Until 2024 we were running work experience in Wytham Woods. While we are not using the Woods as our main base at the moment, we are saving this page to show what is possible.
Wytham Woods are the research woodlands of the University of Oxford. Many studies are taking place there on the wildlife, and also on the impacts of climate change, plant disease and other important issues. We introduce our work experience students to the Woods, taking them for walks and discussing the ecology and the research. They get to meet researchers and hear what they are working on and how they do their work. They try out some research techniques and use some of the research equipment. And they produce some learning materials based on what they have learned, for other students. If we have other visitors to the Woods they might help running activities or setting up events. In addition, we start them off with some training on workplace skills, and end with a self assessment. These weeks are really prized by those who take part.
Our weeks are 4 out of 5 days (the day off varies), 10am to 2pm each day. We find that given the effort that students have to put in to get to the site, and the physical nature of the work, these hours work very well.
Most students come to us on the ST2 bus which takes 20 minutes from the centre of Oxford, or are dropped off by parents.
A typical week consists of seasonal activities which give students an understanding of a working educational landscape, how the site and activities are management. Activities for our groups have so far included -
Learning from researchers who work at Wytham.
Learning some tree and plant ID skills, using ID apps, and creating a learning resource based on leaf shapes.
Meeting the foresters who manage the Woods and learning about their jobs and their career paths.
Learning to navigate round the Woods, and creating some annotated maps.
Tree planting.
Cooking a sustainable meal for the research community.
Path maintenance.
Monitoring the butterfly and bee transects and recording sightings.
Trying out new technology for field studies.
Taking tree measurements to measure carbon content of trees.
Putting up tents and gazebos for camping events.
Helping with groups of younger students visiting the woods - teaching them some plant ID skills.