Tentsmuir Point
NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE
life on
the sands
This pack has been developed to help teachers and leaders wishing to bring groups to the
reserve. It provides ideas and support in designing an exciting and educational programme
of activities, allowing young people an opportunity to learn first-hand about the natural and
physical environment whilst providing plenty of opportunity for cross curricular work.
Wherever possible, visits should be accompanied by the Reserve Manager, employed
by SNH.
Telephone 01382 553704
sands of time
a world of shifting sands
led by the tides
disappearing strandline
and broken dune
grains of sand
forming this coast
the endless push and tug of the tide
A poem by Julia Mifkin
(volunteer at the reserve and local resident)
contents
section 1 - getting there
pg
Introduction
About the Activities
Curriculum Links
Getting There
Facilities and How to Book
Equipment List
Before Your Visit
The Country Code
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section 2 - activities
CLICK THE SECTION YOU WOULD
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Activity location plan
Sea, Shore and Sand
Teachers’ Notes
Biodiversity Beachcombers
Tentsmuir Players Present….Life on a Beach
Scavenger Hunt
Journey Sticks
Plants on the Move
Birds, Bills and Behaviour- Teachers’ Notes/Activities
Digital Imaging
Singing Seals - Teachers’ Notes/Activities
Making Connections
Woodland Ways
Teachers’ Notes
Woodland Detectives
Sense of Place
Plant Quest
Wee Beasties
Home Sweet Home
Poetic moments
People, Past and Present
Management Matters
Values and Visions
People Preferences
Rebels Against Rubbish
Time Team
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section 3 - further information
Resources
Acknowledgements
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section 1/1
introduction
about the activities
curriculum links
getting there
facilities & how to book
equipment list
before your visit
the country code
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introduction
Situated at the mouth of the Tay Estuary in north-east Fife, Tentsmuir Point is a place of extraordinary
natural richness. As such, the area was designated a National Nature Reserve (NNR) in 1954, and is
owned and cared for by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).
The stark beauty of Tentsmuir Point has attracted visitors and settlers for thousands of years. Now,
however it is the area’s incredible value as an educational resource that is bringing a new generation
to Tentsmuir.
An ever-changing seascape is the backdrop to this living coastland with its shifting sand dunes,
migrating wildfowl and colonies of seals. Visitors can easily explore the thriving natural habitat where
they can see many rare species of ants, moths, butterflies, orchids, grasses and heathers.
The special natural features are matched by a wealth of historical references that date from the Stone
Age and include the varied exploits of Vikings, shipwrecked sailors and outlaws.
This history combines with the diverse plant and animal life to make a study of Tentsmuir Point an
exciting opportunity for any visitor.
About the Activities
The wild seascape and changing coastland of Tentsmuir are reflected in the breadth of
activities suggested, which embrace the scientific, historical, artistic and poetic using a
wide range of media.
These activities are divided into three themes:
Sea ,Shore and Sand
looks at the characteristics of the ever-changing seascape. Sand dunes and beaches present
extreme conditions for animals and plants living there, and yet there are lots of different species
to see.
Woodland Ways
focuses on the range of plants and animals present in the woodlands at Tentsmuir, their
adaptations to the places they live, how they live, and how they are connected.
People, Past and Present
is an opportunity to look at the history of the area and people’s attitudes to the natural world.
All the activities in this pack fit within the 5-14 curriculum.
The main focus is Environmental Studies. Many of the activities also meet attainment
targets in ICT, Art and Design and English Language. There are also opportunities for meeting
attainment targets in Mathematics, Religious and Moral Education, Health Education and Personal and
Social Education.
Most of the activities in this pack are designed for first-hand outdoor experience at Tentsmuir Point and
there is flexibility for parts of the activities to be completed back at school. The activities within each
theme provide opportunities for pupils to work at levels C/D and sometimes B, E and F.
Living things and the
processes of life
Science
Strands
Listening for information instructions and directions
Listening in groups
Conveying information, instructions and directions
Talking in groups
Talking about experiences, feelings and opinions
Audience Awareness
Reading for information
Reading for enjoyment
Attainment Outcome
Listening
Talking
Reading
Relevant activities
Variety and characteristic features
The processes of life
Interaction of living things with their environment
The physical environment
The human environment
Human-physical interactions
Knowledge and understanding of
strands
Strands
Biodiversity Beachcombers, Journey Sticks, Scavenger Hunt, Plants on the Move, Birds, Bills
and Behaviour, Digital Imaging, Singing Seals, Tentsmuir players present .... Life on a Beach,
Making Connections, Woodland Detectives, Sense of Place, Plant Quest, Wee Beasties,
Home Sweet Home, Poetic Moments, Management Matters, Values and Visions, People
Preferences, Rebels against Rubbish, Time Team
People and place
Social subjects
English Language 5-14
Attainment Outcomes
Component
Biodiversity Beachcombers, Journey Sticks, Scavenger Hunt, Plants on the Move, Birds, Bills
and Behaviour, Digital Imaging, Singing Seals, Tentsmuir players present .... Life on a Beach,
Making Connections, Woodland Detectives, Sense of Place, Plant Quest, Wee Beasties,
Home Sweet Home, Poetic Moments, Management Matters, Values and Visions, People
Preferences, Rebels against Rubbish, Time Team
curriculum links
Relevant activities
Environmental Studies 5-14
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Creating and designing
Communicating
Observing, reflecting, describing and responding
Expressing feelings, ideas, thoughts and solutions
Evaluating and appreciating
People in the past
Social Studies
Strands
Using the technology
Creating and presenting
Communicating and collaborating
Developing ICT capability
Digital Imaging
People, events and societies of significance in the past
Change and continuity, cause and effect
Strands
Attainment Outcome
Relevant activities
Information and Communication Technology 5-14
Attainment Outcome
Component
Relevant activities
Time Team Travellers, Values and Visions, Sense of Place, Rebels against Rubbish
Functional writing
Personal writing
Imaginative writing
Writing
Environmental Studies 5-14
Strands
Attainment Outcome
Relevant activities
Journey Sticks, Digital Imaging, Wee Beasties,Birds, Bills and Behaviour, Values and
Visions, Management Matters, People Preferences, Poetic Moments, Life on a Beach
Investigating visually and recording
Using media
Using visual effects
Attainment Outcome
English Language 5-14
Strands
Journey Sticks, Digital Imaging, Wee Beasties,Birds, Bills and Behaviour, Poetic Moments
Attainment Outcome
Relevant activities
Expressive Arts 5-14: Art and Design
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getting there
facilities and how to book
Tentsmuir Point NNR is reached by a minor road from Leuchars, or off the B945 south of Tayport. The
minor road has been widened recently although in parts is still single track with passing places. Care
should therefore be taken especially if visiting in large buses. A surfaced forestry road leads to a Forest
Enterprise managed public car park at Kinshaldy ( OS 1:50 000 Map 54 Dundee, grid ref. NO 498
242). Payment for the car park and use of the toilets is required.
At the Kinshaldy car park you will find toilet facilities, picnic tables, interpretation panels, an adventure
trail and barbecue areas. The toilets are closed during the Winter months, from December to Easter.
There is no built shelter, although the surrounding trees can afford some cover. Although there
is no proper surface, it is possible for wheelchair users to access some areas of the reserve. If there is
a wheelchair user in your group, please contact the SNH Reserve Manager before your visit for advice
(see below for contact details).
How to book: wherever possible, visits should be accompanied by the SNH Reserve Manager.
Please book by contacting the:
SNH Reserve Manager,
Scottish Natural Heritage Fetterdale Office,
Tentsmuir Forest, by Tayport ,
Fife DD6 9PF.
Telephone: 01382 553704
[or, if you have difficulty, contact: SNH Fife Area Office, 46 Crossgate, Cupar, Fife KY15 5HS.
Telephone :01334 654038]
equipment list
Because of the open nature of the site and the lack of shelter, it is important that the young people are
properly clothed and equipped.
✓ Warm waterproof clothing in Winter and suncream and a sun hat in warmer weather.
✓ Wellington Boots
✓ First Aid Kit
✓ Mobile Phone
✓ Phone number of local hospital, school and SNH office
The reserve is 1.5 miles north of the car park. It is
possible to drive to it, however, this must be arranged
with the SNH Reserve Manager. There is also access
from Tayport along the shore, but it takes one hour
to walk.
✓ Towel and spare clothing
✓ Packet of wet wipes
✓ Whistle
✓ Survival Bag
✓ Packed Lunches
✓ Flask with hot/cold drink and some chocolate/packet of sweets!
✓ Lots of binoculars
✓ Information and activity sheets with the equipment recommended for relevant activities
Remember!
If you are using the information and activity sheets, each young person will need a clipboard and
pencil. In addition, should it rain, you will need a supply of large heavy duty clear plastic bags to
cover the clipboards and allow writing underneath.
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before your visit
the country code
Make no unnecessary noise
Help to keep all water clean
Care for any wildlife and keep to the paths
Leave gates as you find them
Use gates and stiles to cross fences, hedges and walls
Leave livestock, crops and machinery alone
Keep your dog on a lead
Take special care on country roads
Avoid starting fires
Leave only footprints - take your litter home
The country code, detailed in the box above, is a traditional code of behaviour. Countryside users are
encouraged to adopt this code when visiting rural areas.
For any visit out of school there will be essential procedures and forms to be completed as part of
your school or Local Council regulations. Please ensure you have met all these criteria before arriving
on site.
It is always helpful if you can visit the site yourself before you bring a group.
Please inform the SNH staff in advance whether there are any children with additional needs medical, physical, behavioural or learning difficulties.
It is important also, in the interests of conservation and the environment, that good practice is
demonstrated to pupils at all times during the field visit particularly when recording, sampling and
measuring to ensure minimum impact. Pupils should be encouraged to consider the impact of their
activities on the habitats and communities they are studying.
section 2/13
activity location plan
section 2/15
sea, shore & sand
teachers’ notes
biodiversity beachcombers
tenstmuir players present ...
.... life on a beach
scavenger hunt
journey sticks
plants on the move
birds, bills and behaviour
digital imaging
singing seals
making connections
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section 1/1
sea, shore & sand
teachers’ notes
Wind and waves
Waves require two conditions to form:
• strong, steady winds blowing over the surface of the sea
• a long distance over which the waves can grow - known as the fetch
Wind effects - In sheltered waters of estuaries and basins, even strong winds only produce ‘choppy’
waves, as there is not enough distance for them to build up into big waves. This controls the energy
they have for erosion, transport and deposition - and mud rather than sand results.
Across the open sea, the distance that waves can travel is much greater, they can grow higher and
longer and travel faster. The coasts facing the North Sea are exposed to the full force of such waves.
Hence, the energy is available to erode, transport and deposit vast quantities of sand.
At Tentsmuir Point, its geographical position at the southern end of the Tay Estuary means that currents
from the west and south meet and sand deposition is moving eastward.
Wave effects - As a wave grows, it becomes too high to support itself, and the crest over-balances
and forms a mass of foam and spray (surf). On the shore you can observe two wave types:
• pounding or eroding wave - where the main force of the water strikes the shore, usually where there
is deep water offshore.
• spilling or depositing wave - where it is shallow offshore and the wave spills over gently, the slow
speed and friction means the sand being transported is dropped.
At Tentsmuir the dominant wave action is of the less damaging, spilling type.
Backwash of
previous wave
Shore
Breaking wave
Peaking wave
Crest
Trough
Tides and currents
Tidal movement provides the oceans/seas with a unique form of energy also partly responsible for
shaping our coasts. Tidal movement in the open ocean is slight, but tides become significant in the
shallow waters of the continental shelf. Tides are a result of the gravitational forces between the Earth,
the Moon and the Sun.
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Tidal range depends on many factors including shape of coast, latitude, and season. There are two
high and two low tides in a 24 hour period, linked to the Earth’s rotation in relation to the Moon. Strong
onshore and offshore winds can also effect the tidal range.
Each month, at New and Full Moon, the lunar and solar effects are in phase - they are very high range
tides, called spring tides. The combination of high force easterly winds and resulting wave action,
together with spring tides can lead to severe erosion of the sand dune edge at Tentsmuir Point.
At First and Third Quarters of the Moon, the lunar and solar effects partly cancel each other and the tidal
range is very low - neap tides.
Sand formation
Sand is produced by the action of the sea (waves and tides) wearing down coastal cliffs, from rocks to
shingle to sand, and crushing and grinding shells from the seafloor. On Tentsmuir Point, probing has
discovered that the sand is over 30 metres deep in places i.e. bedrock has not been reached.
If beach sand is largely made up of shell fragments it tends to be alkaline (pH 7+) in chemical reactions.
The sand on Tentsmuir Point beach is acid (pH 6 and below) in reactions because it is largely made up
of ground down sandstone (Old Red Sandstone), the local bedrock.
Wildlife on the beach
On these shores there are few plants or stones to hide under, so the animals have only one safe place
to go - into the sand. These animals require many adaptations to be able to burrow and find food,
nutrients and oxygen to survive.
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Dunes
Human-physical interactions
Sand dunes and how they form
Mobile sand dunes are very fragile habitats. They may be damaged or broken through naturally, by extra
strong winds or waves. Evidence of this happening are ‘blow outs’, where a channel breaks through
the dune front. Blow outs may be increased by the action of humans - such as walkers, sunbathers,
trail bikes, quad bikes.
