Example secondary programmes
All programmes are prearranged and tailor made to suit your needs. Here are just a few examples.
One day AS level Geography Course
THE STOUR VALLEY ..... THE RIVER AND ITS MANAGEMENT
Some key questions...
What effect has the river had in the past on landscape and land use?
How does present land use affect the drainage basin and the river?
How have othe human activities altered the drainage basin and the river?
Aspects we will cover...
especially related to agriculture and urban development
Use and management of the land....
drainage basin processes, water balances and river regimes
Basic hydrology....
drainage, abstraction, inter-basin transfers, sewage treatment, canalisation, flood relief, navigation, fishing
Use and management of the river....
Consequence of the management....
eutrophication, pollution, water supply and demand, flooding and land reclamation
Detailed survey...
drainage, soils and slopes, land use, flow rate, river profile and discharge, water quality and pollution
(Note that times are flexible and the course is planned around the time available: we can start before 10.00 if you are able to get to Daws Hall before then)
10.00
Introduction to Freshwater ecology, some important environmental factors, organic pollution and eutrophication.
Investigation: Compare the River Stour and Losh House Brook sampling the benthic invertebrates and recording key environmental variables. From our results and observations we should be able to ....
1. Suggest possible reasons for differences in the diversity, distribution and numbers of the invertebrates.
2. Analyse the results in relation to water quality using biotic indices.
3. Find out about the feeding relationships between the animals, suggesting a possible pyramid of numbers for one of the sites.
Finding out about some of the invertebrates using keys and microscopes in the Centre. Adaptations to life in running water.
10.30
11.30
Sample and estimate numbers of invertebrates at both sites. Use Centre waders in the river.
13.00
Lunch and collate data on Excel spreadsheets.
Return to both sites and record environmental variables (current flow, dissolved oxygen, nitrate, phosphate, pH, temperature etc.)
13.45
15.15
Collate environmental data. Look at information provided by data loggers set overnight by the river.
15.45
Provide all students with sets of data and begin analysis. Suggest ways in which information can be analysed further at school using examples of data from previous years.
16.30
Finish.
Introduction to the course, reserve and ecology
Botanical sampling techniques
Comparison of techniques in the wild flower meadow
Collate data on Excel spreadsheet. Statistics
Management of grassland. Comparison of communities in two different parts of the meadow
Population dynamics and techniques for estimating population size. Investigating the population size and structure of the meadow grasshopper
Set moth trap
Day Two
Sort through moth catch. Index of species diversity
Introduction to freshwater ecology and the effect of organic pollution
Identification of freshwater invertebrates with keys. Begin comparison of the invertebrates in the River and Brook, measuring a variety of environmental factors, which might help to explain distribution and abundance
Collection of data. Preliminary analysis of results
Set small mammal traps to compare populations in different habitats