In January 2026, The BEYOND Project held an Environmental Careers Fair at the Milton Keynes Academy (thank you Kristal Watkins). Students from the Academy attended alongside others from St. Paul’s Catholic School and Milton Keynes College.
We made a short video about the event, featuring Jess Blake (MK Academy), Laura Beechey (The Parks Trust), Jonathan Ball (Milton Keynes Council), Karen Thompson (Suez), Vicky Bowskill (Inklusive Nature), Holly Woo (The Open University), and Nick Garcia (Glendale, Landscaping).
The BEYOND Project Careers Fair was filmed and edited by Gerard Giorgi-Coll, and funded by the Natural Environment Research Council. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
The Environmental Careers Fair was organised by a team involving Woughton Community Council and The Open University. So many people helped with this event; a particular shout-out of thanks goes to Suze Miller and Tash Darling. Other members of the team that contributed include: Yoseph N. Araya, Shonil Bhagwat, Holly Woo, Adedapo Orekoya, Meng-Chin Tsai-, and Steve McNay.
Contributors to the Careers Fair stalls included: Milton Keynes City Council, The Parks Trust, Shuttleworth College, SUEZ, Glendale, Moulton College, MK Climate Action Network, Flintstone Gardens, Community Action: MK, the MK Christian Foundation, Woughton Community Council, and The Open University.
My key takeaways from this event were captured by Vicky Bowskill from Inklusive Nature CIC in a visual summary of the event: opportunity and flexibility.
Environmental Careers, a visual summary by Vicky Bowskill.
Whatever young people choose in their early careers, and they will need to make a choice, there will also be opportunities to change direction. I think almost everyone in the room over the age of 30 had made a change to their career in some way.
If you’d like to explore career options, visit
https://www.skillsforcareers.education.gov.uk/pages/young-people.
We would like to thank the following people:
Milton Keynes Academy: Kristal Watkins, Assistant Principal; Mark Lawrence, Facilities Manager; and Ami George, Receptionist/Administrator.
Woughton Community Council: Ian Tegerdine, Landscaping & Environment Manager; Julie Hodgson, Parish Ranger; and James Appleby, Community Garden Manager & Landscaping Supervisor; Claudette Dairo, Advice Worker; Gemma Simmons, Youth Worker; Charli Lowe, Youth Worker; Claire Morgan, Youth Worker; and Tammy Rath, Youth Worker.
Milton Keynes Council: Phil Snell, Strategic Landscape and Countryside Manager; Jonathan Ball; Penelope Airs; Kathryn Parsons, Ecology Officer; Euan Darling, Landscape Client Services Manager; and Talia Caso.
SUEZ: Karen Thompson, Partnership & Community Engagement Manager; and Lauren Dazley, Apprentice.
Glendale Landscaping: Viktoria Dhimitri, Data Analyst; Nicholas Garcia; Jordan Ratnage; and Tom Cheeseman.
The Parks Trust: Laura Beechey, Outdoor Learning Leader; and Sandra Adjei.
Woughton Councillor: Tony Coughlan.
Moulton College: Claire Merrick, School Liaison & Events Officer.
Shuttleworth College: Philip Ostley, Progamme Manager for Land & Environment.
MK Climate Action Network: Jane Whild; Caroline Saunders; and Benjamin Kent.
Community Action MK: Aimee Tidman, Group Support and Outreach Officer.
Open University: Adedapo Orekoya; Meng-Chin Tsai; and Holly Woo.
Milton Keynes Christian Foundation: Simon Rudiger; Laura Geering; Deborah Brooks; and Simon Adams.
The BEYOND Project is funded by NERC, The Natural Environment Research Council.