Posted on: 19/11/2024Posted on: May 2nd 2023
Juniper Hall Residential Trip
Last weekend, our Year 12 Biologists had an immersive experience practising a range of sampling techniques to measure the abundance and biodiversity in a range of ecosystems.
The two days were packed full of great activities as we completed three different investigations; measuring biodiversity in coppiced and mature woodland, estimating the population of pond snails using the capture-mark-release-recapture technique, and finally investigating the effect of water depth on the abundance of mayfly larvae in the river Tillingbourne. We were very grateful to have our cake and hot drinks break in the afternoon and a delicious fish and chip dinner before getting back to the classroom where the students worked into the evening doing their statistical tests. After setting small mammal traps, we all thoroughly enjoyed our free time playing football, air hockey, card games and having an evening walk up the hill again.
We were excited to find a little vole in one of our traps on Saturday morning (set by the veteran trap master Mrs Mercer!!), so that we could see its special adaptations as a diurnal mammal before watching her run away for cover in the underbrush.
The food was great, the instructors were amazing and the weather…. Well let’s just say we were glad to have our very colourful waterproofs and wellies to keep us dry and warm.
I’m sure we all slept very well on Saturday after so much fresh air and lots of walking in the Surrey Hills. It was a pleasure to take such a fun, hard working group to experience ecology hands on! Thank you to Mr. Moore who gave up part of his weekend to accompany us to Juniper Hall; and to the parents who came to collect their children on Saturday. Without your support, this trip would not have been such a success.
Mrs Mercer
Head of Biology
