A group of five Bradford College students got to see their faces on prime time television this Sunday evening, featuring in a very special Countryfile ‘Bradford: City of Culture’ episode.
Described as ‘a story of grit and wool’, the latest instalment of the popular programme saw the BBC celebrate Bradford’s year as UK City of Culture by exploring how surrounding countryside has shaped the city and its creative legacy.
As part of this, accompanied by Keely Saint (Academic Coach Team Leader) and Anika MacRae (Academic Coach), the lucky Bradford College students enjoyed a full day of filming at Bracken Hall Countryside Centre with Sean Fletcher (Presenter) and the Countryfile team.
Following around five hours of filming with a full crew, the nationally broadcast package focused on our students’ ever-developing bird ringing efforts within West Yorkshire’s first-ever National Nature Reserve.
Speaking about the unique opportunity, one of the students proudly said: “It was a fun experience getting to know the birds better and seeing how they’re tracked, looked after, and identified. It’s given me much more of an appreciation for birds than I had before. It was a nice change of pace from day-to-day life.”
With around two thirds of the City’s landscape being rural, the new ‘Bradford Pennine Gateway’ covers around five square miles of green space and aims to be a hub for nature to thrive. With this in mind, students joined ‘Natural England’ to help with the Nature Reserve’s first bird ringing data collection.
Speaking on Countryfile, Dr Rachel Palfrey (Senior Project Manager at Natural England) said: “Bradford is the youngest city in the UK, with 25% of the population under 18. By interacting with young people and encouraging them to spend time in nature, like with Bradford College’s students, we hope to inspire the future generation of conservationists. If we can harness their energy, enthusiasm and skills, they can only make places like this (Bradford Pennine Gateway) better!”
Spanning across northern Bradford, including towns like Shipley and Ilkley, the Bradford Pennine Gateway comes as the latest opening in King Charles III’s ‘King’s Series’ of national nature reserves. This initiative sees five new reserves open each year between 2023 and 2027, following His Royal Highness expressing a deep love but concern for England’s wildlife, natural and rural places.
Are you interested in studying at Bradford College and exploring the vast range of extra-curricular experiences on offer? It isn’t too late to apply for a September 2025 start via our website.
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