Fieldwork topics and themes
Physical Geography - Weather and Climate
1. Microclimate investigations
These activities, included within the list of five ideas for school grounds fieldwork (point five on the list), suggest three foci for a microclimate investigation. These are renewable energy, deciding where to locate features and a solar kitchen activity.
KS3
2. Microclimate studies using dataloggers, GPS and GIS
Using a simple digital map of the school grounds traced from a local map, students use PDAs to record weather data that they have obtained using dataloggers. Their findings can be used to create isotherm and isohyet maps of the grounds. This resource includes an outline of the task as well as step-by-step instructions for using the software.
KS3/GCSE
3. School weather station
A school in Devon has set up its own electronic weather station in the school grounds, which feeds data into the school computer network. Live weather data (and some historical data) is displayed on the school website, and is often accessed by the local community as well as the school. This article reveals the processes that were undertaken to set up this project.
All age groups