Rachel Burrough

Rachel has been working in her family business, Old Folding Maps, for many years and since Covid, has been feeling in a bit of a rut. She said, “The social anxiety after coming out of Covid was tough, especially when you’re living and working within your family environment”.

“[The Skills Bootcamp] has given me the confidence to go out and actually meet people and discuss what we’re doing. Life has taken a very good upward turn for me.”

Rachel has a keen interest in the health and state of the world and seeing the chance to branch out into conservation, she applied for the Skills Bootcamp at Petroc College.

Not having been in a learning environment for a long time, Rachel was apprehensive about joining the course, including the elements which involved online home learning. However, Rachel soon settled and found that it worked better, saving travel time and offered some flexibility to attend sessions around work.

Petroc College introduced Rachel to new conservation groups around Devon that enable her to continue her learning, such as the Coastwise group where she has been attending lectures and field days to further her knowledge and passion for ecology and conservation. She said,

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity that this course has provided. I wouldn’t have done any of these things had I not had the doors open by Petroc, it really has been life-changing for me.”.