expanded so there are new shifts to manage. I help with interviews and rotas, and I’m also the person people come Denise and Paula at Vets Now. to for support.”

Veterinary nurses have an obligation to continue their professional development as part of their registration with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). “I’ve recently completed a Vets Now Emergency Critical Care certificate,” says Jillian. “I’m also very interested in the anaesthesia and analgesia side of things – there’s so many areas that you can improve on in practice.” Veterinary nursing in a referral hospital, as within a general practice, has its ups and downs. “There are hard times that you have to push through,” says Jillian. “But the moment you have with the animals – when you can return them to their owners fit and healthy, or even when you’re able to do the kindest thing for them and prevent suffering, it’s 100 per cent worth it.” In 2021 SRUC announced plans to create a new school of veterinary medicine, which will offer courses ranging from Higher National Diploma to Postgraduate degree. Based in Aberdeen but with a footprint across rural Scotland, it will be the first vet school based outside of Edinburgh or Glasgow.

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

A new Veterinary Nursing degree was launched at SRUC in Aberdeen in 2021. The threeyear BSc degree – with the option of a fourth year to gain an honours qualification – will allow students to achieve an RCVS Veterinary Nursing registration and a licence to practice.

IT TAKES TWO

IT TAKES TWO SRUC MATTERS / Alumni & Friends

Ian Buchanan and Kerry Cartwright met while studying Agriculture at SRUC Craibstone. Even before they had graduated with honours degrees in 2019, they had started a new free-range pork and beef business – and despite the pressures of the pandemic, the couple have successfully grown Rootin’ and Roamin’.

Bridgit Edmonstone caught up with Ian and Kerry to find out about their business and future plans. Tell us a little about your background Kerry: I’m from the Highlands and now live near Kinross with my boyfriend and business partner, Ian. I’m not from a farming background and originally wanted to be a midwife or teacher. I decided to study Agriculture during my 6th year at high school after a spell lambing back at home. My decision has taken me on quite a journey.

IT TAKES TWO

I have gone from knowing nothing about agriculture to my whole life revolving around the rural sector. From working as a Rural Business Consultant for the Laurence Gould Partnership during the week to helping Ian on the farm at weekends and being involved in running our business Rootin’ and Roamin’, I now literally live and breathe agriculture. Ian: We have farmed at Hardiston for 15 years, but my family have been farming for at least three generations. I work on the family farm but also as a dairyman and a general farm worker at my uncle’s neighbouring farm. At Hardison we currently have 100 pigs, 250 breeding ewes, 30 suckler cows, 100 fattening bullocks, and we’ve now also got a herd of 15 Dexter cattle as well as 50 acres of arable land which is used to feed the livestock.

later, our first piglets arrived. Early in 2018, we made the decision to sell free-range pork and during our third year at Craibstone, the idea for Rootin’ and Roamin’ was born. Ian’s dad came up with the name – it very accurately describes what pigs do!

How did Rootin’ and Roamin’ begin?

Ian: In Spring 2018, we attended our first farmers market in Kinross and the business has grown from there. We now offer Dexter beef alongside our free-range pork, when available.

Kerry: We didn’t really plan on running a business. We unknowingly started Rootin’ and Roamin’ when we were still at SRUC. Ian purchased four pigs and a couple of months

The plan is to slowly grow our herd until there is a more constant supply. We chose the Dexter breed as it produces an outstanding quality product. Continued over

IT TAKES TWO

“

We didn’t really plan on running a business. We unknowingly started Rootin’ and Roamin’ when we were still at SRUC. Ian purchased four pigs and a couple of months later, our first piglets arrived.

Where do you sell your products? Kerry: As well as Kinross, we attend monthly markets in Perth, Edinburgh and other community markets. We provide a catering service at local events such as the Cleish pop-up pub and private functions. We also have an online shop and offer a click-andcollect plus a limited home delivery service. In terms of butchery, we use a business in Auchterarder. Future plans are to establish our own butchery which will cut out the third party and allow the customer to purchase standard package sizes. We are lucky to have built up a good base of return customers, which really stood us in good stead during the pandemic.

