AS Geography at Magilligan
On Monday 26th October 2009 while the rest of the school were on half term holidays a group of 7 intrepid explorers headed for the Umbra sand dune system at Magilligan. Their mission was to collect all the data necessary to discover whether the conditions in a sand dune system will change as you move away from the shoreline.
Once kitted out in their attractive, brightly coloured waterproof coats and trousers (they were never going to get lost!!) they headed for the dunes. Despite Mrs Parker warning them that they would need to dress for Arctic like conditions the sun shone and they had no need of the water proof gear.
Students collected information on the type and number of vegetation species that could be identified, using the quadrats. They also collected soil samples (although some students still need to grasp that collecting a soil sample does not mean collecting the entire sand dune in a wee plastic bag!!) to help determine pH values of the soil, and the organic and moisture content of the soil.
Once the samples were collected at each site we headed back to the field centre to test the soil samples and gather more data. Then it was back to Cullybackey High School to write up the report.