Where the Wild Things Were

Mr Fairbridge’s class from Lingdale Primary School explored Lingdale Meadow this afternoon to explore the wildlife on their doorstep. Lingdale Meadow is the site of the former shale heap (extracted during mining for ironstone) that is being managed by local community organisations as a wildlife area.  The pupils went on a leaf hunt to see what trees grow in the meadow. Then, they carried out a scientific survey of invertebrates amongst the grasses and flowers, using sweep nets and bug pots. Some were brave enough to use our pooters to suck bugs into pots for close observation! The next task was to inspect the edges of the bushes for mammal runs and footprints. We didn’t find any real ones to day but we looked at the differences between fox, badger, hedgehog and deer prints. Lastly, we went to the viewpoint and looked out over the golden crops to the sea, with swallows flying to and fro. We all agreed that we live in a beautiful place.