”

closer to home, with specialised businesses such as ours instead of the supermarket. We were able to offer contact-free delivery. Due to restrictions, there was a strengthened interest in supporting local businesses like ours. We are delighted to have been able to support our community in this way. What about the future?

What happened during lockdown?

Ian: Well, in the immediate future, it’s getting through the Christmas rush! We are currently in the process of rebranding to incorporate the Dexter cattle, so we will be focusing on building our brand and product range. As well as establishing the butchery, we also plan to open an honesty shop on the farm, which will greatly improve product accessibility.

Ian: The business was in its infancy when we were plunged into lockdown. Customer habits changed overnight and as a business we had to be agile. Purchases were made

Kerry: We are so lucky to work together in an industry we both love and at the same time build our business. What’s not to like? We are excited about what our future holds!

SRUC MATTERS / Alumni & Friends

An obsession with glow-worms has given Charlotte Martin a new lease of life as she begins a quest to research the genetics of Scotland’s populations.

GLOW-WORM

QUEST

Charlotte was devastated when she was forced to retire from her job as a farmhand and shepherd due to a repeated injury.

“I was also a bit cheeky and asked the boiler company Glow-worm for sponsorship which proved fruitful in that I got some equipment.

She had developed a love of the outdoors from a young age and had spent most of her working life in the fishing and farming sectors.

“I am now looking further ahead with a plan to research the genetics of Scotland’s populations.”

An internship with Caledonian Conservation, an ecological consultancy that specialises in invertebrates, has given her the training and experience to support her in her glow-worm quest. In addition to her work with glow-worms, Charlotte volunteers with the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project – which aims to reinforce the populations in the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway – and appeared on BBC Scotland’s Landward when it featured the work of the charity.

GLOW-WORM QUEST

“I loved my career especially as a farmhand/ shepherd and so was devastated to have to ‘retire’ early due to a repeated injury,” she says. “I saw myself as being on the scrapheap, with no real qualifications or experience in any other sector to fall back on, and the thought of being cooped up in an office terrified me.” She decided to retrain and completed an HND in Countryside Management at SRUC’s Oatridge campus. She is now in the third year of a Wildlife and Conservation degree at The University of Edinburgh. Charlotte, from Lanark, always had a passion for invertebrates but when she read about glowworms, they became her obsession. “As soon as I read about them, I knew I was meant to study them,” she explains. “I am convinced Scotland is an important reservoir for the species so my summers are spent camping out in my wee van conducting night surveys on sites around the country. “It has grown legs and throughout the year I liaise with landowners to raise awareness of the species, strong-arm other folk into tramping about at night by engaging with local wildlife groups and pestering professors, and give survey training or talks to interested parties such as Natural History societies.

She also has a voluntary position as a County Recorder of Butterflies for Renfrewshire; works with the student-led Oatridge Rangers and Countryside Stewards (ORCS) as Invertebrate lead, and has worked for the past two summers as a Bat Surveyor. “The standard of teaching at SRUC is first class, but more than that, the support and encouragement my lecturers have given me has meant that I felt confident enough to go ahead and pursue my interests and progress academically. “The pandemic brought its challenges, but the lecturers did a fantastic job making sure we didn’t lose out on teaching quality. Everything I have achieved so far could not have happened without the team of lecturers, my long-suffering partner, ORCS, my classmates and my glowworm mentor Jim Alder – who have at times literally carried me along.”

CULTIVATING

REMEMBRANCE If you walk past the entrance to your local cemetery, even if you live in an isolated rural community, the chances are that you will see a green Commonwealth War Graves sign indicating the presence of a grave inside which is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).

