Year 5 trip to Naturesbase in Wales

During Week 3, the Year 5 pupils enjoyed another highly successful trip to Naturesbase, near Aberaeron in West Wales, where we stayed in the beautiful new accommodation blocks for four days of scientific discovery, team building, shelter building and navigation. On arrival, the afternoon was spent on orientation about the site. The children collected plant samples, navigated their way around the site and built fire-breathing three-dimensional dragons out of what they had found, before enjoying a wonderful meal of local sausages.

After a welcome night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast, the children set about completing the daily jobs of feeding the animals, making the sandwiches, composting and preparation for the day’s expedition. We then set off to walk towards the National Trust house at Llanerchaeron, stopping at an organic farm on the way. At Llanerchaeron, we visited the Victorian farm, where the children learned to milk a cow by hand and met a fearsome turkey, before going round the fascinating house. On leaving Llanerchaeron, we then headed into Aberaeron, where the children exercised their map skills in a treasure hunt that resulted in a delicious ice cream, as well as crab fishing on the quay, where we caught a record number of crabs and several eels too!

A wonderful afternoon was completed with a competition on the beach to see which group could make the most spectacular theme park for crabs visiting the beach!

Day 3 was survival day! After the morning jobs were completed, the children walked down to the river at the farm, where they learned all about the Iron and Bronze Age tribes that lived in the valley. In their groups, the children became tribesmen, and built tribal shelters in the woods from branches and grass, before welcoming their fellow tribes with a dance and offerings.

After a good clean up and lunch, they then learnt to light fires with a flint and steel, having collected all of the different types of fuel needed from around the farm. Wood-fired pizzas and a camp-fire sing along completed the day and were a fitting ending to another wonderful visit.