Chester Zoo │ PgCert

Designed and delivered by experts at the zoo and The University of Chester, this course at it's inception offered a first opportunity, anywhere in the world for education professionals to gain a recognised qualification in the field of conservation and sustainability education.

Now well established, the Conservation and Sustainability Education PGCert aims to provide educators with the highly sought-after knowledge and skills needed to enable people to maximise the impact they can have in carving out a better future for the planet.

Education is vital to saving our planet. It has a crucial role to play if we’re to resolve the urgent crises we’re currently facing in the form of climate change and global biodiversity loss

Liz Webb, Conservation Training Academy Manager

The course, which is designed to be studied part time around work or other commitments, equips participants with the skills to support and empower others to make a positive contribution to the planet.

Using practical examples and evidence from Chester Zoo and our network of global experts, students will learn how to design effective conservation education programmes for a wide range of audiences and conservation purposes.

The course covers a range of topics from understanding the complexity of conservation governance and the major conservation challenges of the day, through to how to choose the most appropriate pedagogical approach and adapting teaching for different audiences.

It is suitable for professionals and volunteers at any stage of their career, furnishing practitioners with the knowledge and methods need to inspire others and embed sustainability into daily practice, whether they are teaching at a school, working with community groups, or within a large organisation.

Applicants come from a wide range of backgrounds, and the course itself is shaped to be accessible to students from various academic disciplines and professional experiences - not just conservation science or education.

The course draws on the expertise from Chester Zoo and the University of Chester, both institutions with a track record for outstanding innovation within education.

Zoo Ranger Talking To A Group Of School Children At The Zoo

We need to stop looking to the past to solve the problems of the future and radically rethink how we’re educating everyone if we’re to combat the climate and conservation crises.

Uná Meehan, The University of Chester’s Deputy Director of Partnerships

A conservation course built for the future