CULTIVATING REMEMBRANCE

Earlier in the year we met up with two of our horticultural alumni who work for the CWGC – Iain Anderson, who completed an OND in Amenity Horticulture at Auchincruive in 1982 and Paul Gibson who gained his Diploma in Horticulture, also at Auchincruive in 1990 – to learn more about their roles with the Commission. “Scotland has over 25,000 war graves and there are more than 80 cemeteries which have maintained plots with the rows of headstones that people traditionally associate with war graves,” says Iain, the CWGC Regional Manager for Scotland. “The vast majority of CWGC graves are scattered graves in cemeteries all over Scotland, so they’re never far away. Where there are more than 40 war graves in a cemetery, there is normally also a Cross of Sacrifice in addition to the green sign at the main entrance.” The day we met Iain, he was assessing the horticultural standards at Seafield Cemetery in Edinburgh, using a scoring system on his Iain Anderson

iPad to record grass quality, weed coverage and planting issues. “My role covers everything and there is no such thing as a typical week,” he says. “I can be at three, four or five different cemeteries in a week. We are also responsible for war graves in Iceland and the Faroes, where we are fortunate to have Honorary Supervisors who represent the commission and assist us to maintain the CWGC graves; we try and get out there as often as we can.” Paul works as one of the three gardeners the Commission employs in Scotland. “My area extends from Ayrshire across to Edinburgh,” he says. “I try to get round all my cemeteries about every ten days in the summer. We also visit Hoy on Orkney on occasions, where Lyness Naval Cemetery overlooks Scapa Flow.” ‘Traditional’ war graves can be described as rows of well-maintained white headstones with cut grass and tasteful planting. “We plant a rose bush every two headstones, and a low-growing plant in front of each stone to try and prevent splashback from the soil, which causes erosion,” says Paul. “The lettering at the bottom of each headstone was chosen by the surviving family and it is important to ensure that it can always be clearly seen.” Three quarters of the Commission’s funding comes from the UK Government, with the remaining being contributed by Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa, highlighting the international effort to ensure these soldiers are respected in their final resting place – which is often very far from their home.

SRUC MATTERS / Alumni & Friends

Paul Gibson

“We also look after war graves belonging to allies, such as the Polish, and also any individual German war graves,” says Paul.

Iain has also worked at Ypres, after which he was posted to Arnhem in the Netherlands, followed by his first posting to Germany, where he worked in Kleve and in Berlin. “I was there when the Berlin Wall came down, which was an amazing experience,” he says. “Part of my role included visiting the war graves in the former East Germany to work with the organisation which was looking after them at the time. When the wall came down, the CWGC took over the care of those war graves.” Iain believes it’s important for young people to be aware of war graves. “They are the people who will decide how we honour these soldiers, when we’re not here anymore. “I’m proud of the work that we have done. Most folk are really pleased with how well the graves are maintained and how these soldiers are remembered. Some of the graves are over 100 years old, it’s really quite an achievement.” You can find out more about the Commonwealth War Graves Commission at their website, where you can also find details of any war graves in your local cemetery. www.cwgc.org

As if running a 200-acre farm on his native Orkney and operating a contracting business was not enough, Rodney Hume, who studied an Ordinary National Diploma in Agriculture at SRUC Craibstone in 1981, looks after the world-famous Italian Chapel on Orkney together with his wife Helen. The Italian Chapel in Lamb Holm consists of two Nissen huts transformed into a beautiful chapel by Italian prisoners of war during the Second World War. “The chapel is one of the biggest tourist attractions on the islands and used to be freely open to the public. But with tourism on the increase, it was getting damaged due to uncontrolled numbers. Eleven staff are now employed at the height of the season, with my wife and I in charge. We are helping to look after the chapel so that it is there for the next generation.” Farming the land beside the chapel means that Rodney gets to meet people – and farmers – from all over the world, as do his cows. “The cattle which graze the fields next to the chapel are probably the quietest on the island as they are so used to being spoken to by the tourists.” It also is a special place for Helen and Rodney as their daughter was married there a couple of years ago.

