South Devon students explore wildlife and team building at Slapton Ley

Year twelve students from the South Devon UTC (SDUTC) in Newton Abbot have taken part in a residential trip at the Slapton Ley Field Studies Centre this month.

The students spent two nights and three days at the centre which is located on the Start Bay coast. The centre is surrounded by the 210-hectare Slapton Ley National Nature Reserve, which includes the 4km long Slapton Sands beach and the largest freshwater lake in the South West.

On arrival the group took part in some team building activities and then explored the nearby ancient woods, where they collected leaf and soil samples. They returned the samples to the centre’s laboratory where they inspected them under microscopes. That evening they went bat hunting using frequency locators.

The next day consisted of a long coastal walk from Start Bay to Tor Point. En route the group had a go at rock tower building, did some beach cleaning, tried their hands at some sketching and even took part in an impressive stone spinning competition. They also got to see some seals and the day ended with a camp fire on the beach. The final day was spent at Slapton Ley lake where the students got stuck in collecting invertebrate insects and lake life to identify and study.

The stay was funded by the Field Studies Council as part of their Generation Green project. The project aims to support 100,000 young people and teachers, or youth leaders, to better understand the environment and green economy.

Claire Plumb, Headteacher at South Devon UTC, said: “Firstly, I want to say a big thank you to Rydon Primary, another ESW school, who kindly loaned us their minibus for the trip, it would not have been possible without it. Secondly, I’d like to express my gratitude to the Field Studies Council for funding this invaluable experience for our students. It’s clear that they had a wonderful time and learned a lot.”

Matthew Shanks, CEO of Education South West said:“We are so lucky to live in a country that offers so many natural wonders and spectacular scenery. It’s great to hear that these Newton Abbot students got to spend so much time enjoying the outside whilst engaging in a variety of educational team building activities.”

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