Habitats

Outdoors on the 546 acre estate, a day of field work studying insect and pond life habitats, as well as options of den building and woodland walks.
Curriculum Links
- KS1-2 Science
Year 1: Plants; Animals including humans
Year 2: Living things and their habitats; Plants
Year 3: Plants; Light
Year 4: Living things and their habitats; Animals including humans
Year 5: Working scientifically
Year 6: Living things and their habitats; Animals including humans - KS1-2 Design & Teschnology
Design, make, evaluate; Technical knowledge - KS1-2 Geography
Locational and place knowledge; Human and physical geography; Simple fieldwork techniques (KS1); Geographical skills and fieldwork (KS2)
Pupils will explore the Ightham Mote estate and gardens to understand the different environments looking at different plants and animals.
Developing various character education, teamwork and discovery skills by joining in with activities such as scavenger hunts, minibeast hunts, tree activities, den building or pond dipping. A chance to explore either the estate or gardens whilst participating in these workshop sessions.
These are examples of the activity options - the session can be tailored to meet your needs incorporating the most suitable activities.
The session can also include use of standard techniques for ecological surveys (depending on the type of habitat) including pooters, log rolling, sweep nets, bush beating and quadrants. Pupils will also use simple keys to identify plants, animals and minibeasts.
Group size: One to two classes per day. No minimum group size, however charge will be based on a minimum of 15.
Session duration: Five hours
Location: Estate and gardens. A wet weather plan is available to use and can be discussed in advance.
Outdoor learning
Ightham Mote’s outdoor programme has been created with support from the rangers and local schools. It’s been designed to help develop contextual knowledge of the site, and to understand how physical and human features are interdependent.
Example timetable
9.30am Arrival and Welcome (start time can be flexible)
9.45am Estate walk and nature activities
12.15pm Lunch
12.50pm Options of den building, pond dipping or activities in the garden (dependent on time of year)
2.30pm Thank you and return to school