CULTIVATING REMEMBRANCE

The Commission also looks after war graves overseas which has meant that in their careers, both men have worked elsewhere in Europe. Paul’s first role was based at cemeteries in Ypres, Belgium, where he worked for seven years before moving to the Bergen op Zoom war cemeteries in the Netherlands for four years.

ORKNEY’S ITALIAN CHAPEL

WILD ABOUT ANIMALS

WILD ABOUT

ANIMALS

April Sorley acts as a surrogate mum and carer to a whole host of mammals. April is an Assistant Manager at the Scottish SPCA’s Wildlife Centre in Alloa, where she has worked since graduating with an HND in Animal Care from SRUC Elmwood in 2013.

“A normal day consists of checking in with all the staff and the rest of the management team first thing and checking over emails,” she says.

More recently however, she has also become one of the stars of the BBC Scotland series Born to be Wild, which follows staff at the centre as they care for everything from seals to stoats. For April, this includes hand rearing fox cubs, roe deer, otters, badgers and hedgehogs, amongst other animals.

“I then usually go to the large or small mammal section and see what duties need to be carried out. If I am hand rearing, generally these animals will need care first, together with any other dependent orphans. We then start feeding and cleaning the rest of the animals.

SRUC MATTERS / Alumni & Friends

“The hand rearing of animals will continue throughout the day – and sometimes through the night – together with other tasks such as cleaning otter pools, bedding changes, collecting feed for deer, weighing animals, vet checks, giving medication, checking release sites and releasing animals.” In the BBC series (which is available via the BBC IPlayer), we see April feeding baby badgers Biscuit and Crumb a breakfast of porridge mixed with jam, honey, peanut butter, scones and custard creams; gain the trust of young roe deer Petal – whose mother was attacked by a dog near Glasgow; and raise a family of fox cubs – named after characters from spy films – after their den was excavated by a builder’s digger in Edinburgh.

One of her most memorable achievements at the centre was raising Babe the hedgehog from birth, weighing just 22g, to a healthy 881g at nine months, before releasing her successfully into a wood near Dundee. “It’s probably one of the best things I’ve done since being here,” she says. “When I first got her, she was on hourly feeds just to get her going, and then on night feeds at 12am, 3pm and 6am for two weeks and every two hours through the day. “She would definitely have died if we hadn’t stepped in, so this is her chance at a life she wouldn’t have got otherwise.” Caring for young animals, with round-theclock feeding, means staff hours can be long and irregular and one episode sees April simultaneously hand rearing both Petal and a hoglet called Piglet. “I think sometimes my only relationship is with the animals,” April jokes. “I just hope my boyfriend doesn’t leave me.”

“I was absolutely devastated,” says April. “I went home and broke my heart all night. It never gets easier. It’s just like your baby that you’re looking after, but this is a hospital and there are animals coming in daily that need care, so you just have a bit of quiet time and then get up and get on to make sure they get the care they need.” There are also plenty of highs in April’s job, including having the support of a dedicated team and the privilege of getting unrestricted access to wildlife. “My greatest achievement is to teach and work alongside such a dedicated and committed team while also achieving personal goals myself which includes the successful hand rearing and release of badgers, foxes, roe deer fawns, stoats, weasels, red squirrels, otters and pine marten,” she says. “Each year we see different animals with different issues that we haven’t seen before. To be constantly learning is a long-term goal of mine to ensure the best care, welfare and releases possible to all animals that I’m looking after.”

WILD ABOUT ANIMALS

“It’s always exciting when a baby comes in, but you get a bit nervous because their life is in your hands,” says April. “They’re relying on you to feed them and do everything right to get them through. Something just kicks in and you do it. It doesn’t matter how tired you are, or how much you give up. At the end of the day, they’re your responsibility, and you just do it.”

While most of the animals are eventually successfully released into the wild, we experience some of the lows of the job, such as when, despite April’s ceaseless dedication, Piglet dies of colic a week after being born at the centre.

