Year 2 trip to Martin Down National Nature Reserve

On Friday 15th June Year 2 headed for Martin Down fully waterproofed and raring to go! Fortunately, the heavy rain that was forecast never materialised and we were able to enjoy the great outdoors in its full glory.
First of all, Mr Fussell gave us some stickers that had pictures of different flowers on them.  We had to see if we could find the real plants that matched our stickers. This helped us learn about the plants that grow on Martin Down. We created micro landscapes and took samples of all the different kinds of leaves that we could find. Some of us found almost twenty different leaves!
We then learned about the managers of Martin Down. As well as Mr Lloyd there are the woolly managers who play an important role in keeping the grass short, enabling a diversity of plant life to flourish. We met the sheep before having lunch and, as they had just been shorn, we were able to see their fleeces and learn how they can be made into wool.
After lunch, we explored food chains and now realise how important plants are for our survival. Finally, we walked all the way up the hill, finding a few muddy patches to squelch in on the way! We sat up on top of the 2000 year old Bokerley Dyke in silence to listen to the sounds around us. We returned to the minibus, windswept and full of fresh air, having had a fun day out.