For sand dunes to develop, you need:
• plenty of sand - the offshore sand banks are sustained by coastal currents from the Tay and Eden
rivers.
• strong onshore blowing winds - easterly winds blow strongly in Spring and Autumn. Sand grains
bounce along the beach, like Ping-Pong balls on a table.
• obstacles to trap the sand - plants, seaweed, litter.
In the beginning - A small pile of sand builds up around an object on the shore. With time it
continues to build up into a larger mound, eventually reaching above the high water level. This is
called an ‘embryo’ dune. Over a long time, the sand is colonised by an important dune building
plant - marram grass. This grass has huge root systems, going deep (as much as 12m) and ‘runners’
(rhizomes) going across the sand holding the plant firm in the sand. The plant in turn holds the sand in
place and keeps up with the new deposits of sand. It can grow up to a metre a year.
Specialisation - Marram grass is so specialised that it grows best when it is repeatedly buried by loose
sand that would kill most other plants. Another adaptation it has to survive the salty and dry conditions
are its leaves. The leaf is rolled up lengthways to conserve moisture when the sand is dry, together
with a thick skin on the leaf to reduce water loss through evaporation / transpiration.
As the sand becomes more stabilised, other plants are able to grow among the marram grass. Two of
the most common at Tentsmuir Point are sea rocket and sea lyme grass. Eventually the dunes grow so
high on the landward edge of a beach that wind speeds are reduced over the dunes in front, and they
too can grow in a shoreward direction. This area is called the mobile dune.
Stage 1 - Mobile (yellow) dunes
On the landward (sheltered) side of the mobile dunes, more plants are able to establish themselves.
These are mainly perennials (survive year after year) and they increase the stability of the dune until a
complete cover of vegetation is achieved. These completely stable areas are called ‘fixed’ dunes.
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Stage 2 - Dune grassland and dune heath
Fixed dunes are also called grey dunes because of the build up of humus and the cover of lichens
(e.g. dog lichen), giving a greyish hue to the area. As the distance from the shore increases, sand no
longer accumulates and marram grass, unable to compete with the new colonising plants, becomes
less common. Grasses, herbs, and mosses are common - buttercups, dandelions, bird’s foot trefoil,
ragged robin, creeping fescue and sand sedge. This habitat is called dune grassland.
biodiversity beachcombers
The older, drier, grey dunes are then colonised by woody shrubs - heathers, gorse, broom, wild rose
and bramble - and non-native species like rosebay willowherb. This habitat is called dune heath.
This tends to be wet or dry, depending on whether it is on the top of an old dune, or in the hollow
between.
Dune slacks
Between the dunes there are natural hollows, which accumulate freshwater. These areas are called
dune slacks. Because the water table is higher in these areas, and in winter they form shallow lochans,
colonising plants need to be adapted to waterlogged conditions. Here you find mosses, rushes, and
tree/shrub species like willows and alders.
The Alders
Across Tentsmuir Point NNR you will see areas where lines of trees have been retained. These trees
are alders - a native species, resistant to water-logging. They have been left to tell their story. They
stand today marking previous waterlines in the old dune slacks. Alder cones were blown into the water
and washed around. The cones dropped their seed when the water subsided. Over time, the seeds
grew into saplings and later trees. Some are quite tall now.
Stage 3 - Woodland climax
The natural succession would then take us to a woodland climax vegetation - birch, alder, Scots Pine.
As you walk across the grey dune area at Tentsmuir Point you will find a number of tree stumps, from
recently felled trees. This is because dune heath and dune grassland are such rare habitats in
Scotland, that SNH is managing the site to retain the heath and grassland and prevent the transition
to woodland.
Biodiversity Beachcombers focuses on the beach, its physical nature and the processes that form it. It
may also lead into looking at the impact this has on wildlife and the adaptations they have for living in
such a difficult environment.
This is a series of ‘linked’ activities which can be used in sequence or chosen from…a lucky dip at the
seaside.
OBJECTIVE: to experience at first hand the unique Biodiversity of the
seashore - and have fun doing it!
TIME: 1 - 2 hours
WHAT YOU WILL NEED: buckets and spades, clipboards and paper and pencils,
bugboxes, a big stick, an orange, measuring tape, string or yellow wool,
quadrats or hula-hoops (if you are doing the quadrat activity).
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Biodiversity is a word, introduced in 1985, that covers all living things and their habitats. It includes
mammals, birds, insects, trees, flowering herbs, grasses, mosses and lichens and the communities and
habitats (ecosystems) in which they live. It includes not just the total number of species, but also the
genetic variation within species, and the variability of the natural living systems in which they live.
What does Biodiversity include?
Biodiversity is all living things, from the tiny garden ant to the giant redwood tree. You will find biodiversity
everywhere, in window boxes and in wild woods, roadsides and rain forests, snow fields and the sea
shore…We are part of Biodiversity and depend on it for our quality of life…Biodiversity is the living bank
that everyone should invest in.
Biodiversity: The UK Steering Group Report
Before the activity
Discuss with the children what they understand by Biodiversity, ask them to help to complete a list
poem using the letters Biodiversity and writing the names of plants, animals, minibeasts – and people
– beginning with each letter.
What is Biodiversity?
6 Biodiversity is the totality of the world’s living things, including their genetic make up and the
communities they form.
Oxford Children’s Encyclopaedia (OUP 1996)
From morning coffee to evening
night-cap, we benefit in our daily lifestyles
from our fellow species. Without
recognising it, we utilise hundreds of
products each day that owe their origin to
wild plants and animals. Our welfare is
ultimately tied up with the welfare of
Biodiversity.
Why Is Biodiversity valuable?
Biological diversity…is the key to the maintenance of the world as we know it.This is the assembly of life
that took a billion years to evolve. It….created the world that creates us. It holds the world steady.
Professor Edward Wilson
All quotes are from the publication Biodiversity For All: A Toolkit - by the Scottish Biodiversity Group
Foreshore, Backshore
Begin with a walk to the water’s edge, (barefoot if possible, or wear wellies, it is impossible not to want
to walk into the water a little!) Stand in a line and let the water wash over your feet, play around in and
out of the water. Take a little time to watch and experience the seaside. Gather into groups of three or
four and have one child in each simply gather some words – how does it feel, what can they see, what
can they hear, what can they smell! Use these later in the classroom to write some poetry, descriptive
passages and create word collages.
Look out to sea. Who lives in the sea, above the sea? What challenges do sea creatures have to
meet? (storms, predators, pollution… ) Look back on to the land. Who lives there? What challenges
do they have to meet?
The sea and the shore are separate communities or ecosystems. They are interconnected but quite
different. This is an important aspect of Biodiversity…and this particular sea shore is a great place to
see this! Now form a long line along the water’s edge. Put a big stick into the sand just at the edge of
the water and throw an orange into the sea! These are markers to return to throughout your time at the
beach. Remember to pick up the orange afterwards. Ask the children to walk forward in your line to
where they think the average high tide line is. How many paces did they take? This area is the
foreshore and the tide covers and uncovers it twice a day. The area beyond the high tide or strandline
is the backshore. There are very high tides that reach back into the dunes but the strandline - a line of
debris -should be easy to spot.
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Biodiversity across and within the species
Building sand dunes
Ask the children to find four different natural objects along the strandline. Encourage them to have a
good look. As they lift seaweed (there is not much at Tentsmuir) they will disturb sandhoppers. Take
time to catch some in bug boxes and look at them.
If it is a very windy day take a moment to watch how the sand travels across the surface of the beach.
Ask the children to ‘trap’ the sand by building a tiny sand wall. They are building a miniature dune –
sand that remains trapped long enough for marram grass to grow creates stable sand dunes. This
sand trap demonstrates ‘accretion’ if they then wreck a section of their tiny wall watch what happens –
this is ‘erosion’. Ask the class to find evidence of accretion and erosion across the beach and in the
dunes. How could they measure this over time?
Gather together to share the finds in a collage or graph on the sand. This is diversity across species
– an important aspect of Biodiversity. Choose one of the most common shells and ask the children to
find one the same. Ask them to look at it carefully, compare it with their neighbour – how are they
different? Collect the shells, put them in a bag and then see if they can identify ‘their’ shell – this is
diversity within species – another important aspect of Biodiversity.
Now form a straight line from the edge of the sand dunes to the foreshore. Ask the children simply to
work in pairs to dig a hole (with their hands) where they are standing! Does the sand change as they
dig? Ask them to describe how it changes…colour, texture, smell. Did they reach water? Now walk up
and down the line to see if all the sand profiles are the same. Ask ‘Why?’ Collect some of the
different types of sand to study back in the classroom.
Look at the map provided and discuss how the coastline has changed. Talk about disappearing or
collapsing coastal cliff areas, and those building up, sand spits.
Look at the map for Tentsmuir Point showing the change in coastlines over time.
Talk about the tank traps, consider what has happened to the shape of the shoreline. Think about how
they could provide a report which investigates the rate and amount of erosion and deposition of sand at
Tentsmuir accurately – why would we need this information?
Speck of sand game
Spread the children out around a clearly defined area from the backshore to the foreshore or mark out
the four zones: foreshore, strandline, backshore, dunes. Explain the rules:
You are a sand grain. This is your big opportunity to make it as a permanent sand grain living in the
sand dunes. There are four areas to the game:
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Foreshore, Strandline, Backshore,Dunes
When you shout ‘onshore’ an onshore wind is blowing them three giant steps towards the dunes.
When you shout ‘offshore’ an offshore wind is blowing them three giant steps towards the sea.
Suggested follow-up:
Use the shoreline activity sheet to reinforce understanding of the different sections of the shore,
encourage the children to add any other details to their beach picture.
When you shout ‘rain’ they crouch down still – wet sand doesn’t move!
If you reach the sand dune area you link up with the others there and you are safe, protected by the
vegetation.
When you shout ‘storm’ everyone on the foreshore has to return to the sea edge of the foreshore area,
the backshore returns to the foreshore and anyone in the dune area who is at the end of a link also has
to return to the foreshore.
Additional instruction: If you shout out ‘motorbikes in the dunes’ anyone in the dune area has to
return to the strandline
Sand Castles
Build sand castles in three different areas the dry sand, the shoreline and the wet sand. Which
sandcastle is best? Which sandcastle slips and collapses? Can you make a tunnel? Which sand
makes the best tunnel?
Will the animals living in the sand experience the same problems? Where do you think they would
choose to build their house?
How might they have adapted the way they burrow?
Life Down Under
Life Down Under focuses on the adaptations of animals, living on top and under the surface of the
sand, to their environment. These animals play a valuable role as food for other animals living
along a beach. Most commonly found are the burrowing lugworm, which leaves the characteristic
wiggly castings and feeds on the organic matter on the surface of the sand.
Divide the young people into groups. Each group is given a square or circle to investigate. Use
quadrats or hula hoops. For each square or circle the following observations are made:
Look at the position in relation to high and low water-marks. Record what can be found on the
surface – shells/seaweed how many different types? Look for lugworm casts. If there are many,
count them.
Dig out a spadeful of sand from the marked area. Take care to dig straight down and deep to
reduce risk of harming animals. Wash the sand through the sieve with sea water, place any
animals carefully in the white trays containing sea water and some sand.
When the animals have been looked at fill in the holes and put the animals in a dip on the top of
the sand, with a little sea water over them. Watch them burrow back into the sand.
Create a beach table
Create a beach table at school. Collect a bucket of sand and spread it on a table, place the objects
collected from the beach along the strandline on the sand, creating a natural effect.
Take a small sample of the beach sand, and set it up for everyone to see under a microscope. If you
have a chance obtain a sample of shell sand (from the West coast or garden centre) for comparison.
Use reference books to find out what all the natural things they brought back from the strandline are shells, seaweed, egg cases, cuttlefish, crab shells or legs. Wash anything that might get smelly.
Make drawings of the different animals; create a display.
Design a seaside t-shirt
You will need:
Paper, pencils, felt pens, large sheets of paper for mounting
From natural items collected at the beach and any seaside pictures available (the ones in this pack
may be photocopied ), ask the children to complete the following exercise:
Stage 1: Draw from the items in pencil looking at line and pattern (on the shells). Share the items
around the class so that everyone has 3 - 4 drawings. Mount all the drawings on one sheet.
Stage 2: Each child has 3/4 colours of felt pen (designs can be stronger if colour is limited) and they
draw from their drawings, simplifying the shapes and repeating the patterns. Play with the images
created to explore different ideas.
Stage 3: Finalise the design by editing and selecting.
Stage 4: Mount all the drawings onto large sheets of paper. Summarise the process with notes
- Why did a certain colour or image work better etc.
Transfer paper can be purchased to use on a laser printer if you can scan the images.
biodiversity beachcombers
In coloured pen or pencil write down on this map where the foreshore, backshore, strandline
and dunes are. Draw arrows pointing in the direction of an onshore wind. Write onshore
beside your arrow. Do the same for offshore.
diversity across the species
Draw a picture in each box of a creature you saw at the beach
Description:
Think about colour, shape, number of legs and where you found your creature!
Diversity within the species (use coloured pencils)
Draw three of the same shells. Look at the different colours in them and the slightly different
shape. See if you can show this in your drawing.
How has the coastline changed over time?
What do you think caused this?
Do you remember what accretion and erosion is ? Write it down.
