When we arrived, Owen came to greet us, and we followed him to the Treehouse Study Centre. This is a huge wooden treehouse surrounded by forest in which we played some games to do with recognising bird calls. After a quick snack and drink, we wound our way through the forest using mirrors, to examine the tree canopy. We then hugged trees in pairs and our partners had to guess which tree they had hugged – not easy considering they had been blindfolded whilst being led to and from the chosen tree, and whilst hugging! 

Next, we had a quick look inside the thatched cobb cottage, built in the traditional way, and all within a day, before we went hunting for any unfortunate minibeasts not quick enough to hide. We found many woodlice, beetles, some millipedes and centipedes, slugs and worms, plus a baby newt and a baby frog!  

Following our delicious school packed lunch, we were allowed to go up to the viewing platform above the treehouse. It was fantastic to be actually in the canopy overlooking the whole site. 

We then pretended to be predators looking for prey, using different coloured wool strand ‘worms’. The brighter ones were easily ‘caught’ with the more natural colours blending in. A simple yet effective practical demonstration through play. We also pretended to be bunny rabbits bolting from predators into a burrow – a tunnel above ground yet covered in moss and woodland floor detritus. It was interesting to see how bunnies might feel and what it would be like to find their way through a burrow. 

Lastly, we went pond dipping in our groups and found more baby newts, dragonfly nymphs and great diving beetles amongst many other creatures. It was great fun and luckily no one fell in! 

At the end of an exciting and information-packed day, it was time to wave goodbye to Owen, to thank Mrs Blair and Mr Zieler, Mr Clark and Mr Bell, and drive back to school. After all that fresh air, some even fell asleep on the minibus! 

Miss Erasmus
Year 3 Teacher