On Friday 1st of September P6 had a fabulous time exploring biodiversity at Culzean. We took part in two workshop activities. The first was a woodland walk and the other was pond dipping. Our rangers were James and Eilidh.

Caiden, Paul and Mya said: “We found the pond dipping most enjoyable because we got to see and learn about water life. We learned that the great diving beetle is at the top of the food chain and eats the other pond creatures. We also learned that the baby diving beetle is larger than the adult and baby mayflies are called nymphs.”

Daisy added: ” I enjoyed going on the woodland walk and learning about the animals and their different habitats. An interesting fact I learned was that rhododendron and bamboo plants are invasive species because they spread quickly.”

Gregor mentioned: “I learned how to go pond dipping and that you have to keep the net off  the bottom of the pond. I caught a lot of pond skaters and enjoyed pond dipping. I also learned that red deer eat forests so we need to put cages around the forest or bring back predators.”

Amy, Eryn-Rose and Ethan commented: “We learned that red deer are the biggest native land mammal. The grey squirrel is a threat to our native red squirrel. Grey squirrels can eat unripe seeds whereas red squirrels can only eat ripe ones. They eat the acorns which red squirrels need to survive. We all enjoyed pond dipping. It was so much fun when we found the pond animals.”

Emma added:” I learned that a rhododendron is an invasive plant which grows and spreads quickly, threatening native plants.”

James said: “I learned how to clean a fishing net when we went pond dipping. I enjoyed the pond dipping because there were so many creatures to see.”

Mhirren explained:” I learned how to identify a leaf by its shape and size.”

Reece, Sam and Taylor reported:” We learned that a great diving beetle breathes through spiracles on its abdomen. Hattie caught one when we were pond dipping.”

Gemma told us: ” I learned that bamboo is an invasive species which was brought to Britain from China, Asia and Africa.”

Devan said: ” I learned about gall wasps which are small insects, mostly black or reddish brown in colour. Galls are the strange lumps, that develop on  oak trees after being invaded by gall wasps. Gall wasps lay their eggs inside the galls.”

Oriana mentioned: ” The Great Diving Beetle is larger when it’s a baby and smaller as an adult.”

Morgyn-Lea added: “I enjoyed catching the pond creatures. I learned that the tadpole turns into a frog.”

Hattie commented: “I learned that red squirrels only eat acorns.”

We all thought this was a wonderful trip which has helped us gather lots of information for our science topic.