Despite the promise of hurricane force winds (it was the day of the BBC Weather App glitch!), Form I and the Geography department were not to be deterred, and set off for the New Forest.
Our first stop was Beaulieu where students completed field sketches and conducted traffic counts at four sites collecting a mix of quantitative and qualitative data. They gathered further data about the environment, land use and the visitors, including writing Haiku poems to capture the sense of place.
We then enjoyed lunch in the warm sunshine under the trees in the forest – also the site of a railway station and the Sales yard where the Commoners can buy and sell the New Forest ponies which are still traded in Guineas.
In the afternoon, we visited Lyndhurst Heritage Centre where the students carried out their own research into the National Park to find out about the landscapes, wildlife and its history as one the oldest areas of natural woodland in the country.
Form I’s first field trip was a great opportunity to introduce them to seeing their world through the eyes of a geographer and we returned safely with not a hurricane in sight!
