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BIFM is the British Institute of Facilities Management and they invited Benjamin to speak at their inaugural event to celebrate the individuals who have achieved a BIFM qualification, from levels 3 to 7.  

These qualifications are professional qualifications for those who work in Facilities Mismanagement Industry, which is worth £120bn to the UK economy and is responsible for keeping Britain working.

They said:

"Benjamin was well received by both attendees and staff. He gave a truly amazing re-telling of his story which invoked laughter, horror, sympathy and awe. The audience were left amazed by his inspirational story which added to the overall success of the event. Afterwards Benjamin took the time to speak to our attendees during the networking session which was fully appreciated by the attendees who were brimming with questions or wished for photos with Ben. We, at BIFM, found Benjamin a lovely man to work with. He took the time to get to know us and our achievers which , with his presence, added value to the event. From the BIFM team we would like to thanks Benjamin once again for speaking at our event and wish him luck in the future for his zoo..."

Benjamin was invited to visit the University of Hull to speak as part of their 'Headspace' leadership Masterclass series of events for senior lecturers which is designed to provide staff with the space to learn, develop, share and be inspired.

Benjamin headed to London Zoo to conduct a talk for People Fluent, software providers for a HR and Recruitment company.

They said:

"Very personable and a pleasure to work with. Our delegates were touched by his story and the queue for book signings and to meet Ben afterwards is testament to how well Ben was received."

A wonderful evening was had by all at the Zoo's Green Prescription Open Evening as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. 

One of Benjamin's key research themes supported by the Zoo is how being out in nature and around animals is extremely positive for mental health and well-being. Benjamin and the Zoo are keen to support people on their personal journeys, be it to recovery, back to work or simply to just feel better than they used to, and have a number of volunteering opportunities and pass options for individuals as part of their road to recovery.

Individuals, charities and services were invited to see how the Zoo could support them or work with them to support people.

We were joined by Cognivity, Grow 4 Good South West, Plymouth Options, Livewell Southwest, New Horizons, Ice Break, Greenwood Music, PIPS, Family Matters, Hamoaze House, Remploy, Job Centre Plus, The Wolsely Trust, Plymouth Healthy Futures, Plymouth Corporate Covenant Group and Plymouth Mental Health Network.

Evie Gotham, an individual who uses the Zoo as part of her creative therapy, also did a talk and performed with her band.

Benjamin was pleased to be asked to host the Health and Safety Awards for Babcock. He gave a speech discussing the health and safety considerations and examples every business must face, and presented awards for great health and safety practice to employees of the company.

The event was held at a local Plymouth venue and the event was enjoyed by all.

Gavin Leckie, Submarine Support Director, said:

“Ben delivered an inspiring talk which highlighted how health and safety must be high on everyone’s priority list, whatever industry you work in. We’d like to thank him for making our awards evening a very enjoyable event.”

Benjamin was honoured to be asked to be the keynote speaker for Devon's WI Spring Conference in Torquay.

"The WI plays a unique role in providing women with educational opportunities and the chance to build new skills, to take part in a wide variety of activities and to campaign on issues that matter to them and their communities."

Their ethos is a very familiar one to Benjamin and he is proud to be able to support them and hopes that further links can be established in the future.

Benjamin was excited to head to Lincoln to it's University to meet over 200 delegates at a conference aimed to inspire businesses and to celebrate their successes.

Benjamin said: “One of the very biggest problems to overcome is other people.

“Most innovators don’t get past the ridicule stage: ‘It’ll never work’, but if you’re sure it will, proceed to the next stage. Then weather the storm.

“People don’t like change, but then when you are successful they say ‘I could have done that.”

His story was a great fit for this conference, as he was able to get past the 'ridicule stage' and nurture the Zoo into something great, and he was pleased to meet these inspirational people.