Wildlife

We have seen lots of wildlife over the past three days.

We found a crayfish during our river study.

We met some cows and a slow worm on our nighttime stroll. 

And the most exciting of all....a snail!

Home again ...

Where did you go for your trip?

That way!

Always time for orienteering ...

Great lesson on GIS and then off on the orienteering course ...

Always know where your towel is!

Lesson time

An introduction to GIS ...

Morning all

A quiet morning with a lot of tired people ... 

Children are all upstairs sitting out linen and trying to get all of their clothes back into their bags... Some with more success than others.

This morning we are looking at microclimates then a picnic lunch and we should all be back in time for games!

Sunset

Juniper Hill sunset ... iPhone camera does not do it justice.

Juniper Hill

Sitting on top of Juniper Hill listening to owls, crickets and .... Things moving in the woods!

Nice...

Going on a bear hunt ...

Lovely spaghetti bolognaise followed by Eve's Pudding ... Generous girl Eve.

We are about to set off for an evening yomp....

Going Downstream

Site 3: and we are getting good at it!

But is there more water in the river ...

Then back to base for a cuppa ...

Evidence of Brambletye children in Juniper Hallway...

The incontinent vole

We released our mammals ...

'Gucy' the vole ...

Mighty Mouse (field mouse 1)

I remember winning goldfish at the fair (mouse no.2)

Voles are active during the day and, rather embarrassingly, incontinent, leaving a trail of wee behind them. Their main predators, crows, can see their trails of pee and so voles tend to sprint in a straight line.

Mice, on the other hand forage at night and in order to put off hungry owls, they tend to leap in a zigzag pattern.

Our vole and mice demonstrated this beautifully when we released them.

Then we had a lesson on river safety and how to use the equipment...

Today we are going to play 'Where's Walley?' ... Can you see him?

Rivers 1

First, find your river ...

Then learn how to measure it ... 

Width ...

Depth ...

You cannot measure the length!

Velocity (with an impeller - not an impala on a stick!)

Velocity with a cork ... If lost the cork must be replaced with a new one surround by a bottle of Rioja ...

And write it all down ...

Lunch at the cricket ... At site 2 anyway.

Dorm inspection

Breakfast

Ooh ... Croissants!

... Who ate the pain au chocolat?

Look it's doing it again! I put the bread in here and ... Wait for it! ... Toast comes out here!

Good morning Juniper Hall!

What a sleep?! All children up and sandwiches made...

Almost ready for breakfast ...

Goodnight

Evening Number Two

After a very tasty supper of ...er ... Roast chicken followed by Bakewell tart, we played a little footy (15 a side) and then had a short lesson introducing hydrology.

We started with a game of catchphrase .... say what you see on the picture above. 

Answers on a blank postcard please.

After this I am going to show them the blog on the big screen!

The taming of the shrew?

After our lesson we set mammal traps and put them all over the ground...

The rodents trapped are not going to be harmed .... Or eaten for breakfast.