Explore Local Habitats KS 1/2
Activities / Interdependence / Ecosystems / Explore Local Habitats KS 1/2
What Lives in your local
woodland
Invertebrates:
Look under logs, in the leaf litter and shake the trees.
Mammals and Birds:
Identify birds by finding their feathers.
Look for the fur, droppings, tracks and burrows etc of mammals.
Plants:
Identify the trees and other plants.
Interdependence:
Find out if the animals and plants that live in the wood are interdependent.
Food chains:
Find evidence of food chains
All equipment will be supplied
One to four classes per day
Discover life in the sea by exploring your local beach
Visit your local seashore and Martin will help you to:
look for the shells of molluscs including whelks, oysters, cockles, mussels, tellins, limpets and top shells.
Find and identify mermaid’s purses, cuttlefish bones, crab shells, whelk egg cases, sea mats and barnacles.
Find live crabs and other animals.
Discuss feeding relationships, life cycles, habitats and adaptation.
All equipment supplied
See also: Indoor seashore
Is there life in your local churchyard?
There is a churchyard or cemetery within easy access of most schools.
Their special use means that many of them have remained unchanged for many years and they provide a home for many animals and plants.
Trees:
Identify a tree.
What type is it – Conifer or Broadleaf?
Measure the height and girth.
What creatures might live in it?
What shape are the leaves?
How big are the leaves?
What colour is the bark?
Is the bark rough or smooth?
Lichens on headstones:
Lichens are algae and fungus living together symbiotically.
They are a good pollution indicator.
Which side of the head stones do they grow on?
Are they crusty/powdery, leafy or shrubby?
What do they tell us about pollution in the area?
Compare lichen growth on older headstones with that on newer ones.
Where else are lichens growing?
Is there anything else growing on the headstones?
Grassland:
How tall is the grass in different areas?
How many different plants are there in a Square 1m x 1m?
Can you see any animals in the grass?
How many different grasses are there?
Minibeasts/Invertebrates:
Identify them.
Where do they live? - In trees, in the grass, on a wall, in a hedge, under wood or stones?
Why do they live there?
Birds and Mammals:
Look for tracks and signs such as footprints, droppings, nibbled seeds and nuts, feathers and fur.
All equipment supplied including keys, quadrats, collecting trays and bug boxes.
Pond Life
Find out what lives in a local pond.
Identify animals using keys.
How are they are adapted to life in the pond?
Find out which one can fly and which one will be able to fly later in their lives.
Discover life cycles.
Discuss food chains
All equipment including keys, nets, trays supplied.
You could mix these activities i.e. Woodland am and pond pm.
Big Bugs
Martin the bug man brings bugs, insects and other animals to your school. Colchester essex ipswich london. Big large colourful exotic bugs praying mantis beetle roach©
Dan Ambrose & Martin Rapley 2005