61 biology
field trip
to the
Scilly Isles
by Hattie
KeanD
reary eyed at the hour of
5.00am, we commenced
our quest for the Scilly
Isles. Arriving in Penzance,
we boarded 'The Boat of
Sick', which initiated waves
of nausea amongst the weak whilst the
majority obliviously slept unscathed. On arrival
we stood, astounded by the sheer beauty of the
Isles of Scilly. After the immense amount of
travelling we trekked up a steep hill to finally
reach our destination: the campsite. We
erected our tents and made our 'kitchen'.
In the evening we completed a controlled
assessment consisting of us drawing organisms
which inhabited the north and south sides of a
wall.
Returning to our childhood, we spent the
second day turning over rocks in the hope of
finding creatures of the sea. During day one
we completed a beach profile, line transects
and identifying organisms in the seaweed and
rock pools. All of a sudden, midst seaweed
identification, Greg Albery unearthed a fish
immersed in very little water, gasping for
water? It was a tense moment. After a lot of
deliberation he acted bravely by snatching the
fish, 'sprinting' down the beach and catapulting
it into the air. We all watched in awe as the
fish triumphantly soared through the air and
plunged deep into the depths of the ocean.
Note - the fish was unharmed. In the evening
we had a barbecue and pub quiz. The quiz
was very competitive, with many biological and
Scilly Isle based questions.
On the third day, we ventured to the island of
Tresco. On the way we were able to see large
groups of seals, puffins and other seabirds.
We spent the day completing another beach
profile of the sand dunes, and were then left to
our own devices to explore the island and do a
bit of trekking. In the evening, the heavens
opened and we were greeted with a mighty
tempest. The majority of tents provided little
shelter - the phrase 'happy campers' was
generally felt to be no longer appropriate.
The final day arrived and suddenly we
biologists were sad to leave the Isles of Scilly
and return to the normal routine of lessons.
After completing another internal assessment
and browsing the shops, we boarded 'The Boat
of Sick' for the final time. We will always
cherish our memories from the Scilly Isles, and
offer many thanks to the staff: Miss Hobday,
Mr Cole and Mr Florey. Scilly Isles, stay classy.
Aluredian
18