Year 13 Biology Field Trip

With the weather looking a little foreboding, we set off on Monday morning for the annual Year 13 A-Level Biology field trip to FSC Castle head in Grange-over-Sands. With luck though, the weather held for the first two days and the waterproofs were only required on the final day.  

The Year 13 biologists spent the next three days learning and performing many ecological sampling techniques in wonderfully scenic surroundings and using their new skills to complete two of the A-Level required practical’s. 

The techniques they practised included methods of sampling and studying both motile and non-motile organisms. Random sampling using quadrats and grids along with systematic sampling using belt transects were both employed to study the plants and fungi in the grounds around the site. To investigate the nocturnal wildlife, students used electronic bat detectors to listen to the ultrasonic sounds which the bats use to locate their prey in the darkness. Camera traps were placed in the woodland which caught a badger foraging for food in the leaf litter. Small mammal traps were placed by students in locations which they thought maybe home to small rodents, which turned out to be very productive trapping both wood mice and field voles. Students also sampled aquatic organisms and were surprised by the diversity of different organisms and how big some of them were! 

The students conducted themselves excellently making brilliant ambassadors for the school, the centre staff commented on how efficient Wellington pupils were at designing their own investigations and gathering their data.  

Mr Brownbill & Mrs Hoogenberg