Accretion
Erosion
How does a sand dune form
Use books to identify what you have found – what do they eat?
2/32
critter cards
tentsmuir players present
....life on a beach
✃
Cathy Crab
Cathy Crab started life as a small funny
looking creature floating in the sea. Then
she grew up into an adult crab with four
pairs of walking legs and two large
pincers with which it grabs its prey.
Crabs continue to grow as adults and
have to shed their skin, hiding when they
do so as they emerge from the old shell
soft and easily eaten. They are fierce,
fast moving predators that eat limpets,
barnacles, fish, mussels and seaweed.
✃
OBJECTIVE: to understand the life cycles of the animals that inhabit
Tentsmuir Point through creating a simple drama performance.
TIME: 1 hour
Larry the Lugworm
LOCATION: on the dry sand, or in the classroom.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED: enough copies of the critter cards to allow the class to
work in groups of two or three.
The Activity
Sort the class into small groups, preferably pairs.
Give each group a critter card with the facts on the back. Allow time to ‘practise’ the life cycle of
the critter and be ready to present it to the rest of the class. (Tip: one could read the facts whilst
the others act it out).
Find or draw a suitable stage area in the sand/sand dunes and seat the class around as if they
are the audience. Invite the children on to the stage in pairs in dramatic fashion: “Tentsmuir players present John and Fiona as Eddie the Eider Duck”
Larry the Lugworm is long and thin. He lives under the sand in a u-shaped tube type
burrow and strengthens the walls of his burrow with mucous (spit!). He can move by pulling
in and pushing out his tummy. He has feathery gills in the middle of his body. He moves
backward in his burrow to pooh- this appears on the surface as coils of sand. He moves
forward when the tide is in to feed by sooking in sandy water – this leaves a depression in the
sand with a wee hole in the middle. Fishermen dig up lugworms to use as bait – poor Larry!
critter cards
✃
critter cards
Ollie the Oystercatcher
Susie the Seaweed
Ollie the Oystercatcher started life in an egg
laid in a simple scrape in the sand. As a
downy chick he was well camouflaged and
would sit quite still in the sand to avoid
predators. He grew up into a very proud bird
with a long orange bill and pale pink legs.
His favourite song is a loud pic-pic-pic. He
uses his bill as a probe to find food in the
sand. He is very strong and can open shells
such as cockles and mussels by prising his
bill into the shell. Scandinavian and Icelandic
birds join Scottish oystercatchers during the
winter (ask some other folk to join in and
speak in foreign voices).
Susie Seaweed begins her life as a spore, floating gently
around in the water before finding a good place to live.
There are three groups of seaweed: green and brown
seaweed like the sun, and red seaweed likes the shade.
Susie is a brown seaweed and she grows close to the
shore in a huge forest providing hiding places for lots of
sea dwelling creatures. She is left on the shore at low tide
where she can be found lying on the sand providing
shelter for lots of small creatures like the sand hopper. At
high tide she stands up tall and waves about in the water
getting energy from the sun and nutrients from the sea
water - her skin includes air bubbles that help her stand
upright in the water. She has big strong root systems –
often attached to rocks- these are called ‘hold fasts’ and
will hold her steady even during big storms.
✃
Sindy the Seal
Sindy lives in shallow water close to the
shore but she spends most of her time
lying around on rocks or sand banks.
She looks very fat. When she decides
to swim she lumbers awkwardly on her
belly into the water and then swims
beautifully smoothly and strongly, blowing
out air loudly through her nostrils when
she wants to dive. She can stay under
water, holding her breath for up to 20
minutes chasing and catching fish,
octopus and squid. When under water
she can reduce her heartbeat from 150
to 10 per minute.
✃
✃
Sandy the Sand hopper
Sandy the Sand hopper wriggles all the time! His body is very flat sideways and he has four
antennae on his head and twelve legs on his body – six are jumping legs to help him hop. He
can burrow in the sand and under seaweed where he hides during the day. At night he likes to
spring along happily in the wet sand close to the water feeding on small pieces of plant and
animals. He only lives for just over a year
and it is only when he is dead that we can
see his body parts clearly as they are no
longer whizzing about!
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critter cards
✃
Eddie the Eider Duck
scavenger hunt
Eddie the Eider started life in an egg laid in a hollow
in the sand dunes and lined with vegetation and a
thick mass of down which was pulled over him to
keep him warm (like a downie: feather downies are
made from eider down feathers). Almost as soon
as he hatched his mum took him down to the sea
to swim. He is very beautiful with a white head and
a black ‘mask’ over his eyes. He makes a low,
gentle ‘coo, coo’ sound. Eddie has a strong
triangular bill, which slopes down from his
forehead. He dives for food, staying underwater for as long as a minute – he likes to eat
mussels and can also catch and eat crabs. Eddie and the rest of the Tay eiders are very
important - they form one of the largest flocks in the UK in winter when they are joined by
Danish and Dutch eiders (ask some others to join in and speak in foreign voices).
The Scavenger Hunt activity is drawn form Joseph Cornell’s Sharing Nature with Children
OBJECTIVE: to raise awareness of the natural environment through exploration.
TIME: 30 - 45 minutes
LOCATION: you may use the activity as a means of getting from one place to
another, for example from the beach back to the track, or to explore a
defined area on the reserve.
YOU WILL NEED: a copy of the list for each group and collecting bags.
The Activity
Begin the activity by explaining to the group that they are going to explore the wonders of this
natural place as scavengers. Divide the group into pairs– no live animals or living plants to be
collected.
Having collected all the items, each pair returns with their findings and arranges them on the
ground. Each pair can then share and discuss their findings with other pairs in the group as they
return.
Items of real interest from the various groups can be taken back to school for further study and or
display. All other items are scattered carefully, by the young people, through the area where they
were collected - returned to nature.
On the list there are items which may need explaining:
1. everything in nature is important to something else.
2. a sun trap is anything that catches the sun’s heat or energy - leaves or plants, animals, water,
rocks and sand.
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scavenger hunt
Collect only natural things that you can return safely and without damage
journey sticks
1. a feather
2. something blunt
3. something bright
4. as many different shells as you can find
5. something straight
6. something important to nature
7. a chewed something
8. exactly 10 of something
9. something that makes a noise
10. a sun trap
11. something blown by the wind
12. something that can harm nature
13. something slimy
OBJECTIVE: to raise awareness of the natural environment through observation
and creative process.
14. something that can float
15. a footprint or a smile!
TIME: 2 hours. This activity can be divided into two parts, 45 minutes - 1
hour on-site collecting the ‘evidence’ and bagging it up.
The making of the
sticks could be done back at school, preferably out of doors.
LOCATION: exploring the reserve or during a walk. YOU WILL NEED: bags for
‘collecting’ their mementoes, lots of scissors, wool, some ‘spare’ sticks.
2/40
making a journey stick information sheet
How to do it
Let the group explore the site to be mapped. While they are walking around, encourage the young
people to collect mementoes of their journey - of those places or things on the way that ‘stood out’ for
them - the exciting and secret places and things that they would like to share with someone else. Ask
them to find an attractive ‘stick’ - this will form the base of their ‘map’.
Once the everyone has completed their journey, they can start binding wool and objects together onto
their stick as part of their journey story - building up their map.
A journey stick is a personal record, but to be most effective it needs to be shared. Start by
encouraging individuals to find a friend who went on a different journey, and swap their stories - let
them get to know the site through each other’s eyes.
Above all, the power of the journey stick lies in the personal ownership it gives the creator - it is their
story, a colourful, personal and special record of their visit. It is unique.
Before the Activity
Useful ways of getting started:
My journey began in the early morning - the sky was clear and blue, birds were singing and the
sun was rising (pale blue wool, feathers and an orange and yellow ‘sun’ weaving).
At the start of my walk I walked across a heather area, covered with fallen leaves, and there I
stopped to marvel at their colours. (Purple and green wool with heather twigs, grass and coloured
leaves woven in.)
Moving on across an open area, carpeted with a greyish lichen, I came across a lone alder tree,
on the edge of the dunes. (Grey wool with pieces of lichen and alder cones woven in.)
I followed a path across the sand dunes. The spiky marram grass tickled my bare legs. I listened
to the wind through the grass (pale yellow with marram grass woven in, and white wool strands for
the wind.)
As I returned I spent most time on the beach, letting the sand push through my toes and
searching the strandline for shells, and other fascinating things, natural and man-made.
Thinking - where did they start their journey? I paddled in the waves, following their curved fronts.
The going home was much as the coming. (Yellow wool, with plaited blue wool making a wave
shape, a cockle shell strung on.)
Tell the story that
• A journey stick is ‘delivered’ to school with a note from an old man who wants to share with the
group the wonders of Tentsmuir Point NNR. He thinks the best idea is for them to go and create
their own journey sticks of the place, and find out what a wonderful place it is.
• Take some time to think about maps and journeys - what do they mean to us, as a society, and
as individuals? Look at the different kinds of maps available - old ones, modern ones, mind
maps, tapes, try maps etc.
• Read some early traveller’s journals - David Livingstone, Scott, Shackleton; research native
American Indian and Australian aboriginal cultures and ways of recording journeys. In many
ancient cultures (e.g. Australian aborigines), recording an event takes place in several different
ways - songs and stories, dance, drawings or tokens.
1.
This activity is adapted from Gordon Maclellan’s book Talking to the Earth.
2. You don’t need to start at one end and work right to the other.
Suggested follow up
3.
Keep talking - if only to yourself. Everything that goes onto the stick is part of the story of your
journey. Talking helps you tie object, colour and happening together.
4.
Be adventurous - think about colour. Wool may reflect changing colours in the environment,
the sky, how you feel. Create shapes out of things you have found: pools woven from their
rushes, a 5-bar gate, a building.
If there is time, the young people could lead each other across the site on ‘guided tours’ using
their journey sticks.
Back at school, create a display of the site mapped out and interpreted using the journey sticks.
Write to a descendant of the old man (SNH staff) to come and visit the school and share the
journey sticks with them.
Tell the story of their journey sticks on video camera, using interview techniques.
When wrapping, keep the wool tight, feeding one colour into the next, so no unexplained bits
of twig are exposed.
A bare end gives space to
push the finished journey stick into the ground, or a trough of sand - a useful display method.
If you work right to the end, does that mean you have finished your journey and you have
nowhere else to go? Do journeys ever end?
5. Special objects can be added out of sequence to show their importance: a single boot on
the shore.
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2/43
plants on the move
Plants are the first colonisers of a new area and they have to adapt to a combination of wind exposure,
drought, salty conditions and sand lacking humus or nutrients.
The process by which plant communities create conditions allowing new species to invade is called
ecological succession. This helps to establish a new coastline and enables other vegetation and
associated animal communities to settle there.
Before the activity
Sampling with Quadrats
Discuss the idea of looking at a large area and the idea of sampling. Practise using quadrats/hula
hoops and counting different plants on the grass in the school grounds or in a local park.
Construct and use a simple plant key.
If you are looking at different plant groups, introduce the words and whether the plants are
flowering or non-flowering; introduce fungi as neither plants or animals, living only off dead plant
and animal matter. Look at some pictures of the different plant groups.
Use the information sheet to aid identification of plant groups.
Plant treasure hunt
This activity focuses on the way that plants move to colonise an area, and how they are adapted to be
‘first’ colonisers, or later followers, as conditions change. It can be an opportunity to look at different
plant groups and to concentrate on the process of succession and adaptation.
There are a variety of activities for different levels and age groups.
OBJECTIVE: to learn skills in field studies and plant identification;
understanding ecological succession.
TIME: 1 - 2 hours
LOCATION:
see link of tank traps identified on the activity location plan.
YOU WILL NEED: activity sheets, quadrats/hulahoops (1 per group). coloured
pencils, identification.
The Treasure Hunt is a good starting
point for observing and learning about
plants. Make sure that no-one picks
any live plants. Each student should
be given a copy of the treasure hunt
activity sheet. After completing their
individual hunt they may wish to see if
they can find each others’ plants using
the drawings and descriptions – a
good test of field skills!
2/44
dune plants treasure hunt
Plant succession survey
Level C – D: Use plant survey recording form.
This activity can be done by walking from the beach into the dunes in an approximately straight
line. Ask the students to stop where they think there is a change in the vegetation. Survey each
different area of vegetation as you cross into it - start in the dunes with marram grass; where the
marram has disappeared; in a wet hollow area, on the top of an old dune and so on. The
quadrats are thrown down randomly.
Level E – F: Use plant survey recording form 2.
You will need transect lines made of two bamboo poles joined with a length of string,
measuring tapes, bamboo poles, quadrats/ hula-hoops.
Divide the group into smaller groups of 3-4. Each group takes a transect line from the tank traps
or woodland fence to the beach which crosses the different dune areas. Place the bamboo
where it is observed the nature of the vegetation changes significantly. Measure the length of the
transect from tank trap or woodland to beach edge. Record at which points (paces or metres) the
vegetation changes, and observe whether it is connected with a change of slope, anything else,
or just the distance from the sea. Place the quadrats at regular intervals e.g. 2 or 3 metres.
Draw, describe and, if possible, identify the plants or plant groups by using the identification charts
and keys provided. Count/estimate the number of each species present and measure the height
of the tallest plant.
