Secondary and Further Education Courses
Science, Geography, Creativity
Daws Hall offers KS3, KS4 and A level visits across the curriculum and tailors each visit to the specific requirements of the group, syllabus/specification and season. We have fantastic habitats, facilities and resources available for day visits and field courses at competitive rates to support our small charitable trust.
Our reserve is ideal for environmental studies across biology and geography and we are able to offer unique experiences such as small mammal trapping for population studies, moth trapping, direct access to the river Stour and tributaries and examples of successional plant communities.
Our 25-acre private nature reserve is also the ideal setting for secondary art, photography and media and we are passionate about increasing visits of this kind across the seasons to appreciate the full beauty of the reserve. The Stour valley has long been inspirational for artists and indeed John Constable painted Daws Hall itself.
In addition to our subject specific programmes, we can also offer alternative learning options such as mindfulness in nature, bush craft, team building, and environmental ethics. We are passionate about the natural world, conservation and sustainability and take great pride in providing inspirational outdoor learning. Please see example ecology and geography based programmes below for your consideration.
Example Programmes:
KS3 Introduction to Ecology
9.30: Introductions
- Maps and photographs of the site; video footage of some animals on site
- Key terms in ecology (e.g. habitat, community, ecosystem)
- Sampling techniques
Briefing: safety, conservation and use of equipment
Morning activity: Investigating the impact of environmental differences on terrestrial plants and animals
- Using quadrats to survey distribution and abundance of plant species
- Measuring and comparing abiotoc factors (e.g. soil pH)
- Using sweep nets to survey terrestrial invertebrates
Afternoon activity: Investigating freshwater habitats
- Use kick-sampling to survey abundance of invertebrate species in river and in brook
- Measure and compare abiotic factors (e.g. solutes and turbidity)
- Small-group work to draw conslusions about the impact of pollution on food webs
3.15: Depart (take data back to school for further project work)
KS3-4 Rivers Day
9.30: Introductions
- Maps and photographs of the site
- Key terms about rivers (e.g. flood plain, meander, tributary, erosion, deposition)
- Demonstrations and familiarisation with equipment (e.g. flow-metres, measuring
wetted perimiter, calipers to assess pebble size)
Briefing: safety, conservation, wellies and waders
Morning activity: Making an accurate river sketch
- Use maps and compasses to navigate to freshwater sites
- Explore the river banks, flood plain and tributary
- Make an accurate, labelled sketch of the area (clipboards provided)
Afternoon activity: Investigating freshwater habitats
- Use kick-sampling to survey abundance of invertebrate species in river and in brook
- Measure and compare abiotic factors (e.g. solutes, turbidity, temperature, depth,
width, discharge)
- Small-group work to draw conslusions about the impact of pollution on rivers
3.15: Depart (take data back to school for further project work)
A Level Biology (Two Day Course)
Day One
9.30: Introductions - Maps and photographs of the site; video footage of some animals on site
Briefing: safety, conservation, wellies and waders
Looking at moths - open moth trap which was set overnight
Community Study
- Using random sampling and quadrats to survey abundance and distribution of plant
species at two meadow sites
- Measuring abiotic factors (e.g. soil pH)
- Using statistics to investigate a difference in the data from two sites
Population study (using mark, release, recapture method)
- Capture and mark sample of grasshoppers (for recapture the next day)
Investigating freshwater habitats (river)
- Using kick-sampling to survey abundance of invertebrate species in river
- Measure abiotic factors (e.g. solutes and turbidity)
Sampling small mammals
- Set humane small mammal traps in two areas of woodland
16.00: Finish
Day Two
9.30: Collect mammal traps and identify species
Inestigating freshwater habitats (brook)
- Using kick-sampling to survey abundance of invertebrate species in brook
- Measure abiotic factors (e.g. solutes and turbidity)
- Use statistics to investigate a difference in the data from the river and the brook
Population study (using mark, release, recapture method)
- Recapture grasshoppers and use Lincoln index to estimate population size
Community Study: succession
- Use belt-transect method to survey abundance of species
- Use statistics to investigate a correlation
16.00 Depart