Diary Entry - January 

 

The start of the new term was accompanied by quite heavy snow. This offered opportunities for investigations of animal tracks, along with some filming and photographing. We were able to identify signs of activity particularly among badgers, foxes and some species of birds. We also experimented with the effects of salt on snow and this led into making freezing mixtures (with a bit of healthy competition as to who could get the lowest temperature). Some students, who had presumably heard news reports of councils running low on salt, asked about the possibility of using alternative materials, such as sugar, and these were duly investigated. One group successfully used the freezing mixture to freeze a tub of dessert to make their own version of ‘ice cream’.

The arrival of several new students provided the opportunity to generate some more ‘speech bubbles’, some of which have been enlarged and will be incorporated into the video.

More equipment was ordered at the start of term, and some has begun to arrive. We hope to make arrangements for nest boxes, bird feeders and weather apparatus to be installed in the near future.

Following the snow came the ‘big thaw’: some students were encouraged to reflect on the environmental changes that this resulted in, and to consider how they may affect living things.

A fox was seen from the lab window and nearby some magpies: neither animal seemed interested in the other, which generated a productive discussion in the classroom as to why this should be.

 

There is some more work on the Solar System and the Moon Phases. Understanding the effects of the moon in relation to the project has brought home to many students that outside is not just our 250 acres! This is ongoing work and can be reported back next month

Some new students were introduced to the project by considering the question ‘Is there science outside?’ This led to some interesting thoughts…

…and suggestions for areas to research further…

January finished by taking part in the Big Garden Birdwatch for the RSPB. As the grounds are bigger than the normal garden, we chose a small area near the school to watch for our ‘one hour’. The list of birds seen is below:

Common Birds	Sightings	Scarcer Birds	Sightings
Blackbird	2	Green Woodpecker	2
Blue Tit	2	Mistle Thrush	2
Carrion Crow	2	Treecreeper	2
Collared Dove	1	Ring-necked Parakeet	3
Feral Pigeon	1
Great Tit	1
House Sparrow	3
Long-tailed Tit	2
Magpie	2
Song Thrush	2
Starling	2
Woodpigeon	4
Wren	1

Students now want to do a regular monthly sightling list.

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