Extension activity: record the % vegetation cover of each quadrat - <25%, 25-50%, 50-75%,
>75%, or use fractions. Any other observations they may consider important at the site, including
adaptations of plants to environment can be recorded. [At each quadrat site, within the group,
they swap roles, so that everyone has a turn at recording, pacing or measuring, observing and
identifying.]
Find the following five plants. Do not pick any flowers. Fill in the gaps and in the
box draw a picture of the plant.
1. A plant with white flowers
The plant is
cm tall
Its leaves are
and I found it
2. A spiky plant
The plant is
cm tall
Its leaves are
and I found it
3. A flower with ragged petals or ragged leaves
The plant is
cm tall
Its leaves are
and I found it
While still at the site, compare the variety of plants growing on the youngest dunes with that of the
oldest dunes and dune hollows. What does that suggest about the animal communities?
4. A tall plant
The plant is
Suggested follow up
• Combine the results of each group. Create a summary table. Demonstrate how to draw up a bar
graph - make a graph for number of species against length along the transect (age of dune - old to
young).
cm tall
Its leaves are
and I found it
• Make a line or bar graph showing height of tallest plant against length along transect (age of dune).
• Explain their findings. The graphs should illustrate how there is a greater variety (and more plants in
total) of species on the oldest dunes. As the plants live and die, the organic matter accumulates,
creating soil and enabling a greater variety of plants to thrive.
• Discuss the adaptations the plants have for living and surviving where they did -leaves, flowers, roots,
low to the ground to get out of the wind (except grasses, because they are so streamlined).
• Develop a display illustrating ecological succession on the dunes.
• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of managing the dunes to keep the grassland and
heathland, and prevent woodland regeneration.
5. A rare plant (ask the reserve manager)
The plant is
Its leaves are
and I found it
cm tall
key to plant groups
main plant groups information sheet
In the circle note down where you found your plant
1
plants with green leaves, or similar
go to 3
2
plants without green leaves, or similar
go to 17
3
plants with woody stems protected by bark
go to 5
4
plants without woody stems
go to 7
5
flowering plants with large, single, woody stems growing very tall
when adult (over 5m)
trees
flowering plants with many woody stems growing not as tall when
adult (less than 12m) often less than 2m high
shrubs
7
flowering plants producing seeds, or new plants
go to 9
8
non-flowering plants, producing spores
go to 13
9
plants with stems, coloured flowers, seeds, and broad leaves
with veins
herbs
plants with round stems, flowers, seeds, and narrow or round
leaves
go to 11
11
plants with round stems and flat or curled leaves
grasses
12
plants with round leaves and stems with flowering parts
rushes
13
plants growing on land
go to 15
14
plants growing in freshwater, or the sea
algae/seaweed
15
plants growing upright or flat to the ground
leaves (fronds) are tightly coiled when young
spores form in sacs on underside of frond
ferns
plants growing low to the ground, like cushions producing capsules
on stems with spores inside
leaves in spirals around stem
mosses
17
plants that grow on land, rocks or rotten matter
go to 19
18
primitive plants growing in freshwater or the sea
may produce spores, may be attached or float
algae/seaweed
19
plants mainly grey - green in colour as a crust, or leafy growth on
sand or other plants. A fungus and alga living together
lichens
plants with fruiting bodies (toadstools), of any colour - red, orange,
brown, containing spores
fungi
6
10
16
20
trees
shrubs
herbs
grasses
rushes
ferns
mosses
lichens
fungi
some dune plants information sheet
plant survey recording form 1
See the SNH Reserve Manager for full colour keys
Some common and less common herbs
Site grid ref:
Group number:
flowers in spring - early summer
Cowslip
Daisy
Primrose
Dandelion
Bluebell
Buttercup
Cuckoo flower
Spear Thistle
Germander Speedwell
Creeping Thistle
Early Purple Orchid
flowers in full summer
Thrift
survey
quadrat
number of
different plants
number
most
common plant
describe/draw/name plant
1
nearest
the beach
as well as the above
Ragwort
Tufted Vetch
Bird’s foot Trefoil
Common Vetch
Common Wintergreen
Purple Milk Vetch
Creeping Ladies-Tresses
Meadowsweet
Red Clover
Pennywort
White Clover
Red Campion
Sea Sandwort
White Campion
Hawksbeard
Coralroot Orchid
Mouse-ear
Pansy
2
3
4
5
Creeping Willow
flowers in late summer - autumn
Ragged Robin
Grass-of-Parnassus
Cross-leaved Heath
Common Centaury
Ling Heather
Seaside Centaury
Yellow Rattle
Sea Campion
Northern Marsh Orchid
Stitchwort
Pyramidal Orchid
Sea Rocket
Adderstongue (fern)
Groundsel
6
What do you notice about the number of plants?
What do you notice about the height of the plants?
height
(tallest plant)
centimetres
2/51
plant survey recording form 2
Site grid ref:
survey
quadrat
Group number:
birds, bills and behaviour
length
along line
kinds of
plant species
most
common plant
height
(tallest plant)
metres
number
name plant/group
centimetres
teachers’ notes
Important International Site for Birds
Tentsmuir Point and the Tay Estuary is an area of international importance for wintering waders and
wildfowl (geese and ducks ).
Waders
1
2
You will notice that many species of waders live in the same area. They can get along because they
are different sizes, with different lengths of legs and bills adapted to different ways of feeding and
preferred foods. This also helps their identification. Looking at the birds’ bills and their feeding
behaviour is one way you can use to tell some of the birds apart. You can also see how well adapted
the birds are to their environment.
The birds come to feed on the mudflats and sand, digging with their bills, or diving in the shallow
intertidal waters. Most of the animals living in the mud and sand are invertebrates - lugworms, cockles,
ragworms.
Table of Waders and Wildfowl most likely
to be seen at Tentsmuir Point
3
4
5
6
Other observations at survey sites
1
2
Waders most likely to
be seen
Waterfowl most likely to
be seen
Oystercatcher
Common Eider
Dunlin
Common Scoter
Redshank
Common Shelduck
Curlew
Tufted Duck
Knot
Red-breasted Merganser
Ringed Plover
Goosander
Sanderling
Greylag Geese
Grey Plover
Pink-footed Geese
Bar tailed Godwit
Whimbrel
3
4
5
6
Other birds you may see include gulls, herons and occasional small birds - skylarks, take time to look
and listen to these birds as well - make comparisons.
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Adaptations - legs
Some birds have long legs because they need to walk through deep water. Having long legs also
means that the bird can look down into the water to see its food and surprise it. Those birds with short
legs often run along the water’s edge looking for snails in the sand - some bend their legs and dip up
and down, some are stiff legged and look like clockwork toys.
birds, bills and behaviour
Webbed feet allow for better swimming.
Adaptations - bills
Most birds’ bills show adaptations for feeding. Long beaks help them reach food deep in sand or mud;
curved bills allow stones to be turned over, or move seaweed disturbing insects; short bills can scoop
up animals on or near the surface; sharp bills can puncture shells; blunt, flat bills allow successful
spooning and sieving, strong; sharp bills allow shells to be split apart.
Behaviour
Some birds will be loafing (staying in the same place doing nothing in particular), others may be resting
on or off the water with their heads tucked under their wings, or busy washing and preening their
feathers. Many will be feeding, flying or walking/running.
Conservation
Wildfowl issues - when considering issues about the conservation of waders and wildfowl, remember
that some species of wildfowl are still hunted and eaten today - duck and geese. Shooting is strictly
controlled within ‘seasons’ to prevent the death of chicks and feeding parents. Even so, uncontrolled
shooting still occurs in Scotland.
Members of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) conform to an accepted
Code of Practice - this recognises that the protection of birds is important for their survival. Not all
wildfowlers are members of BASC.
These activities focus on the wonderful bird-life of the seashore. They look at the main features of
coastal water birds (waders and wildfowl in particular), their feeding habits and their adaptations to how
and where they live.
OBJECTIVE: to introduce bird watching and identification.
TIME: 1 hour
LOCATION: at the north end of the Reserve
activity location plan. Otherwise use the
the sand banks. The best conditions are a
strong winds, early morning (before 1030)
at halfway tide(nearer to high tide).
- see area identified on the
southern end of the reserve around
fine clear day with no rain or
or late afternoon (after 1500)and
YOU WILL NEED: as many pairs of binoculars and telescopes as possible,
Activity sheets and reference sheet.
The best months to see wintering waders and wildfowl (geese, ducks and swans) are September to
April. At most times of year oystercatchers, curlew, redshank, eider duck, knot, black-headed gulls and
herring gulls may be found.
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bird identity and habitats
Before the Activity
Your name:
Date:
Look at pictures of the waders and wildfowl you are most likely to see. Discuss ways of telling them
apart. Practise using binoculars and telescopes. Discuss how the group needs to behave for a
successful birdwatching expedition.
What will the group record, what will they observe and what conclusions will they draw?
bird checklist
bird
name
(no.)
what is it doing?
where is it?
Oystercatcher
Eider duck
Curlew
Dunlin
Stage 1 - Bird identity and habits
Redshank
Observing and identifying: Choose your observation site on the edge of the dunes, with a good view
of the shorebirds. Sit still and quietly. Sharing the binoculars and scanning the birds, wait until the
birds are settled (for 5-10 minutes). How many different kinds of bird can you see?
Grey plover
Recording and counting: As a group, identify the seven different bird species on the shoreline:
oystercatcher, eider duck, shag, curlew, dunlin, redshank and grey plover. Tick each one you identify
on the recording sheet. If you are able to count them, also write down the number or guestimate. Also
observe what they are doing, and whereabouts they are. Can you identify any other bird species?
Others:
Stage 2 - Fitted for feeding
Observing and recording bills and other adaptations: In pairs, or as a small group, take some time
to observe one particular bird, quietly describing to each other its different characteristics.
What is it doing? Select from:
Where is it? Select from:
• loafing
• on the water far out
Complete recording form: Complete a sketch. Comparing the bill (beak) length of waders and the
depth at which invertebrates live in the mud/sand. Complete descriptions of how it is fitted for feeding.
• resting/sleeping
• on the water close in
• swimming
• in the water’s edge - in wave zone
Observing other evidence from the sand: On the way back along the shore look out for signs of
activity - bird prints, hollows and holes in the sand, piles of lugworm casts, imprints of small animals
moving across the sand - worm trails, prints, peck marks etc. Before leaving the beach form a circle
and share what everyone had found most interesting from watching the birds so carefully. What
surprised you and what fascinated you?
• washing
• along the water’s edge - not in wave zone
• preening
• on the sandy beach
• feeding
• other
• flying
• walking/running/hopping
information sheet
fitted for feeding information sheet
food from the sand
gr
ey
plo
du
ve
nli
r
n
kn
ot
re
ds
ha
nk
bla
ck
-ta
ile
d
oy
go
ste
dw
rc
it
atc
he
r
ba
r-t
ail
ed
go
dw
it
cu
rle
w
lap
wi
ng
rin
ge
d
plo
ve
r
Waders’ beaks:
Depth
(mm)
0
10
dunlin
grey plover
redshank
sanderling
bartailed godwit
knot
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Invertebrates in the sand and mud, and how deep they live
cockle
bivalve mollusc
(up to 40mm)
sandhopper
(up to 40mm)
lugworm
(up to 200mm)
hydrobid snails
(on/near surface)
tillin
bivalve mollusc
(up to 50mm)
crab
(on/near surface)
ragworm
(up to 200mm)
peppery furrow
bivalve mollusc
(up to 150mm)
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digital imaging
our day at the beach
Before the activity
Ensure that you know how to use the digital camera and software before you take it on site and how
to change the batteries whilst out of the classroom. Digital cameras use a lot of battery power and
memory. You want it to last all day and give everyone a chance to take photographs.
The Activity
The camera is a wonderful tool to encourage looking closely at the environment. Young people
have a natural sense of composition and should be allowed to snap happily to gain confidence in
the use of the camera. The cameras should be shared throughout the day.
After the activity
OBJECTIVE: to explore the reserve and make a record of the trip through
digital media.
TIME: this activity could take place throughout the day with follow – up time
in the classroom.
YOU WILL NEED: a digital camera, (extra memory and extra battery power), a
computer with an editing software package.
Your camera should have a picture transfer system to download onto your computer. Only a simple
editing package is needed to make a collage.
Suggested Follow-up
• A collage diary of the day with text captions
• A power-point presentation of the Reserve
• A simple web site of the Reserve
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singing seals
teachers’ notes
At Tentsmuir Point there is some seasonal fluctuation of numbers
Grey seal - peak numbers about 2 000
The grey seals favour the Abertay Sands and the sandbank in front of the old lookout tower. They
breed in summer and the pups must moult from white to a dark coat
before they can swim, which takes several weeks after birth. Seal
pups use the anti-tank blocks as well as the dune edge for shelter.
The Common seals have a smaller, stepped profile to their face and
forward facing nostrils - like a dog. Some say they look as if they
would wear a flat cap.
Common seal
Common seal - peak numbers about 750
They use all the sandbanks and the southern foreshore. They breed in autumn and the single
pups are able to swim and dive almost immediately.
The seals are easily disturbed by dogs and people.
There are two species of seal in Scotland - Atlantic grey seals (grey) and harbour, or common
seals (common). Seals are abundant at Tentsmuir Point. However, neither species are common
world-wide, thereforeTentsmuir Point is an important breeding site and we
have a responsibility to protect the seals.
