Diary Entry - May 

Weather station and Bethlem Met Office

The wireless system is gloriously operational. We been reporting for three months using Met Check for BR3 changing to Meteo Pro Heavy Weather wireless system set up in the grounds. This is the first new exiting report. We now have recorded history for 19 hours.

 

The Bethlem MET Office

 

	Update We now have over 200 recorded hours of weather variation. This will enable the pupils to follow the weather on a longer term basis. This is very exciting as our children may be at our school for short periods but can build on work by other students before. We are expecting to carry out a survey on rainfall for a period, temperature and so on using bar charts in June.

 

 

RSPB Birdlife survey

The RSPB big garden survey, in which we took part, was returned, this month and compared with our results:

The 2010 Big Garden Birdwatch top 10;

 

Position	Species	Average per garden	Bethlem Count January
1	House Sparrow	3.77	3
2	Blackbird	3.28	2
3	Starling	3.13	2
4	Blue Tit	2.58	2
5	Chaffinch	2.19	0
6	Woodpigeon	1.91	4
7	Robin	1.49	0
8	Great Tit	1.39	1
9	Collared Dove	1.33	1
10	Goldfinch	1.29	0

The survey continues and a Jay was sighted – 35 species to date. A further site visit is planned for 4th May. We recorded our first sighting of the new nesting box with camera sound and recordings! Very exiting!! This is now recording 24/7 for students during the month. Our thanks go to members of the public who are joining in these surveys and would like to continue- Science in the community!!

 

Blue Tits nesting with five eggs	Update 4th May The bird survey continues to 43 species to date, including Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Cock Pheasant, Dunnock, Yellow Wagtail and Barn Owl. We are waiting for the arrival of Swifts and House Martins to show the arrival of the summer.
	The nest is showing 11 Blue Tit chicks being fed by both parents. This RSPB camera is transmitting 24/7 on the nest. The children are viewing daily with great excitement. We think they will produce a second brood during the summer.

Climate Change

Both surveys are complete, the Delphic Method predicted 2079 when global warming passes 3 degrees Celsius, above 1980 levels. This compares favourably to 2081 as predicted by the graph calculated in February. It shows the school to be less sceptical than the population, generally. The ballot results showed as follows:

2038 1	2058 7	2078 4	2098 1
2118 0	2138 2	2158 0	2178 1
Unmarked 1			More than these 1

 

 

Population sample size	Project site	Project returns	Ballot returns %
6	Bill Yule Unit	4	66.66
45	Bethlem Site	13	28.88
7	Snow Fields	2	28.57
58	Totals	19	32.76

 

Frequency tables

Population sample dates	Frequency of dates	Sample product	Ballot returns %
2038	2	4076	11.76
2058	7	14406	41.17
2078	4	8312	23.52
2098	1	2098	5.88
2118	0	0	0.0
2138	2	4276	11.76
2158	0	0	0.00
2178	1	2175	5.91
Results	17	35346	2079

These results are four months’ hard work and will be submitted to the Met Office for their consideration, shortly. The tests should be carried out over a long period, removing rogue results refining them over a period as shown in the method and with a bigger sample. The next obvious question for the young people is how much Climate Change is man-made.

The Graphical Method updated

 

Quadratting

 

This activity is continuing on a seasonal basis. Data for winter and spring is already recorded for November and February 2010. We are hoping this becomes a regular feature for the next academic year.

 

Bill Yule Unit Garden February 2010

Spotting and Astronomy telescopes

A digital imaging spotting scope was delivered, a telescope showing stunning wild life. The astronomy telescope has been set up and is set for the Northern Hemisphere and able to track any activity now. We have also joined the National Schools Observatory and are booking times now.

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