Newquay Zoo Field Trip 2013

All the Year 7 students from Callington Community College had the opportunity to enjoy a Geography fieldtrip to Newquay Zoo

As part of the Geography curriculum, Year 7s are studying Rainforests and are currently researching and producing their final assessment on key areas of the rainforests including location and climate, and plant, animal and human adaptations to this important environment.  At Newquay Zoo they received a talk on the rainforest including information on the importance of this biome to the world climate and other important facts.

They got to meet and handle rainforest animals: a chilled out cockroach, gorgeous millipede and a silky smooth python.  Students were involved in an interactive talk about where these animals and others in the Tropical House come from and how they have come up with cunning adaptations to survive e.g. the cockroach hisses to mimic a snake to deter predators; it works well as they are very successful!

Students got to spend some time visiting different areas of the Zoo and to answer questions that took them on a tour of the Zoo finding out about lots of other fascinating rainforest animals and how they have adapted to live in the most ecologically crowded place on earth.  The Geography department and their helpers hope that the students have come back bursting with ideas for their assessment and have experienced a taste of the rainforest that will inspire them to ensure its survival long into the future.

Students' thoughts about the field trip:

‘Really good and I've never been here before' - Alex

‘It's a different experience as most schools don't go to Zoos. We've learnt that there are lots of endangered animals' - Nasha

'We've learnt about the Fishing Cat and other animals I've never heard of before from the rainforest' - Tamsin