Atlantic Grey Seals are most easily told apart when in the water, by the
shape of their head and position of their nostrils. The Greys have a larger
head with a straight Roman nose and sideways facing nostrils.
Some say they look as if they are wearing a top hat.
Seal hunting - Seals used to be hunted for their fur. Grey and common seals were both hunted in
Shetland until recently. Seals are seen as a problem by fishermen, especially when their numbers
start to increase. At Tentsmuir in the early 1990s around 800 seals were a common sight. A
decade later, around 2 000 seals may be seen on the sandbanks. They like to eat salmon and
individual seals have been known to cause problems at fishing stations - damaging nets and eating fish.
Seal Culls - There is no doubt that seals eat a significant quantity of fish, and will eat whatever fish
they catch - commercial and non-commercial - this makes them often unpopular with the fishing
industry. They can be seen to compete with fishermen for the same prey species. The arguments for and against a cull of seals to improve fish stocks for the fishing industry are wellrehearsed.
However, the relationship between fish numbers and seal numbers is not fully understood. Rising
numbers of seals are not necessarily responsible for declining fish stocks. The controls on fish
stocks are complex and certainly as much to do with human exploitation and impacts such as
pollution. Predation by mammals only has a marginal effect on total fish stocks.
Seabirds and porpoises together take more fish than seals. It does not follow that a cull of seals
would increase the amount of fish available to fishermen.
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singing seals
Seals are warm-blooded mammals like ourselves. Their friendly faces are familiar to most people
who have visited Tentsmuir Point. This, and their ungainly movements on the sandbanks, belie
their true nature. They are hunters and under the water are streamlined swimmers able to speed
through the water after their prey - mainly fish.
Seals are abundant at Tentsmuir Point and Scotland has a large proportion of the world’s overall
population of both common and grey seals. However, neither species are common world-wide.
In an international context Tentsmuir Point is an important breeding site and we have a
responsibility to protect the seals.
Before your Visit
Read and discuss the poems, ‘We, the Seals’ and ‘Singing Seals’
• Practise using binoculars and the telescope in the school grounds.
• Discuss the important things about wildlife watching - being quiet, moving slowly and smoothly,
observing carefully.
The Activity
Find a comfortable spot from where you have good views of the seals on the sandbanks. Share
the binoculars and focus on the sea.
Observe the seals - are there both grey and common seals, about how many? What are they
doing? Are they making any noises? Do they look calm or are they disturbed? Are they diving
under water, time how long they stay underwater - how long can people hold their breath for - try it
and see!
Ask everyone to think of one or two words that describe the seals, or their feelings about them.
Write the words in the damp sand with a stick. Which words sound good together – see if the
group can make a poem or the beginnings of a story. Alternatives are to create a seal rap, a word
spiral, or a simple performance.
Seals encourages young people to use the expressive arts in the study of wildlife, using words
and pictures.
Write this up for use in the classroom.
Encourage everyone to make a sand-sketch of a particular seal, or a group of seals, then do a
pencil drawing.
OBJECTIVE: to observe and record the seals at Tentsmuir, using poetry and the
expressive arts.
TIME: 1 - 2 hours
Before you leave, use a circle to find out what everyone liked the best about the seals and the
activities.
LOCATION: on the southern foreshore, just beyond the standing lookout post see activity location plan.
YOU WILL NEED: clipboards, sheets of paper for drawing or writing, pencils
(HB, B).
Suggested follow up
Create a seal gallery in the classroom or school hall with all the sketches, stories and poems.
Take a visit to the rescued seals at the St Andrew’s Sea Life Centre.
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We, The Seals
fur like moss
the smell of wet warmth
rolling on the sandbank
blubber
sleeping sunbathers
ungainly limbs
heavy weights
safety in numbers
smooth swimmer
cool
Some say that we are the hounds of Neptune;
Whereas others say we are angels that fell from Heaven.
Some say that we are the souls of the drowned;
Whereas others say we are enchanted humans.
Some say that we are angels that fell from Heaven;
Whereas others say we are neither fish nor beast.
Some say that we are enchanted humans;
Whereas others say we are the children of the deep.
Some say that we are neither fish nor beast;
Whereas others say we sound like dogs barking.
Some say that we are the children of the deep;
Whereas others say we can sing like sirens.
Some say that we sound like dogs barking;
Whereas others say we are the hounds of Neptune.
Some say that we can sing like sirens;
Whereas others say we are the souls of the drowned.
Poem by Gordon Meade
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Singing Seals
The heads
Of unbodied seals
In Berwick harbour.
First one,
Then another.
We're able to count
Three at least.
Surfacing with only a ripple,
They submerge with even less.
But in their time
Above water, in their few
moments
Of air-breath, their heads hold
ours.
You ask
If they'd like
Your singing.
I speak of theirs.
Of legends. Of one-eyed
Sedna and her severed fingers.
Of fallen
Angels and humans
Under spells.
Of Eskimo rituals
And the culled soul's
Three day search for heaven.
You start humming
In a more than human tongue
And up they come again.
Poem by Gordon Meade.
‘Singing Seals’ first appeared in the publication ‘Singing Seals’
making connections
OBJECTIVE: to look at the flow of energy through food chains and food webs.
TIME: 30 - 45 minutes
LOCATION: anywhere on site.
YOU WILL NEED: book illustrating marine plankton, ball of yellow wool.
Plants, animals and their physical surroundings should not be studied in isolation from each other.
There is no need to get hooked up on naming things. Instead, look for examples of how things are
interacting and depending on each other when you are out there on the reserve.
Before the Activity
Introduce the terms - producer and consumer - primary and secondary, and herbivore, carnivore,
omnivore, detritivore and decomposer.
The activity
The best time to introduce the idea of food chains or webs is just after the group have eaten
something so that they can relate to what has just been eaten.
All food chains start with the sun.
Ask the question: “ Give me the name of a food you’ve just eaten which doesn’t originate from the
sun’s energy?”
Ask the children to make a chain to work out where their food originated from
For example:
milk …. Cow - grass - sun
crisps…. Potatoes - sun
sausages… pork or beef! Pig or cow - plants - sun
the sun is the source of energy for all living things
(it has now been discovered that some deep ocean communities are powered by sulphide gases,
but all terrestrial food chains are powered by the sun)
Food chains
The simplest way of looking at interrelationships between plants and animals is to look at a food chain showing the feeding relationships, and the flow of energy between plants and animals from the sun.
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Food chains:
Take a walk on the beach. Use it as a final activity after watching the birds or seals on the shore or
looking at the life in the sand.
Talk about the plants and animals in the sea that they can’t see - plankton (have some pictures to show
them) - animal and plant plankton are microscopic wildlife floating in the sea, in millions, providing food
for many sea-living creatures i.e.from barnacles to whales.
Look at the shells on the beach - these are all empty, but once held animals within them, what did they
feed on? and what fed on them?
When you have discovered enough creatures (alive and dead!) to form a food chain, divide the children
into small groups. In their small groups they each chose what they will be (not forgetting the sun) and link
arms or hold hands in the relevant order, forming a food chain.
Foodwebs:
Ask everyone to spread out into a large circle. Take a ball of yellow wool or string (explain that it
represents the sun’s energy) and ask a volunteer to be the sun.
Ask what are the smallest plants in the sea catching the sun’s energy - plant plankton, and the largest
plants in the sea - seaweed. Connect both of these to the sun with wool.
What eats plant plankton? - animal plankton, whale, barnacle. Connect these into the web and
continue in a similar fashion for sea weed. Continue through the food web, as shown in the diagram, or
as you design it, until everyone is linked up.
Remember to ask what happens to the plants and animals when they die - there are several scavengers
and detritus eaters that feed on this material. Ask about the advantages of being a scavenger.
Foodwebs
The more complex story is that all life is interdependent and ultimately dependent on the sun. Many
larger animals eat more than one thing, so they fit into several food chains. These foodchains link
together to form a foodweb.
A simple seashore food chain
When everyone is linked up, you can demonstrate some of the problems human activity has brought to
natural food webs - anything effected has to lie down or pull the strings it holds, anything that feels the
string being pulled also lies down and so on.
Look at, and discuss the effect of: oil pollution effecting plankton
overfishing small fish
The sun is
the source
of all
energy
Plants use the sun’s
energy to make food
through the process
of photosynthesis
Plant eaters
(herbivores)
eat plants
Meat eaters
(carnivores)
eat other animals
and may in turn
be eaten by
other carnivores
Scavengers
(detritivores)
eat dead and
decaying
plant and
animal material
disease effecting mussels, or salmon
Suggested follow up
• Recreate the food chain or web as a wall display, or a 3D representation; provide young people
with A4 sheet to write down the food chain or web for themselves.
• Carry out more research on the animals and plants, finding illustrations or information to add to
the display.
• Most food chains have only 3 - 4 links, some may be longer - set it as a challenge to find the
longest.
• Go and visit a local woodland, or investigate the wildlife of the school grounds. Try making up a
woodland or school grounds food chain or web from their own experiences or from research.
Compare the two different environments.
section 2/71
woodland ways
teachers’ notes
woodland detectives
sense of place
plant quest
wee beasties
home sweet home
poetic moments
2/73
woodland ways
teachers’ notes
This activity explores the differences between native woodlands and conifers planted by man.
The essence is that native woodlands provide habitats for a wider variety of plants and animals than
plantation forests and therefore, are more valuable for wildlife and have a higher biodiversity value. This
difference can be seen first hand at Tentsmuir Point.
Native woodlands and biodiversity value
Since the last Ice Age, different plant and animal species have been able to adapt to woodland
conditions. The natural woodland climax vegetation at Tentsmuir is broadleaves, with some Scots Pine
on the acid, well-drained soils of the sand .
Woodland structure
Native woodlands have a recognisable structure, although it is not always possible to clearly identify
each layer.
The ground layer is made up of the shortest plants, such as mosses and dead leaves and stems of
other plants, supporting fungi (toadstools). The herb or field layer is made up of taller grasses, ferns,
herbs and tree seedlings growing up through the ground layer. The shrub layer consists of larger
plants again, with woody stems e.g. gorse, broom, brambles. It may include hazel, which grows with
many stems - a shrub. The tree layer is made up of the single stems and canopies of our largest,
most amazing plants - trees.
A plantation forest in its early stages does not develop this structure, due to the lack of light.
Woodland structure is a very important factor in determining the biodiversity value of a woodland or
forest. The greater the variety of structures provided by different plants, the more different kinds of
animals may be supported.
Native woodlands often need management today, due to threats introduced through human activities overgrazing by sheep and deer is common in many areas, although not for Tentsmuir; invasion by
non- native species through self-seeding is a threat at Tentsmuir, and non-native conifers planted
nearby is often the cause.
Conifer plantations and biodiversity value
Conifer plantations were unpopular with those interested in nature conservation particularly in the past,
because of the effect of displacing native wildlife and altering the landscape. They were managed solely for their timber and economic returns.
Forest management has changed a lot and it has been recognised that forests are places for people
and wildlife as well. Forest Enterprise manages Tentsmuir forest for timber and other purposes, such as
recreation, and its management also improves its wildlife value - compare the new plantation with the
older, open plantation.
The planting of conifer species meant a large number of bird species of open moorland and grassland
disappeared from the Tentsmuir area, however, wildlife is very adaptable too and some woodland
species have moved into the area as a result. Bird species moving in include - Siskin, Green
Woodpecker, Crossbill, Woodcock, Willow Warbler and Goldfinch.
2/74 section 1/1
woodland detectives
Often in woodlands it is easier to find evidence that animals are present rather than find the animals
themselves. Often you will hear an animal, like a squirrel before you see it, just as the animals will hear
or sense you before they see you.
This activity encourages looking and listening to discover what is there.
OBJECTIVE: to understand the different woodland types and how they support a
variety of creatures.
TIME: 1 - 1.5 hours
LOCATION: see the activity location plan - in any of the native woodland
fringe, the open plantation
on the other side of the reserve fence, in the
new plantation on the other side of the track.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED: magnifying glasses, plastic collecting bags for evidence,
activity sheets.
The Activity
Find a place in the woodlands and ask everyone to stand in a circle facing outwards. With their
eyes closed, what can they hear? Listen to the sounds and the stillness of the natural world.
Explain that the Reserve Manager is trying to find out who lives in the woodland, who are residents
and who are migrants? He needs some good detectives.
Divide into three groups for each type of woodland - native woodland, open plantation, young
plantation and ask the questions:
Will noises or smells give away any animals? Will different animals live in different layers of the
woodland? How will they remember all the clues? Use the recording sheets Looking for Clues
and ask the groups to investigate the areas and find the evidence.
When they have finished, gather everyone into a circle to report their findings and produce
evidence if they have it. Discuss similarities and differences.
view of dune heath with native and conifer plantations
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looking for clues
What sort of clues should they try finding?