THE BALL In a world of increasing sustainability challenges, the demands of the golf industry on water and maintenance are often deemed controversial. Through increased innovation, one of the world’s oldest sports is adapting and rising to meet these challenges head on. Three alumni – Tyler Annan, Tizayi Sithole and Diana Carel – who are now all working in the sector, share their experiences and aspirations for a sustainable future for the sport.

ON THE BALL

Tyler Annan has just recently taken up the position of Project Manager with the GEO (Golf Environment Organisation) Foundation for Sustainable Golf – a non-profit organisation and a world leader for advancing sustainability in and through the golf industry globally. Following graduation from Sustainable Environmental Management at SRUC in 2017, Tyler’s career has always been focused on the environmental sector. For a number of years, he was part of the environmental team on the Queensferry Crossing, and also worked in project management for Fife Council’s Climate Change and Zero Waste team. Most recently, he was employed as Graduate Environmentalist with Amey Consulting, working on environmental impact assessments for the south west of Scotland’s trunk road system and the electrifying of the Cardiff Valley rail network. “So far, I have been lucky enough to work with some amazing teams,” says Tyler. “A major highlight for me was the Queensferry Crossing. It was such a huge project and massively significant to the infrastructure of Scotland. It was my first job in the environmental sector and will be a tough experience to beat. The SRUC MATTERS / Alumni & Friends

views from the top of each tower will stick with me forever. “SRUC has provided me with a solid base of knowledge on sustainability and environmental factors, practices and theories. It has also given me the confidence to go out and get real-world experience. “In my current role with the GEO Foundation, I am focusing on new golf developments across the world, including several in Saudi Arabia and Asia. I’ll be working alongside course development teams, ensuring that new developments are built to the highest sustainability standards and hopefully achieve ‘GEO Certified’. This distinction confirms the course has been not only designed and built to a high sustainability standard, but has also set plans in place to operate sustainably in the future. “As a keen golfer, being able to work in the golf industry really excites me. The opportunity to work on global developments and have a positive impact on huge areas of land and communities has been too good an opportunity to turn down. My hope is that as the GEO Foundation continues to grow, I can continue to grow alongside it, helping to make the golf sector as sustainable as possible. “I always tell myself to take a positive attitude in everything I do. To work hard to conquer any challenges to get to where you’re meant to be. I guess I could apply this mantra to my game of golf as well!”

Tizayi Sithole

Tizayi signed up to study for an HNC in Golf Course Management by Distance Learning run by SRUC’s Elmwood campus – where he was named student of 2021 by his classmates. In Zimbabwe, he works with local greenkeepers to help maintain existing golf courses which are facing financial challenges and hopes to continue his education by doing an HND, followed by a Masters in Turf Management. “I want to become a turf grass guru in golf course maintenance so as to offer accessible and affordable consultancy services in underprivileged communities,” he says. “Living in a mid-income town, I have seen struggling golf courses close down and some being turned into residential sites by councils, but there are a few left that require immediate intervention. “My goal is to spread the education of greenkeeping to most golf courses in my country, and Africa at large, and avoid the closure of golf courses due to negligence and a lack of experienced greenkeepers and create financially stable and sustainable golf courses for the future.”

Diana Carel, who graduated with an HND in Golf Management in 2021 from SRUC Elmwood, is the first female greenkeeper to work full time on the Old Course in St Andrews. Diana, who has dual Spanish and French nationality, came to St Andrews to learn more about the golf industry and what sustainability means to it. During her studies, Diana was awarded the R&A Greenkeeper Scholarship in 2019/20 and 2020/21. “I am interested in sustainability but also in golf development and golf operations,” she says. “I think golfers are now more interested in the experience of playing on a golf course if it is sustainable, the situation of the course, and what it has to offer in terms of design, restoration and leisure. “I like turf management a lot, but I also want to help increase the number of players on the course.”

ON THE BALL

After doing a degree in Agriculture and Crop Science in his home country of Zimbabwe, Tizayi Sithole became interested in golf course development.

