In March, the Biology and Geography Department ventured out to Bishop’s Wood Field Studies Centre to carry out a day of ecological investigation in preparation for part of their practical skills assessment.

Unexpectedly, on the morning of the trip, the sun was shining and was expected to carry on during the day. As a result, we had to make sure that we were covered in sun cream and wearing sun hats rather than wellies and waterproofs.

Our morning session was spent learning about the various sites around the centre to investigate woodland, grassland and aquatic ecosystems. These techniques are a crucial part of the AQA A level specification and so gave the students a real opportunity to see for themselves what would be required for their exams. We were lucky enough to catch some newts which we found out were an endangered species and had to be handled by someone with a newt licence!

After a picnic lunch and a bit of sunbathing, we then went back into the field to carry out random and systematic sampling on grassland and woodland ecosystems. This gave our students a great opportunity to flex their muscles on devising methodology to carry out ecological work and then collect data to process.

Overall, the day gave a fantastic opportunity for students to get hands-on experience of a potential dry topic when being taught in a classroom and bring key exam concepts to life.