Biology Field Trip to Box Hill
On 11th and 12th July, eight students and two teachers went on our Biology field trip to Juniper Hall, Box Hill. One of the first activities was to capture snails from an artificial pond, which we then marked and released. On the following day we recaptured as many snails as possible from the same habitat and used the Lincoln Index to estimate the total population of the pond.
Our next activity was to collect data from two different types of woodland, coppiced and mature. Our aim was to find out if coppicing changed the ecosystem and how. We measured things like humidity, biodiversity, light intensity, soil pH and plant height and then compared our results to our previously made predictions, using statistical tests where necessary to prove significance, accepting and rejecting our hypotheses. We also carried out similar tests to examine succession on areas of Box Hill and data was again analysed using statistical tests.
In our free time during the two days we had cake breaks, a table football challenge and took pictures of everyone (including the teachers) in Jess’ farmer’s hat.
Overall the Box Hill trip was an enjoyable experience and we would recommend it to the next year's 12 students.
Nicola and Jess, Year 12
