As part of a week long residential visit to Calshot Activities Centre earlier this summer, year 5 students from a Hampshire primary school enjoyed a day off-site, exploring the New Forest National Park. The focus of the day was to observe some of the different landscapes within National Park and understand why people are attracted … More Celebrating the New Forest National Park with Year 5s
It’s a great tradition to march a group of students half way along Hurst Spit, come rain or shine. The experience of the wind in your face and trudging through shingle is a memorable one. So much so that the concept of a “depositional feature” or “longshore drift” will hopefully wedge in between those physical … More 360° of sky and sea
Originally posted on The National Park Challenge 2016:
Route: Almost circular route from Lyndhurst to Burley, 26.26miles OK, so our original plan for this marathon did not quite happen as we wanted it but like anything science and outdoorsy, it is all about being flexible! Let me explain…. In addition to our Physics investigations throughout the…
Learning to observe and record wildlife is a vital for understanding the natural world and conservation. Wildlife is all around us so it’s important to focus, to start with, on one group of animals or plants, and on a local patch – a garden, school grounds or woodland. For beginner groups invertebrates or ‘minibeasts’ … More Minibeasts and bughunting
The personal benefits we can draw from nature are huge. I find nature itself an endless source of joy and inspiration for my teaching but more importantly in my life itself. Recently whilst quietly observing and sketching a robin that regularly visits my garden I became aware of its large keen eyes, the striking … More Drawing from Nature
At Testwood Lakes Nature Reserve in Totton children can see genuine WW2 remains and artefacts and experience what life was like for an evacuee in the New Forest. Oakwood Primary School Year 3 children from Southampton have been studying their local history from the WW2 era this autumn term. To get some real ‘hands-on’ experience … More Children discover local WW2 history when evacuated to Testwood Lakes
Nature has many beautiful designs and amongst these the intricate beauty of a spider web glistening with dew in the early morning sun is a visual masterpiece. Late summer and early autumn is the best time to admire and study these amazing web designs as they can be found everywhere – gardens, fields and forests. … More The web weavers
Last Saturday we enjoyed a soggy yet inspiring morning of geography fieldwork at Hatchet Pond, with experts on hand to show us the links between the classroom and the workplace. Over 20 staff and committee members from Hampshire Geographical Association were joined by professionals, Dr Naomi Ewald from the Freshwater Habitats Trust and Julie Melin-Stubbs from the New … More A few words from the wise
As the summer ends, many plants are preparing for the next generation and launching their offspring into the world. September is a great month to explore and investigate your school grounds and local wild space for different seed dispersal strategies. Flowering plants are called angiosperms, which translates to a ‘seed in a vessel’. They are … More Ingenious seeds, inquisitive minds
It is a popular myth that a cricket chirps by rubbing its legs together. In fact, crickets sing with their wings and listen with their legs! During the summer they are an easy insect to find in school grounds in long grass and brambles and are fascinating to study revealing some remarkable adaptations. So how and … More Summer song of the crickets.
New Forest Education 