Tick ✓the boxes when you have found some
evidence of animals in the woodland
Sounds - birdsong - laughter call of the green woodpecker, drumming of a great spotted
woodpecker, cat mewing of a buzzard, squeaks of voles and mice
Smells - musky smell of a male fox
Sightings - droppings of fox, rabbits, roe deer, hare; holes in leaves - caterpillars; holes/
tunnels in dead wood or bark - larvae of wood boring beetles; leaf/stem galls - produced by
various wasps laying eggs in tissue - grows like a wart, with developing young inside; webs spiders; tunnels in hill sides/grass - bank voles, rabbits, fox; cuckoo spit - leafhopper eggs and
larvae protected by the foam; chewed cones - squirrel (tatty ends) mouse, hare(neat ends),
molehills - moles; footprints in sand/mud; feathers or hair; nests; bird pellets - birds of prey;
nibbled woody stems, fungi - rabbits, hare,deer,mice,slugs,snails
Nest
Mouse Hole
Suspect
Hair
Suspect
Bird Droppings
Suggested follow up
Research the individual animals for whom clues or evidence has been collected and complete an
Ideal Homes Activity Sheet.
Suspect
Suspect
Make a wall display of all the signs and creatures that caused them.
Make a list of all the animals’ evidence which was collected and send it to the SNH Reserve Manager
for his records. Return at a different time of year and see if the same evidence is found. Create a
database for the different seasons - the different clues and creatures.
Feather
Mammal Droppings
Suspect
Grazed Grass
Suspect
Bird Song
Suspect
Pellets
Nibbled Fungi
Suspect
common blue butterfly
Suspect
Suspect
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ideal homes
sense of place
1. Name of animal
G
This activity allows the young people to consider their thoughts and feelings about being out of doors in
a natural place.
2. What type of home do you live in?
OBJECTIVE: to consider a personal reaction to a natural environment.
3. Which storey (layer) of the woodlands is it in?
TIME: 15 - 20 minutes
Top floor
(canopy)
LOCATION: within the different types of woodland - native, open
plantation, new plantation - look at the activity location plan.
Middle floor
(shrub)
Ground floor
(herb layer)
Basement or below
(ground layer)
WHAT YOU WILL NEED: activity sheet, sense of place - 1 each for each
environment.
The Activity
4. What is your neighbourhood (habitat) like?
Deep Woodland
Woodland Edge
Clearing
Deadwood
Choose a place where the children can sit comfortably with a clear view of the area. When they
are all settled ask them to close their eyes and relax for a minute, then open their eyes when they
are ready to complete the sheet.
Ask the young people to look at the activity sheet. For each pair of words a mark should be put
in the square nearest to how they feel (right or left). If they don’t feel particularly one way or the
other they should mark the middle box.
5. What do like best?
Move to a different type of plantation and repeat the exercise.
Sunbathing
Nightlife
When they have finished they can try to write down words of their own which reflect how they feel
about the contrasting plantations.
6. Where to you get your food from?
Deep Woodland
Woodland Edge
Clearing
Deadwood
Suggested follow up
Discuss some of the following:
What do the young people like or dislike about the particular places?
7. Where do you get your water from?
Does everyone feel the same? Was this expected?
Food
Droplets on Leaves
How would you feel about these places at night, in winter…?
Puddles
River
Collect the words together for storytelling or poetry in the sand.
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sense of place
Your name:
Native woodland
Young plantation
plant quest
Old plantation
(Circle which one)
Tick the boxes nearest to how you feel.
Plant Quest looks at the similarities and differences
between the native woodlands and the plantations, in
relation to their plant life, and the reasons behind the
differences. This activity introduces the idea of a quadrat
as a means of sampling the real world - botanists sample
when there’s too much to count everything!
this place feels
small
large
crowded
open
colourful
drab
messy
tidy
n
ragged robin
quiet
noisy
OBJECTIVE: to identify plants and woodland types through creative exploration
and field work.
TIME: 1 hour
busy
calm
LOCATION: see location plan for areas of native woodland, new and old
plantation.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED: activity sheets, quadrats(1 per group) , 1 metre rule,
light meter, pH and moisture probes (1 per group)
safe
peaceful
dangerous
hectic
boring
interesting
friendly
threatening
To make a quadrat you can use a hula-hoop or card strips (50cm long) and
paper clips.
Did You know?
6 At Tentsmuir Point you can find: native broadleaves and planted conifers and there is lots more
to see in the native woodland !
may be several different habitats within a woodland area - it is much more than just a
7 There
group of trees and other plants.
in winter the dips between the old dunes now colonised by trees on Tentsmuir are filled
8 Often
with water, even in spring and summer they will be much damper than the humps.
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plant quest quadrat sheet
Before the Activity
Practise using a quadrat in the school grounds or local park. Count the number of different plants in the
quadrat. Practise using any other equipment you have at the same time - light meter, moisture probe,
pH probe.
Discuss the importance of scientific method in using a quadrat - where should it be put? What about
fair testing - how many times should they ‘throw’ the hoop to make sure their findings are representative
of the area as a whole? Have a look at the recording sheets and how you will use them.
The Activity
This activity will involve moving between three different woodland areas. See the location plan to
choose the first area. At the first site, split into groups. Each group should use the ‘Tree key’ to
identify what type of trees are in the woodland. Once the woodland type is identified, use the
‘Quadrat Sheet’, and the quadrats to measure the plants in the woodland.
When all the groups are finished, move on to the next area of woodland for the quadrat measurements. Repeat the above for the third area of woodland.
Your name:
Place your quadrat on the ground
and measure the following:
Young Woodland
How many different types of plants?
Are the trees mostly the same age
yes/no
Are the trees in straight line?
yes/no
Are there a lot of dead tree
leaves/needles on the ground?
yes/no
Suggested follow up
• You can age young conifers by counting the number of whorls of branches - they grow from their
growth tip each year. To age a broadleaf tree measure its girth in centimetres, at about 1.5m height,
and divide by 2.5 for a very approximate age.
How tall is the tallest plant?
• Compare their results. Draw charts (bar/pie) from the figures. Display the results.
• Look at the aerial photograph of Tentsmuir Point and the impact of the plantation forestry and its
straight lines.
How much light is there?
• Discuss the differences between native and exotic species for wildlife value.
• Ask a forester in to school to explain the different management used in plantation forests, for
landscape value, attracting wildlife and for recreation, and why there has been this change in the
last 30 years.
How wet is the ground?*
• Look closely at the shape of the leaves. Copy the shapes and the lines carefully using a pencil or
fine pen. Use your key to identify which trees these leaves come from.
What is the acidity of the soil?**
* dry / moist / very wet / water, or use moisture probe
** use PH probe, or use litmus paper and water
Native Woodland
Old Plantation
Look closely at the shape of the leaves. Copy the shapes and the lines carefully using a
pencil or fine pen. Use the key to identify which trees these leaves come from.
tenstmuir tree key information sheet
START
leaves like needles
needles in pairs
Leaves flat and broad
needles single, sharp and
leave a stump on the stem
SITKA SPRUCE
pointed end to leaves
flat end to leaves
leaves round and jaggy edged
ALDER
long needles
(over 8cm)
CORSICAN PINE
short needles (2-5cm)
SCOTS PINE
leaves single on stem
leaves triangular
and jaggy edged
BIRCH
leaves in pairs on stem
leaves oval
and smooth
WILLOW
leaves long ovals,
with jaggy edges
ROWAN
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wee beasties
U
Before the Activity
Make sure the need to handle the animals carefully is emphasised, together with the need to let
them go when they are identified.
Tentsmuir Point NNR is renowned for its insects, snails and slug populations. The woodlands and
woodland edge are particularly good habitats to investigate. This activity looks at finding, recording and
identifying.
The Activity
During your visit make sure that the young people realise that minibeasts are found in every layer
of the woodland. However, in amongst the foliage, under rotting logs and stumps and piles of
branches are especially good places to look. Stones are also good, but there are not many
around Tentsmuir Point!
Break into small groups of 3-4, and take it in turns to collect invertebrates (minibeasts) in the bug
boxes or jars. Use the magnifiers wherever possible. With the collection of each animal, the key
should be used to identify it if possible. Photograph, draw or describe in words the findings.
Check that all the animals have been gently released.
Suggested follow up
Research the different minibeasts - their needs, food, adaptations etc. Create a wall display involving
their investigation and research the results.
cinnabar moth
OBJECTIVE: to identify a variety of invertebrates in the woodland areas.
TIME: 1 hour
LOCATION: see areas of different woodland type on the activity location plan.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED: bug boxes, magnifying glasses, activity sheets, a good
reference book on minibeasts and the minibeast keys from the SNH Reserve
Manager.
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who am I?
Your name:
Group:
Minibeast
Young Woodland
Native Woodland
home sweet home
E
Old Plantation
Where did you find me?
Did I have lots of friends like me?
What size am I?
(use a ruler)
What colour(s) am I?
How many legs do I have?
What was I doing?
(sleeping, resting, looking for food)
This activity will introduce the habitat and the ecosystem. It has been adapted from The Ecology Pack
produced by Landlife.
Who am I?
OBJECTIVE: To understand that plants and animals are adapted to living in
different habitats in order to meet their needs and that they each have a
role( niche) in the community.
TIME: 1-2 hours
give me a new name
LOCATION: see plantation and native woodland areas located on activity
location plan.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 1 set per group-At Work cards (mounted and laminated if
possible), Home Application form, Home Sweet Home Information sheet.
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at work signs
Notes
Native woodlands are home to many different kinds of animals and plants and have a greater
variety of species (and, therefore, biodiversity value) than most conifer plantations, especially
young plantations (5-15 years old).
Nothing lives on its own and we call the collection of plants and animals living in one place a community. Wherever the plant and animal communities live, they have to be suited to the
existing physical and biological conditions - the habitat.
The system within which plants and animals effect each other, within their habitat, is called an
ecosystem. Scientists who study habitats and communities are called ecologists.
This activity focuses on the ways that plants and animals adapt their work and lifestyle to their
habitat. Animals that compete for the same food and shelter share the same niche. However, it
is possible for them to overcome this by coming out at different times of day - bats and birds, or
by one choosing to feed at different levels - grey squirrels often feed on the ground.
The Activity
• Explain to the young people that today they are going to investigate the availability of jobs and
homes for the woodland animals and plants they have been finding in the different areas of
woodland. It is important for the animals to have a job where they live. Most animals and
plants have more than one job.
• Split into pairs and distribute the ‘At Work’ signs, and accompanying information sheet,
discussing each sign in turn, ensuring they understand the job. They should look for examples,
or evidence of, animals or plants doing the different jobs. The appropriate sign should then be
displayed next to them.
• Give out the housing application forms. Ask each pair to complete them for selected animals
or plants they have found evidence of working.
• When everyone has finished, get together and share the findings. Summarise, that they have
discovered the community of the woodland, made up of individual plants and animals,
occupying different parts of the habitat and completing different jobs which they are well
adapted to carry out.
• Discuss what would happen if the woodland was felled or planted over with conifers.
Suggested follow up
• Construct a 2D/ 3D representation of the woodland, identifying the different homes and inhabitants.
• Look at the different ways animals/ plants and woodlands are protected for the future, particularly
endangered species - ask someone from SNH in to illustrate a number of ways used at Tentsmuir
and elsewhere (in your area).
home application form
Who am I?
bramble bush
(berry maker)
red squirrel
(cone/nut harvester)
My address?
What do I need every day?
Energy
Air
Water
Shelter
sunlight to
make food
from
animals
and plants
from rain
and soil
from soil
for roots
nuts and
seeds
(cones)
from plants
from food
or open
water
nest in tree
canopy
T
M
G
✓
✓
home sweet home information sheet
Work suitability?
B
Job
1. Energy transformer
(ET)
Community members
Living things which can turn the sun’s energy
into other forms of energy (new food like
sugar) which other residents can eat.
mainly green plants, fungi
(converting stored sunlight energy in dead wood)
Living things which make the air breathable
for others in the community.
plants do it for animals
Animals that eat plants (whole or bits) keeping
their number down, for other plants to grow.
animals that are primary consumers or herbivores
Animals and fungi which help other residents
by removing or breaking down dead materials
animals
fungi - find out about lichens
Animals which move things from one part of
the community to another. Seeds and pollen
often get moved in this way.
animals with sticky or hairy outsides
Living things who help make the soil a better
place to grow by adding organic waste
material, or reworking it all and mixing it
together.
bacteria - can’t see them but they do;
plants with roots; fungi; animal droppings;
animals that eat dead stuff and which burrow
Animals which help control the numbers of
residents in the community so that it doesn’t
get too crowded and there is enough food/
water and air for everyone.
animals that catch other animals - alive – and
eat them
very agile in tree
branches, moves
and stores food
in soil
2. Air conditioner
(AC)
3. Energy nutrient
recycler (NR)
4. Rubbish collector
(RC)
5. Transporter
(TR)
6. Soil builders
(SB)
T - Top Floor
Job description
How suited
broadleaves to
ET,
AC catch sun, spikes to
stop animals eating
it, berries for eating
AC,
TR
Job title
animals do it for plants
M - Middle Floor G - Ground Floor B - Basement
7. Population
controller (PC)
2/94
2/95
poetic moments
j
Ideas for Poetry
Poem Portrait
In the dunes or woodland -choose a plant and sit beside it for a while. What does it smell like? What
colour is it? Is it bright or dark, warm or cool? Are the leaves smooth, furry or rough? Does it have
petals- are they thick and velvety, or thin, almost see-through? Is the plant tall or tiny? Stiff or waving in
the wind? Alone or with others? Invent a name for your plant, draw it and then write a word portrait of it
around your sketch.
