Year 8 and 9 visited the Epping Forest Field Studies Centre in High Beech on Friday 24 March. They have been looking at river processes in curriculum time and this was an opportunity to use their knowledge in designing and completing a field study.
Pupils first spent time in the classroom to look at geology maps of Epping Forest. They then went into the forest to complete a soil test. This involved extracting the soil and rock that surrounds Loughton Brook and completing an analysis of it. Pupils had to smear the soil, smell it and analyse the texture.
After the analysis, pupils designed a study of the course of Loughton Brook. They had a range of equipment to choose from and set a series of hypotheses relating to changes in the river course. Pupils decided to investigate depth, wetted perimeter, pebble roundness, gradient and velocity. Pupils used meter rulers, roundness and sphericity charts, clinometers and tape measures to collect data. Pupils worked in groups and had responsibility for conducting a fair and accurate test, using the correct equipment and recording data.
They certainly learned a lot in a day!