Come summer, your class can explore habitats and lifecycles with an active and inspiring visit to St Osyth Priory Estate that combines outdoor learning and local history.
Our new pond dip and nature trail programme has been designed to align with the National Curriculum and will enable children to explore the historic estate's beautiful natural landscape before arriving at Seal Pond.
On the pond dipping platform the class will learn about water scorpions, whirligig beetles, damselfly and dragonfly larvae as they dip their nets into the water. Children will notice the glittering damselfly and dragonfly flitting around the pond and together we'll discover fascinating facts about their lifecycles as we fish out their larvae.
The journey to the Seal Pond will take us alongside the deer park, where we might be lucky enough to spot the white stag, and through the Estate where rare breed cattle and sheep graze. Along the way students armed with spotter sheets will be on the hunt for flora and fauna and we will take a stop by some of the Estate's oldest trees to conduct an experiment to find out more about the bugs living there.
This route allows us to compare and contrast different habitats and the animals and plants within them. Students will learn to identify and name plant species and discover how plants and animals within a variety of habitats depend on each other.
Children will also learn about the deer park's historic significance and the legend of St Osyth which is connected to the majestic white deer found at St Osyth Priory today. The programme links nature with history by explaining how the Priory's monks used the ponds on the Estate to provide food for the monastic community during the Medieval period.
The programme is ideal for key stage one and two students but can also be adapted for older children. To make a booking get in touch.
