Year 7 Suntrap Project July 2013
About the project:
As a class, we decided to complete the John Muir Award. This is an award you can achieve by exploring and conserving a local wild area. You also need to inform and educate others about this wild area. To help us explore and learn about the conservation of Epping Forest we visited the Educational Centre in Epping Forest three times. It is called Suntrap.
On our first visit to Suntrap we took a walk through the forest and explored it at a very exciting time – the end of winter and the beginning of spring. We could see buds just appearing on the bare trees. We also made shelters out branches from dead trees. This showed us that there are ways to use the dead trees in Epping Forest.
On our next visit we explored our senses in the Forest. We tasted a leaf, made our own smelly perfume from what we foraged from the forest, blind folded each other and guided one another through the forest and felt the different textures to be found in the forest. We also listened to what we could hear while sitting in the middle of the forest. We also went bug searching, collecting different bugs and noting their habitats.
On our third visit we went pond dipping in the morning to explore which creatures live in this habitat. In the afternoon we took an active role the conservation of our forest by cutting back the holly growing in Epping Forest. This allows more light to reach the surface of the forest and helps brambles grow. These brambles are very important because they not only can we pick the berries from them, but they also supply food for many creatures of Epping Forest.
On 10th July we, as a class, took a Year 9 lesson to inform others about what we have learned about Epping Forest. We hope by doing so we will help others think about exploring and helping to conserve their local forest.