School Field Trips

School Field Trips - Study Ideas 

Study 1 – Environments: 

(You will need a pen, colour high lighters and a sketching pad).  Go to a site upstream of the riparian planting area and sketch the area around you.  Add in detail and colour to your sketch as pointed out by your guide and then discuss and record the following:

1.    What is this area of land use for?

2.    What changes has the farmer made?

3.    What does the stream look like at this site?

4.    What condition is the land in?

5.    What affect does this have on wildlife? 

Go to a second site within the riparian planting and sketch the area around you. Add in detail and colour to your sketch as pointed out by your guide and then discuss and record the following:-

1.    What is this area of land use for?

2.    What changes has the farmer made?

3.    What does the stream look like at this site?

4.    What condition is the land in?

5.    What affect does this have on wildlife?

6.    What site do you think is best for farming?

Study 2 - Indentify Species:

(You will need pen and paper) Go to a site within the riparian planting and discuss and record the following:

1.    What species of Birds have you spotted?

2.    Where do birds like to live?

3.    Sketch where birds make their homes?

4.    What species on insects do you identify?  

5.    Why do you think insects are important?

6.    Do you see different plant habitats?  

7.    How many different plants in each habitat?  

8.    Why are there so many different species?

9.    What would happen if one habitat disappeared?

Study 3: Tree Growth:

(You will need 4 coloured marker pegs, a tape measure, pen and paper).  Start by selecting an easy access site within the riparian planting making sure that it is remote from human access.

Mark out your quadrant area to be investigated.  Say 3 large steps up and 5 large steps across placing a marking peg in each corner.

Work with your guide, go to a peg starting point and take one large step walk up one side.  

Then step across the quadrant completing tree measurement of the neatest tree at each step.  

Keep moving across and up the quadrant until you have covered the whole quadrant area.

Get your guide to be the recorder. Remember you are measuring the closest tree to you at each step point.

The two measurements of the tree to be taken being the height and the circumference of the main tree trunk half way up.

The recorder writes down the tree species if known and the measurements that you give.

The recorder should also note how much foliage is on the tree and is it looking healthy or not.

Once all the information is collected sit down and study what you have recorded.  

Leave the pegs in place so that you can do the same study on the same trees in three month time.  

It is likely you will only identify a few trees species but this is not important as long as you walk the same way when you next complete your study in that quadrant.