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Tips for Teachers Planning a Field Trip to a Bog
Choosing a Bog to Visit
You may know of a suitable bog
locally or you can choose one to visit a site with guidance from
a field studies centre. School groups should avoid visiting intact
bog nature reserves as the surface is sensitive to prolonged
trampling. A damaged dry bog can be very good and safe for work
with young children. Look out for a bog that has pools for pond
dipping, turf banks for peat studies and soil experiments, and
hummocks and hollows for plant habitat studies to help make a
successful expedition.
When to Visit
The best times to visit a bog
are between 1st April and the 31st October.
Safety Tips and Behaviour
of Students on the Bog Trip
1. Sandwich formation
while climbing up onto and getting down off the high bog. This
means one or more teachers/guardians lead the group onto the
bog in front and another teacher or guardian follows behind with
the students sandwiched in the middle. Watch out for wet holes,
soft bare peat and shrinkage cracks concealed by heather at the
edge of the bog.
2. Do not be distracted while getting on and off the bus or out
of a car
3. Do not be distracted while walking down country roads, stick
to the right hand side facing on-coming traffic
4. Appoint a partner for walking, working and climbing on the
trip. Look after each other.
5. Be extremely careful when near water especially during pond
dipping exercises.
6. Avoid chill on the bog. Dress in layers. Wear warm clothes
and a hat and bring waterproof trousers, boots and jacket - especially
in summer.
7. Do not wander outside prescribed study areas on the field
trip. These can be roped off using four bamboo canes and some
string.
8. Tell the teacher if there is an incident.
9. Daisy flower circle formation for instructions and discussions
while on field work. This means that the students stand in a
circle around the teacher so that each one can see what is being
demonstrated or hear instructions being given.
10. Remove all equipment taken on the trip from the bog.
11. Wash your hands thoroughly after the field trip.
12. Follow the Country Code
a). Respect the rights of landowners. Seek permission before
crossing fields to get to study sites.
b). Close gates securely if you open them.
c). Do not damage hedges, fences or walls.
d). Absolutely no fires.
e). Leave no litter.
f). Do not pick plants or disturb wildlife animals and birds
or their nests on any peatland site.
g). Peatlands can be dangerous places. Never visit them alone.
h). Peatlands are fragile habitats, please take care when undertaking
field work to minimise the impact of your investigations on the
bog.
13. Count the number of students on the trip leaving the school
and especially when leaving the bog.
14. Be conscious of students prone to travel sickness when travelling
on the bus.
15. We recommend supervision at of at least 1 teacher for every
12 students.
16. Safe areas on the bog are generally where heathers are found.
Unsafe areas are the bright green patches of wet bog moss.
17. Advise students to try to fall forwards with arms outstretched,
calling for help if the ground is soft where they walk.
18. Discourage students from picking plants on the bog. All animals
found should be returned to their habitats
19. Advise students to bring a packed lunch and drink.
20. Keep hands free on the trip. Students should store lunch,
worksheets, equipment and keys in ruck sacks so that their hands
are free.
Working Groups
Ideally the students should
be divided up into groups of 6 maximum, depending on numbers.
These groups should work together for the entire project as appropriate.
Each member will be asked to be responsible for a given task
on the bog visit, for example:
1. making observations;
2. carrying equipment;
3. recording the findings on worksheets;
4. carrying of samples;
5. labelling of samples;
6. identification of specimens - using dials.
Plan a study procedure for the trip and inform each group what they are expected to do and achieve on the field trip. It is essential that students understand that the bog visit is a "working day" and not a day out!
Scientific Method
Encourage students to use a
scientific method in their approach to bog field studies. This
involves making observations, formulating an hypothesis, designing
a controlled experiment, collecting and interpreting data, reaching
conclusions, placement of conclusions in the context of existing
knowledge, reporting and publishing results, development of theory
and principle.
Equipment
You will need to assemble enough
equipment for the number of groups there are. Your decisions
will be influenced by the particular activities you plan to undertake
on the bog. Each group will need all or a selection of items
from this list:
* Note book/work sheets on clipboard with pencil attached
* 2-6 Jam jars with lids
* White tray or basin
* 6 Plastic spoons
* White sorting tray
* 2 Bamboo sticks & string
* Meter stick
* Bog pool bug dial
* Bog flower dial
* Quadrat or Grid 1/2 m2 or 1m2
* Knife, plastic bags, labels, marker
* Hand lens or magnifying glass
* Camera
* Binoculars
* Pond net
* Pooter
* Magnifiying lens or bug box
* Meter Stick
* Soil thermometer
* Air Thermometer
* Cup anemometer or Beaufort wind scale key
* Light meter
* GPS monitor
* Meter Tape
* Trowel
* Umbrella
