Field classes

There are two one-week residential field classes during the course; one in the Easter vacation and the other at the end of June. In the spring we go to South Devon which enables students to become familiar with a number of coastal habitats such as shingle beaches and sand dunes and also with a range of woodlands at different altitudes from sea level to the top of the Dartmoor National Park.

In the summer we visit the spectacular limestone scenery of the Yorkshire Dales National Park where we concentrate on upland mire communities and limestone grasslands. The field classes also enable students to extend their practical experience of bird and bat surveys.

In all, during the course you can expect to visit up to seven National Nature Reserves, usually in the company of the reserve manager, two National Parks and numerous SSSI’s. We also visit a number of farms to learn at first hand about agri-environment schemes, organic farming and issues around farming within a National Park.