We can't wait to welcome you to Sparsholt College in September! 

We have created this interactive page to give you a sense of what studying Arboriculture, Forestry and Woodland Management at Sparsholt College is like. Scroll down to watch the playlist of videos we have created and have a go at the activities if you can. 

Remember, we are on social media and love posting about our students, their achievements and our beautiful campus so be sure to give us a like and a follow.  You can submit your answers to our quiz at SparsholtApplicantWelcome@sparsholt.ac.uk with Arboriculture, Forestry and Woodland Management as the title of your email.  If you have any questions about our courses please email us at AskTrees@sparsholt.ac.uk.

At Sparsholt we also offer a lot of support to you during your time at college including Careers Guidance and Health and Wellbeing advice. 

Visit our campus virtually! 

Join our expert lecturers on an exclusive guided tour across Sparsholt College's industry standard facilities and state-of-the-art equipment!

Why not also take a look at our 360 captures and explore the rest of our beautiful countryside campus here!

Arboriculture, Forestry and Woodland Management at Sparsholt 

Tree Work; what’s it all about?

Most people consider tree work as simply cutting them down! But, have you ever considered:

• The main aim of an arborist is actually to retain trees – there is usually only a need to remove them if safety is compromised.
• Foresters manage woodlands to ensure a sustainable crop is maintained. Our woodlands provide huge habitat value, whilst also sequestering carbon.
• Trees provide countless benefits to humans; better air quality, screening, food, increased mental well-being to name a few. Tree workers are vital to sustain and even improve these benefits.
• Our trees are constantly at threat, especially from pests and diseases – ash die-back, for instance – trained tree workers can identify these issues and deal with them in the correct manner.

Trees are high on the nation’s agenda, to assist in tackling climate change. The main focus in on planting trees, ‘which is why the Government has set itself a target of establishing 30,000 ha of new woodland in England by 2025’; but, they need to be the right trees in the right place!

The £640m Nature for Climate fund will increase tree planting in England and is therefore likely to create job opportunities.

Planting new trees is great, but we also need to look after the ones that we’ve got, through good management. Only knowledgeable tree workers can make those calls.

There’s no two ways about it, trees are awesome!

Train as a tree worker and help save the planet (not all heroes wear capes!)

Click on the Welcome to Arb and Forestry video below for information from our expert lecturers and students about how fantastic the Arb and Forestry courses are at Sparsholt!

After you have watched the video you might want to try this QUIZ to see how well you listened and soaked up the information!

Industry Placements

As part of our Level 3 qualifications full-time students aged 16-18 will be required to complete a compulsory industry placement with a sector-specific employer or voluntary organisation.

Industry placements provide students with opportunities to:

• Apply the knowledge learned at college to the workplace
• Increase confidence as skills are developed
• Develop communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills
• See how a business operates in the real world
• Identify key technical strengths and skills you will need at work
• Test career choices and aspirations
• Line up an employer reference and achieve an additional college certificate for future use
• Find part-time work alongside studies or full-time employment once courses are completed

One dedicated placement day per week will form a part of our students’ weekly timetable across the academic year.

Our Industry Placement team will be here to support and guide you through this process from start to finish.

Get ahead of the rest and get your industry placement sorted before you start your course with us by emailing the team at ip@sparsholt.ac.uk.

University Centre Sparsholt 

Did you know that Sparsholt also offers higher education including foundation degrees, degrees and masters courses in a variety of different areas! 

University Centre Sparsholt is the perfect place to take your education further in the interesting and varied fields of Conservation and Wildlife Management, Animal/Zoo Biology, Fishery and Aquatics, Equine Science and Performance management or Veterinary Nursing Science! 

Take a look at our website for more information and 2021 prospectus.