Talking leaves - in the woodland
Cut out paper leaves and punch a hole in one end of each. Take a handful into the woodland, sit
beside a tree and listen. What sounds is the tree making? Write one word on each leaf, then tie all the
leaves on a branch. As the leaves flutter in the breeze, say the words aloud. Just listen to their sound.
Record the students as they speak and use this soundscape back in the classroom.
Shape poems
Choose a tree and draw an outline of a leaf or of the whole tree. Fill the shape you have drawn with
words that describe the tree.
Descriptions
OBJECTIVE: to observe the environment from a creative perspective and create
simple poems as a result.
TIME: 1 hour
LOCATION: anywhere on the reserve.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED: pencils and paper for each person, a bag.
A poem ‘begins in delight and ends in wisdom’
Robert Frost
“imagine what you are writing about. See it and live it. Do not think it up laboriously, as if you were
working out mental arithmetic. Just look at it, touch it, smell it, listen to it, turn yourself into it. When you
do this, the words look after themselves, like magic.”
Ted Hughes
Poetry is one of the most accessible and adaptable activities. It requires no equipment, no experience
or expertise beyond the ability to speak and/or write. Poetic Moments is a selection of simple ideas
for using poetry to open your students eyes to the world around them, and give them something
meaningful and memorable to take away and treasure.
Try to describe a plant/tree/seashell to someone who may not have seen it before. Use natural
language, and be as precise as you can. Use as many senses as you can – sight, touch, small,
sounds (but probably safer not to use taste!). Take your description and play with the words, make
them prettier or sharper. Use them as a jumping-off point for a story, an invention, an act of the
imagination.
Place a familiar object in a bag and ask a student to feel it and describe it without seeing it – can the
others guess what it is?
2/96
Interrelationships
Think about what natural objects mean to you and to us all. How do we use them? How do other
creatures use them? What would happen if they weren’t there? Why do we give them the names we
do? Can you think of a better name? Why are some plants associated with specific feelings, emotions,
ideals? Why is love like a red, red rose? And why does the thistle stand for Scotland? What’s so
funny about sneezewort? Does anyone sell seashells on the seashore? (mussels, scallops….)
Acrostic
Write the name of a sea or seashore creature in capital letters down the side of a page, then use each
letter to start a line of a poem about it.
Crawling sideways, speed on legs
Rapidly running
Away away
Bubble trail
Growing a Poem
Draw a big circle on the page or in the sand and clockwise around the edge, quickly write the first word
that comes to mind when you think of:
a flower a tree a bird an insect
water the weather
a colour a texture a season
a feeling a taste
a smell.
Then join pairs of words across the circle - it doesn’t matter which two you join, because everything is
related in some way! Next, write a sentence that links the two words showing what that relationship
could be. If new words that you like better spring to mind, use them! Then take the six lines you have
written, and play around with them until they are in an order that you like, changing them any way
you want.
section 2/99
people, past and present
management matters
values and visions
people preferences
rebels against rubbish
time team
2/101
management matters
This activity provides excellent opportunities to discuss why sand dunes are so special and the
importance of sand dune management. It also allows you to understand why sand dune environments
and their wildlife are under threat in Scotland and Britain, how, over time, values have changed with
regard to views on their importance to society.
OBJECTIVE: to develop an awareness of issues of conservation.
TIME: 30 minutes
LOCATION: on site, during a walk with the Reserve Manager, or back in the
classroom as a reinforcement activity.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED: sets of cards for each
group.
Before the Activity
Discuss with the young people the concepts (and terms if you feel it appropriate) of biodiversity (see
More About Tentsmuir Point NNR), and wildlife conservation (positive management activities protecting
species and their habitats for their viable survival).
How to do it
The statements on the Activity sheet describe good management and problems for sand dunes. On
the beach, give a set of cards to each group and ask them to draw two circles in the sand. One circle
will be for good management techniques, the other for problems in the environment. The groups
should then sort the cards into the appropriate circles.
This activity is easily adapted for use in the classroom.
Good management can enhance the wildlife ( biodiversity) value of these sand dunes, as well as
their physical (landscape) value. If well managed and interpreted they will also attract people to the
area and contribute to the local economy.
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Discussion Points
What are the main threats to sand dunes generally?
Commercial development - caravan sites and golf courses e.g. St Andrews, also plantation forestry e.g.
Culbin Sands on Moray Coast, and recreational activities e.g. trail bikes and 4WD vehicles. The wildlife is
disturbed as a consequence, also by more passive leisure activities such as walking the dog, horse riding.
What are the main threats to the sand dunes at Tentsmuir Point?
As a nationally important site for wildlife - National Nature Reserve status - one of the main threats has
been the natural succession to woodland (unfortunately speeded up by non-native species from the
forestry plantation). Wildlife is also under threat from dogs off leads and by trail bikes which have caused
damage to the dunes in the past.
Why is it important to manage sand dune systems?
By managing sand dune systems the damage caused by human activities can be minimised - planting of
Marram Grass can protect areas of erosion and boardwalks prevent damage to plants and sand.
Why is it important to manage the sand dunes at Tentsmuir Point?
The management at Tentsmuir is largely trying to sustain the dune heathland and grassland ecosystems
and their associated plant and animal communities. The Highland cattle help by grazing, so do the
rabbits, but too many of either could cause problems from overgrazing. The sea fences keep the
Highland cattle in, but also keep the trail bikes out, as do the locks on forestry gates. These also keep
4WD vehicles out. Designation as a National Nature Reserve is the strongest legal protection such an
area can have in Scotland.
blowout on dune edge with marram grass
2/104
2/105
values and visions
Much is made nowadays of sustainable development. Sustainable development is sometimes
compared simply to a 3-legged stool - a leg each to represent the environment, society and the
economy. To be acceptable, any development or change in management must consider the well-being
of each leg - each must be able to function properly and be able to do so in the long term (for ever).
If any one leg fails, the development is unsustainable. This model may be used in a local or global
context.
A major consideration is that, in reality, the environment supports everything else - so how important can
that make the need to protect the environment, over and above social or political/economic needs?
Occasionally, because we have made mistakes in the past and destroyed the environment and its
habitats completely in some places, we have to make the primacy of nature the major purpose of
caring for a place in order that it can survive somewhere. This is the major function of National
Nature Reserves.
The Activity
• Choose a place on the beach and get into a circle. Ask what kind of future the young people
would like for their local area - what will it look like? Do they think places like Tentsmuir Point are
important in that future vision?
• Give out a set of cards to each group (3-4). Ask the children to work together, discuss what
each of the cards says, and then after reading them all, decide on an order for them. The top
statement represents the most important reason for protecting the sand dunes and the bottom
statement the least important reason.
• When they have finished they can compare their choices with other groups. If there are big
differences they can discuss their opinions and how they reached their decisions. Where were
the big disagreements? If there weren’t any, why might this be?
Suggested follow up
This activity helps young people think about their own values about nature. Sand dunes and beaches
are valued for many different reasons - their history, ecology, natural history, geomorphology, aesthetics,
as well as providing for different kinds of recreation. It is important for the young people to understand
that what makes a place special is often entirely personal.
OBJECTIVE: to develop an awareness of issues of conservation.
TIME: 30 - 45 minutes
LOCATION: on the beach after a visit with the Reserve Manager or back in the
classroom.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED: a set of Value and Vision cards.
BEFORE THE ACTIVITY: discuss with the young people the three conceptsbiodiversity, conservation and sustainability.
Take the list of ideas for the futures from the brainstorm, and discuss them more fully. Ask them to draw
a version of their ideal future place. Make a display.
Compare the visions with the ranked statements and the values they reflect. Talk about the relationship
between values and attitudes and the choices they make in their everyday lives, as to what they do and
how they do it.
statements
People take trail bikes over the sand dunes,
destroying the plants and compacting the
soil. This helps to cause ‘blow outs’ through
the dunes.
The number of rare plants is monitored by
using quadrats. Done each year by the
Reserve Manager or University students.
This will show up overgrazing by rabbits
or cattle.
Dog walkers let their dogs off the lead during
the breeding season of birds and seals.
The dogs chase the birds off nests and
seals, and break the eggs.
The growth of the conifers and lower
numbers of rabbits have allowed scrub and
woodland to grow on the old dunes.
The trees are felled and removed to allow
heath plants to grow again, and encourage
butterflies, other insects, and birds to return.
Some woodland has been left along the
inland edge of the reserve to encourage
invertebrates and rare orchids.
Highland cattle are used to graze out the
woody species and tough weed species like
rosebay willowherb.
A sea fence is put up and looked after to
keep the Highland cows in, and the trail
bikes out.
statements for ranking activity sheet
1
Tentsmuir Point sand dunes are a wonderful
remote place to play, go for a walk and have
picnics. They can be enjoyed by people of all
ages. They are a nice wild place ‘to be’.
3
The Tay estuary and Tentsmuir sands are
internationally important wintering areas for
large numbers of birds resident Eider ducks,
and for seals.
Seeds from non-native and tough ‘weed’
species find the slacks and open old
dunes easy to colonise.
The Warden and local community go on a
guided walk to learn about the Reserve and
look at the butterflies.
More wet winters and the windmill pump
bringing water from the forest drains are
making the dune slacks wetter.
The wild atmosphere of the landscape - at
the meeting point of land and sea - make
Tentsmuir Point attractive and of high
landscape value.
4
The Tentsmuir sand dunes provide us with
fascinating information about the area’s past,
and its folklore. Arrowheads from 8 000 years
ago have been found in rabbit burrows.
5
6
Sand dunes are young and continuously
changing. The movement and build up of
sand provides valuable information about
today’s coastal processes. This will help us
find better ways to protect coasts elsewhere,
which are being removed by the sea.
The sand dunes, as a nature reserve, provide
great opportunities for the future, particularly
for wildlife. New habitats will attract more
kinds of plants and animals. People will come
to enjoy, monitor and better understand their
needs - artists and scientists.
7
8
The sand dunes at Tentsmuir Point are home
to an incredible variety of animals and plants.
Several are quite rare elsewhere e.g. the
seals, some insects and orchids. This
biodiversity is due to the variety of habitats
developed over a relatively short time, but lost
elsewhere in Britain.
9
Occasional oil pollution occurs making seals
and seabirds vulnerable to oiling and or
death.
2
The management of the sand dunes as a
nature reserve encourages the local
community, including young people, to join in
and understand more about how it works;
helping look after ‘their place’, for the benefit
of the local area.
As the sand dunes are managed as a nature
reserve they attract visitors to the area. This
provides employment for local people and
money to the local shops and services,
supporting the rural community of NE Fife.
2/109
values and visions activity sheet
Your name:
people preferences
You will be given a set of cards. Read the statements on each card and between you
rank them on the diagram below. The top box has the most important reason for protecting the sand dunes at Tentsmuir Point. The bottom box the least important. Put the
others in some order in between.
This activity focuses on designing a questionnaire, completing a number of interviews and analysing the
results to help the local SNH Reserve Manager of Tentsmuir Point NNR find out what local people and
visitors know about the reserve and what their hopes are for its future use.
OBJECTIVE: to develop an awareness of issues of conservation.
TIME: 2 - 3 hours
WHAT YOU WILL NEED: copies of the visitor questionnaire, pencils/pens,
clipboards.
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visitor questionnaire activity sheet
Name of interviewer:
Date/day/time:
Place:
“Would you mind helping me/us with our survey for Tentsmuir Point National Nature Reserve?
There are some information questions and some looking for your opinions. It will take about 5 -10
minutes to complete. Thank You.”
Be clear that you are talking about the National Nature Reserve, not the car park and
beach at Kinshaldy.
People interviewed
1
Q1
Have you visited Tentsmuir Point NNR
recently?
Yes
No
Q2
How often do you visit?
Once a day
Once/twice a week
Before the Activity
Once/twice a month
Talk about what we mean by the terms recreation and leisure and what they depend upon. How has
this changed over the last 50 years?
Occasionally
Q3
By foot
The Activity
The SNH Reserve Manager at Tentsmuir Point NNR has contacted the school. He is looking for
some help from volunteers to carry out a visitor survey to help him with the management of the site.
What kinds of questions does he want answers to? A demonstration questionnaire is included.
Discuss the issues with the Reserve Manager. You may then design a similar questionnaire with the
young people.
How do you travel there normally?
By car
Q4
Which of the following activities have
you taken part in there?
Walking - with a dog/s
Walking - without dog/s
Ask the young people to carry out the questionnaire survey with 3 adult people they know. Discuss
why they should not all be from the same family - similar experiences, values and attitudes.
Discuss the idea of sampling a population and the size of sample required.
Running/Jogging
Give them a date by which the survey must be completed. The results can be combined to give a
reasonable sample size (look for 90-100). Discuss the scientific basis to their method.
Bird/Seal watching
Cycling
Trail biking
Nature walks/guided walks
Picnics/ BBQ
Fishing
2
3
2/113
continued
People interviewed
1
Q5
2
3
What aspects of the place do you like
about it?
rebels against rubbish
the beach and the open dunes
the seals
the birds
the wildlife generally
the remoteness
the quiet
the lack of development - seating etc.
the interpretation
other - list
Q6
What changes if any would you like to
see? list
1
2
3
4
Q7
Who owns Tentsmuir Point?
Fife Council
private landowner
Scottish Natural Heritage
Q8
What does the term National Nature
Reserve mean for a place?
