Ecological Random Sampling

Another session at the WWT this afternoon on a very warm and sunny day. My brother and family who are visiting from Oz tagged along and spent a couple of hours wandering the reserve while the boys worked.

After the boys had shown their homework - this time graphs recording reed growth - they took part in weeding around the new hedglings they had planted a couple of months ago. We focused on getting rid of the willow herb and dock as without gloves no one was going to tackle the nettles! The idea being that as the willow fence deteriorates the hedglings grow and form their own fence. We measured their growth and identified what hedglings we could; so far there is definitely sloe, hawthorn  and privet.

Then they did some ecological random sampling; a summary of what that is and how it's done can be read here countrysideinfo.co.uk and here, saps.org.uk.

The kids "randomly" threw their quadrats - not as easy as it looks, a couple acted as boomerangs and flew off - and recorded the various species within its area. Some species they could identify but others were a little more difficult and remained unidentified, but it was more about counting the number of species and the percentage area they took up in the square.

A lost gosling delayed us starting as we ushered it back in the direction it came from

A very overgrown wild garden

Our new hedge plantings by the willow fence. Lots of teasel, thistles and docks in the way 

Monica explaining why we leave weeding until the weed has established more

Everyone in shorts trying to avoid the thistles and nettles.

Connor threw the first quadrat into a sunny spot

Samples of the first quadrat

Samples of the first quadrat

Samples of the first quadrat
English Plantain

Samples of the first quadrat
Oxeye daisy and bramble

Samples of the first quadrat
Bindweed, mint and grass

Samples of the first quadrat

Our observations from the first quadrat
Oxeye not oxide!

Nath threw the second quadrat into a shady spot

Samples of the second quadrat
4 unidentified species

Our observations of the second quadrat with possibly a tansy leaf sample

Quadrat observations by others

Quadrat observations by others

The take home task was to analyse everyone's findings today and carry out further random samplings in our own areas. Also to write a paragraph about a section of the wildlife garden the boys selected as potentially being successful for a nature reserve.

As for the boys reeds, they now stand at 19cm and 48cm. Connor's reeds have been growing at a rate of 1cm per day since Friday and the unidentified plants in Nath's reeds have caught up in height.

Soon going to be too big for the windowsill!