Early Friday morning Year 7 departed Badminton School, a sea of pink hoodies, heading straight for the Gerald Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Jersey. On arrival the group were introduced to the ethos behind the park and made snacks for macaques before navigating the park to meet these mischievous characters. After bidding a temporary goodbye to the park the group returned to the hostel for supper and some games in the garden which resulted in Mrs Tear, Miss Goldsack and Miss Kirby becoming ‘piggies in the middle’.
The next morning the group rose full of energy and headed back to the park to be allocated a group of primates on which to base their animal study over the next three days. On the way to meet their animals for the first time, a number of the group managed to catch sight of Durrell’s latest addition to the park, a baby Andean bear who was born in January. Once at the enclosures, each group made sketches of the area and started to consider the various behaviours on display in order to construct an ethogram on the iPads.
The afternoon had a historical twist with the pupils working their way through the Jersey War Tunnels learning about life in Jersey during the occupation. The tunnels were dug by forced and slave labourers from nations across Europe and stretch to 1km long. The various exhibits highlighted the difficult times the people of Jersey faced during and following WWII. The respect and interest the pupils showed during this section of the day was remarkable. On our emergence into the light we headed to the beach for some well-deserved Jersey ice cream, paddling and we finished the evening in Pizza Express.
Day three started with the girls undertaking their first of many ethograms allowing them to observe and collect data on the behaviour of their primates accurately and effectively. Battling through the rainy weather they maintained their high spirits and made good progress with their group projects. In the afternoon, the pupils visited Mont Orgueil castle to explore the castle’s defences and indulge in more Jersey ice cream. Mont Orgueil was Jersey’s primary defence until the development of gunpowder which then rendered the castle ultimately indefensible from Mont Saint Nicholas, the adjacent hill which overlooks the castle. In the evening the pupils returned to the wildlife park and were allowed time in the computer room to finish their animal studies and produce a presentation on their findings.
Day four, nerves were running high as the pupils prepared to deliver their presentations on whether the primates they observed needed a new enclosure to the wildlife staff. The girls spoke clearly and intelligently, explaining their observations and justifications for their enclosures. The final session allowed the girls to handle some East African Land Snails, hissing cockroaches and a corn snake, much to everyone’s delight. With spirits high we then boarded the bus, ready for the long trip back to Bristol, sad to leave the park and Jersey but full of all the exciting things we had seen and learnt over the last few days.
Miss Kirby
