Dale Fort

Pembrokeshire Coast

A Virtual Tour

Activities

There is a very wide range of activities in more than a dozen different habitats. Here students are seine netting for fish and a variety of aquatic life in the local river estuary. All ages enjoy doing this with the older ones linking the distribution of the animals with the change in salinity.	Near the estuary is a super saltmarsh, again suitable for all age groups to look at the specialisation of plants to the salt environment. Some enjoy the muddy route to the site like these students, a chance to see a different life burrowed in the mud.
One of the most important activity done by all science groups is a belt transect sampling the distribution of organisms on a sheltered rocky shore. This is a few minutes walk from the centre and can be compared with an exposed shore closeby.	Animal sampling can be very different to vegetation. Here students have measured out an area in the strandline of the nearby beach and are collecting a sample of sandhoppers. These are marked, released to be recaptured later in the day and the population density calculated using the Lincoln Index.
These are juniors looking at seashore creatures, an activity they really enthuse over. We like to introduce some basic sampling methods even with juniors.	Two juniors using a sweep net and pooter looking for insects in the woods and grassland.
The emphasis is on education through enjoyment. Activities are carefully organised so that the days are full and this includes the evening. When possible BBQs are held out doors in the grounds with a variety of sport and social activities to create an all-round residential experience.