Finding things to do with your little ones or some young people that you’re in charge of can be really difficult. That is the case whether you live in London or Lisbon, so it’s also going to be an issue for those who live and work in Guildford, too.
If they love animals, then Merrist Wood College might just have the solution to your problem that you’re looking for, with the organisation offering people aged between six and eight-years-old the chance to become an Animal Keeper for a day. It is a great chance to get a sense of what it is that goes into looking after the likes of rabbits, reptiles and meerkats.
What Is Merrist Wood College?
If this sounds like something that you think the young person in your life might be interested in, one of the first things that you might ask yourself is what Merrist Wood College is and why you would trust them to look after your little ones. Based in Worplesdon, just a short bus ride from the centre of Guildford, it is a 400-acre site that specialises in industries that are land-based. The facilities there are second-to-none, whilst the courses that they offer give young people a genuine chance of getting gainful employment in the wake of the time spent with the College.
You are obviously unlikely to be wanting to send a six, seven or eight-year-old to the College for the purposes of getting them a job after, but it is a good opportunity for them to find out whether or not the fact that they love guinea pigs or find snakes interesting would translate into a long-term desire to become an Animal Keeper. There are any number of different animals on-site that need to be looked after on a regular basis, so giving young people the responsibility of doing just that gives them a chance to learn how important it is to care for various different species and make sure they’re well fed and watered.
Is It a College or a Zoo?
If you were to look at Merrist Wood College in a bit more detail, you might find yourself wondering whether it was actually a college or whether the word ‘zoo’ might be a more appropriate description. The short answer is that it is kind of both. The longer answer is that it has been an educational college for a relatively long period of time, but in 2018 it was awarded a zoo licence. This meant that it was able to start sharing its collection of various exotic animals with the visiting public, which is especially good news when you bear in mind the fact that some of them are of conservation importance.
The various things that the College is responsible for looking after include those that live in the arid and the tropical biomes, as well as a nocturnal room for a number of different species. In addition to the Junior Keeper for the Day experience, you can also take part in a Public Tour, an Animal Experience and an Education Tour, which are all the kinds of things that you might expect to take part in at a more conventional zoo. It isn’t a zoo in a traditional sense, but nor is it a college as you might have come to think of one. In short, it is a bit of both.
What the Experience Might Entail
If you were to send the young person in your life along to take part in Merrist Wood College’s Junior Keeper for the Day experience, you will be giving them a chance to work with the organisation’s experienced professionals as well as the college-age youngsters who are studying and working there on a regular basis. The experience is planned for Saturday the 19th of July and runs from 10am until 12.30pm, so perhaps ‘Junior Keeper for a Morning’ might be a more apt title. Even so, it is a really fun thing for the animal lovers in your life to get to spend some time doing, joining the Animal Keeping.
They will work in the Animal Centre, spending time with the numerous different animals that live there. This might mean being in the husbandry room, or it could entail going into the tropical biome. It is possible that they might have to head to the domestic area in order to work with the domesticated animals that are looked after there, or they could be required to stick their head into the meerkat enclosure and find out what those crazy animals are looking at. They are looked after by two Animal Keepers and will get to have some lunch as well as a break during the day.
Things to Think About
If you’ve decided that this sounds like the ideal thing for your little one to do with their time, the best thing to do is to book a place for them as soon as possible. That is because there are only 12 spaces available for the event and you need to have booked ahead of time. In other words, you can’t just show up on the day and hope that the six, seven or eight-year-old in your care will be able to participate. The places go on a first come, first served basis, so don’t dilly-dally if this is something that you think your loved one might really enjoy spending their time doing.
Anyone who heads onto the farm, which will obviously include your little one and will also include you if you’re going along to drop them off, will need to wear appropriate footwear. That means no open-toed sandals, but instead closed shoes. These could be trainers or Wellington boots, as well as other similar footwear that doesn’t fit into the Crocs, flip-flops or other bracket of things you’d have on your feet. You won’t be able to stay with your little one for the duration of the event, but you could look at the Animal Encounter Tour if you want to do something with them.
Other Dates May Become Available
If the 19th of July isn’t one that you’re able to attend, the good news is that Merrist Wood College may end up releasing more dates throughout the summer if the experience proves to be a popular one. What you need to dress your child in will obviously be somewhat weather-dependent, but it is worth bearing in mind that they are likely to get dirty regardless. If it is wet, then you should ensure that they have some waterproof belongings, whilst if your little one happens to wear jewellery, then you will need to make sure that they’ve taken that off before getting to the farm.
It is worth bearing in mind that there will be nuts in the animal food, so if your child has an allergy, you will need to flag that up to staff when you’re making your booking. If you’re tempted to give the child taking part in the activity a camera in order to take some photographs, then that’s absolutely fine, but you need to make sure that the flash is disabled. You can drop your little one off from 9.45am for the 10am start, which might be worth doing if you are worried that they might struggle to be left on their own without you there to support them. Doubtless they’ll make friends soon enough!