“If we share our challenges and show how we want to make things better and tell people about our journey, it can be a far more powerful message.” by Amy Jackson

TRANSPARENCY 26

TRANSPARENCY BUILDS BRIDGES

BUILDS BRIDGES Amy Jackson (HND Agriculture, Auchincruive, 1989; Farm Business Organisation and Management, Craibstone 1992) has learnt not to be scared of taking risks. “Whatever comes your way you can deal with it,” she says. “I read a newspaper article several years ago in which various businesspeople talked about the things that kept them awake at night. “One piece of advice was to work through each fear, then you know you can find a solution to everything. That has stayed with me.” Such an approach to life in general is useful for Amy in her PR and Communications company Oxtale, which serves clients mainly from the agricultural sector. “Dealing with urgent PR issues which require crisis management and clear communication strategies is an area that I particularly enjoy,” says Amy. “For example, I have been working with RUMA – Responsible Uses of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance – for the past five years. The industry was on the back foot over the issue of antibiotic use in farming and was being unfairly blamed for the whole issue of antimicrobial resistance. I worked with government, farmers and the industry across the UK to help them successfully turn the situation around. Part of that solution is a dual approach of taking responsibility for our share of the problem while pushing back hard on the mistruths.

SRUC MATTERS / Alumni & Friends

“PR in the past has perhaps cherry-picked the bits to be presented, rather than including the negatives as well as positives. That is changing thankfully, as there is now an understanding of the need to look at the whole picture. The public understands that not everything is perfect, but it expects transparency, accountability, and rapid action to correct issues.

“In farming we have a tendency

to gloss over our problems – we think it will weaken us and lead to criticism. By contrast, if we share our challenges but show how we want to make things better and tell people about our journey, it can be a far more powerful message. Good PR and effective communication plans can help build engagement and relationships.

”

As well as running her own business, Amy is currently a part-time PhD student at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University of Nottingham, where she is researching public perceptions of dairy farming. Following that, Amy is still deciding on her next move. “I have no idea what happens next – I am open minded, and I will know it when I see it. While it’s scary to not have a ‘next step’ planned, I think change can only happen where there’s space.”

STUDENTS TO GROW SRUC is uniquely positioned to help students gain qualifications that will set them on the career path of their dreams. We are renowned for excellence in teaching, delivered through a supportive and friendly environment.

Alan now runs his own garden maintenance company and is finding the work extremely rewarding.

SRUC provides various bursaries for its students, but some still need extra help. These students can reach their full potential thanks to the generosity of donors such as the family who set up the Anderson McCulloch bursary to support SRUC Oatridge Horticulture students.

“I applied to SRUC Oatridge after being made redundant during the pandemic,” says Norrie Anderson. “After a little soul searching, I was inspired to retrain and enter full-time education.

We talk to two students who have benefitted from funds donated to the College. “The Anderson McCulloch bursary meant I was able to purchase fuel for the car which allowed me to get me to college and also to buy books and other relevant equipment,” says Alan McInnes. “I had no niggling worries so could relax and give my studies my full attention. The result was that I passed with distinction and was awarded top student of the year, which was very satisfying and quite humbling.”

“As a mature student, I was not eligible to receive any Government grants or bursaries, and with very little income coming in, it was clear that my financial situation was precarious. “Thanks to the money received from the Anderson McCulloch Bursary, I successfully completed the course and very much enjoyed the experience. The staff were fully supportive and explained things well, making the experience positive and rewarding.” Norrie is now working at as a gardener in a children’s nursery – perfectly placed to inspire the next generation of horticulturalists!

To find out how you can support SRUC, contact Julie at Julie.vandenDriesche@sruc.ac.uk

EMPOWERING STUDENTS TO GROW

EMPOWERING

TAKE YOUR NEXT STEPS WITH SRUC MASTERS PROGRAMMES SRUC alumni are eligible for up to 15% discount Find our range of Postgraduate programmes at www.sruc.ac.uk/pgdiscount