If animal training makes you think of tricks and shows, think again. Top zoos use training to improve animal welfare, reduce the need for risky general anaesthetics and to keep both animals and people safe.
For example, bird keeper Sam Gray has trained Alfie Junior the Southern cassowary – as tall as a person and part bird, part dinosaur – to follow a target, which means she can get him in his house easily and safely. For reptile keeper Tom Wilkinson, training Pierre the mangrove monitor lizard to walk calmly into his crate means you don’t need to catch him up – a procedure that...
Castle Drogo will be open for Christmas for the first time since a major conservation project began seven years ago to make the building watertight.
Although the building work now has the end in sight, there is still much work to be done to restore the castle’s grounds and interiors back into the Drewe’s family home, which is likely to continue into 2020. However, the building is now watertight, meaning that Christmas can return to the castle once again.
From Saturday 30 November until Monday 23 December, Castle Drogo will be open and decorated for Christmas, inspired by...
The first Comedy at the Park of 2020 will be on Friday 7th February. The line-up is yet to be announced, however the Comedy Surgery are sure to come up with four brilliant comics. Tickets are available for £10, or £15 including hot food on the evening. Early bird tickets are available until Friday 20th December. To book, please visit https://tickethub.sandypark.co.uk/selection/event/date?productId=1013386...
Councillors have given the go ahead for a "park and change" site to be built on the outskirts of Exeter.
Devon County Council’s Cabinet approved the construction of the £2.2 million scheme to the east of Exeter Science Park on Wednesday (11 December).
The site aims to relieve traffic congestion on the A30 Honiton Road and Moor Lane roundabout, enabling drivers to park on the edge of the city and then switch to sustainable forms of transport - bus, bicycle or car share – for their journey into the city.
The scheme will provide 300 parking bays, initially with six...
A well-known local charity that uses therapy with horses to help disadvantaged people will take centre stage during Exeter Racecourse’s Christmas raceday next Thursday and bring the curtain down on a year-long programme of supporting local causes.
Sirona Therapeutic Horsemanship at Dartington provides equine-based educational and therapeutic activities which helps promotes increased resilience and social, emotional and physical well-being.
A collection on the gate and an information stand will help raise awareness of its invaluable work, that centres on positive...
Over a dozen leaders from some of Exeter and Devon’s best-known design and construction firms, along with customers and suppliers, came together in November to instigate a ‘construction revolution’.
With Extinction Rebellion protests having swept the region, and Exeter Council among others having claimed a climate emergency, attendees at the event said a paradigm shift in thinking is needed to meet environmental challenges.
The discussion, organised and chaired by Exeter-based contracting and interior fit-out group Willmott Dixon, saw local organisations join forces to...
Entries are now open for the 2020 Michelmores Property Awards, which celebrate excellence within the South West's property and construction industry.
The Michelmores Property Awards are now in their 18th year and showcase the very best commercial and residential projects from the previous 12-months.
For 2020, a new Masterplanning for the Future category has been introduced. This category will shine a light on projects that are still at conceptual planning stage, and which will aim to create, shape, change and improve communities in the South West region.
People who live in Devon and Cornwall may be getting a text message from the Environment Agency this week to let them know they have been automatically registered for free flood warnings.
People on the Vodafone mobile network who live in areas at risk of flooding across the South West of England will receive an automated text message informing them that they have been signed up. The message will include a link to let them know what they should do if they receive a flood warning, and the option to opt out.
Once registered, people will receive a message directly to their...
Exeter’s oldest school has celebrated its unique status as a boarding school by becoming part of the world’s largest orchard.
Exeter Cathedral School – the only school in the city to offer boarding as well as day places – last week held a ceremonial tree-planting in the School’s mindfulness garden.
Planting the sapling in front of a crowd of boarders, Robin Fletcher (Chief Exec of the Boarding Schools’ Association) said he was delighted that the day and boarding Prep School – which also educates the choristers of Exeter Cathedral – was joining over 150 other schools across...
EXETER City's home match against Northampton on Saturday, December 7, was not only a great 3-2 win for Exeter, the club also showed its support for the Football Association and Stonewall Rainbow Laces campaign.
The Rainbow Laces initiative to promote inclusion and diversity in football encourages all football supporters and participants to make the game something for everyone to be a part of.
In association with Proud Grecians (Exeter City's LGBT+ and allies Supporter's Group), the club's One Game One Community Group, Exeter Pride, Devon FA and Isca Apollo (the Exeter LGBT...