Correct explanation given
Incorrect explanation given
Don’t know
Q9
How do you think the local people can
benefit from Tentsmuir Point?
ask for examples
economic benefits
OBJECTIVE: to look at the variety of man-made rubbish that ends up on our
shores and what action can be taken to help.
environmental benefits
social/health benefits
Q10
TIME: 1 Hour (extended to whole school initiative) LOCATION: at the
strandline on the beach.
Why is it important to consider the needs of wildlife, and the landscape value of Tentsmuir
Point in making changes?
LOCATION: at the strandline on the beach.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED: copies of the information sheets.
1
2
3
Thank you very much for your help!
2/114
rebels against rubbish information sheet
Adopt a Beach Survey Results - 2001
The Activity:
Season
Warn everyone to not pick up any broken glass, sharp objects or dangerous litter and
not to touch anything they are not sure about.
Walk along the beach and identify where most of the rubbish is - the strandline. Look at the
contents of the strandline. Draw 3 circles on the sand - label them animal, plant, manmade.
Let them search for 5 minutes to find one object of each kind. Discuss the group’s findings.
You may find things placed in the wrong circle e.g. cuttlefish, maiden’s purse, shells.
Define rubbish and litter. Consider whether there is natural rubbish. What will happen to it?
It will get broken down or eaten. Everything is recycled in nature. Look at the litter. Can
anything be recycled? Is anything biodegradable (can it break down and be used as energy
for other plants and animals?) How do the young people feel about litter? Can we do
anything about it?
✓
Don’t throw it away carelessly, think about what we use.
w
Season
s
a
Plastics
w
s
a
Cotton buds
157
59
53
Toiletries
Drink/Food
103
170
102
Cleaner fluid
3
3
Strip/ s. towels
23
105
23
Oil
3
2
Other
8
3
4
Fishing line
8
8
Paper
Rope
55
60
Bags
4
2
Shotgun carts
10
3
Cardboard
1
Pieces
194
136
79
Cigarette stubs
1
Other
61
75
41
Other
25
2
14
How do the young people think the problem of this kind of rubbish on our beaches could be
stopped? Is it a local or global problem? What are some solutions –
Fast food
8
30
5
Corks
13
4
Foam/ packing
80
15
45
Crab pots
1
1
Pieces
56
36
70
Pallets/ timber
other
1
4
2
Other
✓
improving sewage treatment
Rubber
✓
no direct dropping in the sea
Protect clothing
✓
education of fishermen and people generally about the dangers for wildlife (and people)……
Wood
14
Bottles
9
20
5
Light bulbs
2
4
4
Pieces
4
7
Glass
4
Tyres
1
Balloons
7
3
Other
2
3
7
Other
Cloth
Organise a Beach Clean-Up and become involved in Adopt a Beach Campaign through the Marine
Conservation Society.
pieces
4
9
Crockery
clothing
2
7
Bricks
String
17
10
Look at the school grounds and plan an anti-litter campaign in school.
Make a code of good practice.
Choose ‘green’ products when possible - phosphate free detergents and shampoos,
biodegradable cleaners
Buy fewer plastic things; buy things with less packaging – encourage others to do the same
Re-use bottles, yoghurt pots and other containers where possible
Use cardboard boxes, baskets or cloth bags at the supermarket instead of plastic carrier bags,
reuse carrier bags
Never pour paint, oil or garden chemicals down the drain
Never drop litter or let a dog foul the beach - clear it up
Never flush things down the toilet that can go in a dustbin/ landfill
Take part in recycling schemes
2
11
Suggested follow up
o
o
o
o
15
Polystyrene
agreeing laws
o
o
o
7
Discuss the length of time items will last. Which ones are truly biodegradable?
✓
o
11
Ceramic
other
7
2
Other
6
Metal
Aerosols
2
1
8
Drink cans
8
12
24
Food tins
2
Legally binding?
Act 1990 it is illegal to drop litter in a
public place – although you may think
this is common sense!
Oil cans
Other
3
3
1
1
Medical/Safety
Syringes
Other
w - winter
s - summer
Under annex V of the MARPOL
convention it is illegal to dump plastic
items over the side of a ship.
How do you enforce it?
a - autumn
figures - numbers of pieces
2/117
rebels against rubbish information sheet
Rubbish and how long it takes to rot
time team
Object
Number of years to rot
Aluminium cans and tabs
80 – 100
Tin cans
50
This activity gives the young people an insight into the long and interesting history of Tentsmuir Point
National Nature Reserve by making a time line and listening to stories from the main players throughout
history.
OBJECTIVE: to examine the history of Tentsmuir area through storytelling
creating a timeline.
and
TIME: 2-3 hours
Plastic bottles
indefinitely/ unknown
Glass bottles
1 million
Cigarette ends
1-5
WHAT YOU WILL NEED: a length of rope, card for making ‘timecapsule’ labels,
string, scissors, felt pens, Sellotape.
Contact the SNH Reserve Manager at Fetterdale (tel.01382 553704 ) if you wish
to borrow a timeline already prepared.
To make your own follow the instructions below:
How to make it
Plastic bags
10 - 20
Plastic film containers
20 - 30
Nylon fabric - nets, ropes
30 - 40
Leather
up to 50
Clothing and woollens
1 - 5 years
Length of rope
Today
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
10, 000
years ago
Mark the rope at 10 regular intervals with felt pen. Make labels for ‘Today’ and for each 1000 year
interval and attach with tape.
• Fix on the time capsules: Prepare time capsule cards using different coloured card with the
statements given on the time line below - write the heading on one side and the statement on the
other. Make sure they are easily readable (laminated if possible). Fix cards to rope in appropriate
places.
Stories
Orange peel/ Banana skins
up to 2
Once the timeline has been made, use the stories on the tags to allow the young people to think about
and discuss what life must have been like on Tentsmuir Point at different times throughout history.
Relate also, people’s activities and ways of life to the surrounding environment of the times.
Crisp packets
up to 8
Suggested Follow-up
When the timeline comes back to school it can be hung around the classroom and a wall display
developed underneath, including their future research.
There is nobody here it is still too cold even for
nomadic hunters to have arrived. The only animals here are the herds of Woolly Mammoth
and reindeer grazing across the large areas of
wet marshy and dry heather ground. There are
a few trees but not many, mostly birch and
pine. There are also bears and foxes.
End of Last Ice Age
About 12,000 years ago
9000 years ago
Pictish
Peasant’s Story
About 1300
years ago
Hunter
Gatherer’s Story
About 6000
years ago
First evidence of
growing crops
About 5000
years ago
Forests are taking over. Temperatures rise and
trees increase as seeds are carried in. The
change in climate and food means the mammoth
and reindeer will move out. Other animals move in
- wolves, wild cattle, beaver, and badgers. Some
nomadic hunters appear.
About 8000 years ago
Land bridge between the British Isles and the rest of
Europe is flooded. Each summer the temperature is
getting warmer and as the ice and the ground melts, so
the sea levels are rising. Some animals never migrated
across the land bridge before it flooded, which is why
Britain had fewer kinds of animals. For example, the
rabbit will be introduced to Britain by the Romans.
About 8,500 years ago
Augustinian monks From St
Andrews Cathedral arrive.
They describe Tentsmuir as a
wild place full of diaboli, urses
et bos primiginius – devils,
bears and oxen!
About 800 years ago
Viking Venturers
arrive
About 1100
years ago
Wartime
watcher’s story
About 60 years
ago (1942)
Reserve
Manager’s
Story
Present day
A hundred years later, these villages had disappeared, as the landowners changed to having
larger farms for keeping sheep.
The area was well-populated. There were large
areas of marsh and malaria was common. The
people grew flax, oats, bere barley and kale. Old
kitchen ‘middens’ show the people ate a lot of
shellfish.
Salmonnetter’s story.
About 300 years ago (1880)
2/119
The Hunter Gatherer’s Story
• Discussion points on the story:
– What was M doing?
– Can you think of a name to remember this Mesolithic woman by?
– How do they feel about living in Morton at that time.
– How did M and her family use the area of dunes and the beach?
– How did they use the forest? Was it similar to the forest plantation or more like the
broadleaved woodland at the edge of the reserve?
– What did they spend most of their lives doing - surviving or enjoying themselves - how
does that compare with us?
Prompts:
– M’s tired and why
– the camp, menfolk - hunting, women - gathering
– medicinal plants and making things
– dark, feeding, sleeping, sounds, moon and stars
The Pictish Peasant Boy’s Story
• Discussion Points on the story:
– What was P doing?
– Can you think of a name to remember this Pictish boy by?
– How do his family feel about living here at the time?
– How did P use the area of the dunes and heathland?
– What did they spend most of their lives doing?
– Why was this period known as the Dark Ages do they think?
2/120
2/121
The Hunter Gatherer’s Story
The Salmon Netter’s Story
• Discussion points on the story:
– Who was the character and why did he go out fishing?
– Can you think of a name to remember S by?
– How did S feel?
– What was he advising on building at the moment?
– How did S describe the sands?
– Had it changed since he had been working there?
– What other animals did he see that you do not find in such number today?
The Wartime Watcher’s Story
• Discussion Points on the story:
“Ahhh! I am tired……it’s time to get back, I’ve been gathering roots and fruits for our supper. I’ve
walked a long way in the forest and along the beach. The beach and the river banks are the best
things to follow to go inland, and sometimes I can find animal tracks to get me through the trees.
Before I left we had also spent some time collecting enough wood for the fire and freshwater for
cooking at our camp. We have to do this every day.
Near my camp I feel safe - we light fires to keep us warm and to keep the bears and wolves away at
night. Sometimes, when the menfolk and our brothers go off to trap birds and hunt deer in the forest,
we go with our mother to collect shellfish, seabirds eggs and seaweed from the shore to bring home.
My mother also finds wild plants that make us better when we feel ill, or get bad injuries. We also enjoy
helping to make useful things from dead plants and animals - it’s amazing the variety of things we can
make, everything we need!
We must return to the camp before dark, we all have a meal together before it gets dark - I like the deer
meat best. I am afraid of the dark anyway, but I love the full moon and the twinkling stars. I think
everyone is always tired by the time it is dark and we all fall asleep around the fire. Sometimes, I wake
up in the night and look out at the moon and the stars - it’s wonderful listening to the waves on the
beach, and imagining what created the moon and stars!
Prompts:
– M’s tired and why
– What was P doing?
– the camp, menfolk - hunting, women - gathering
– Can you think of a name to remember P by?
– medicinal plants and making things
– Why could the Poles not go home?
– dark, feeding, sleeping, sounds, moon and stars
– Why were the Polish stationed nearby and what did they do?
– How did they use the area?
– What raw materials do you use to make concrete from?
– Why was so much concrete, corrugated iron and barbed wire used?
– What did they feel about the place?
Prompts:
– The lemonade bottle and future
– In the shelter
– Working hard – tank traps
– Wild place – like home – boredom
– Family at home – food and shelter
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The Pictish Peasant Boy’s Story
The Salmon Netter’s Story
“You have arrived on a very important day! We are busy preparing a feast for our returning menfolk.
They have been to battle to win back our lands. They were victorious against the Northumbrian
invaders from the south…we have heard they are within a day’s walk from home, and should reach the
village by nightfall. To see my father again is all that I ask, even if he be wounded. My brothers and
sisters love to hear him talk about the battles he has fought, and the strange ways of other people Romans and Celts he has met. We sit around our family fire and listen to his stories and songs for
hours!
“My family have been Salmon-netter’s and boat builders for generations. Both of these are skilled jobs.
When there are not so many salmon around, we can always be building boats so we can make a living
and put bread on the table. Not everyone can do that these days.
Our family has lived in these parts for several generations. The soil is good, less sandy than nearer the
sea. It is a wild windswept area, but we have all that we need - from the forest, the heath, the grassy
dunes, the beach and the sea. I am never bored! There is not much time when I am not helping with
the family in the fields, growing ‘bere’ for making bread and gruel, and beer (an alcoholic drink for
celebrations), looking after the cattle and sheep on the heath, helping with the heath burning, going
fishing or bird trapping, and helping in the house, curing and scraping the skins and that sort of stuff.
We are busy from dawn to dusk - the womenfolk too.
Having ground to graze our cattle is very important for us. The cattle too must be looked after. I love to
sit in the heather listening to the wind and the birds on a sunny day when I am minding the cattle. If it
rains it is not always so good, I take a skin to sit under, but even the rain on your face feels great.
We must burn the heather regularly, every few years, to encourage young juicy growth for the beasts.
Some years ago, before I was born, there was a huge fire which was out of control over a large area.
Here today you only see grass, I think the heather was mostly all killed. But the grass is good feeding
for the beasts too, and the milk they produce tastes very good. The animals are descended from wild
cattle that used to roam about this area, called aurochs.
I am soon going to take lessons in stone carving. My uncle is very talented in this. Important people
come from a long way away asking him to carve stones for their lords.
I have to go, we have a whole pig turning on the spit, cooking for tonight, it’s my turn to go and turn it.”
I’ve had to stop now of course, because of the rheumatism, but I’ve plenty memories. Let me tell you
about the netting first. It’s hard, cold, work, often we come home soaked to the skin, and we’ve been
on our feet all day! The idea is to catch the salmon as they return to their spawning rivers in the spring.
The River Tay right here, is one of the biggest rivers for salmon on the east coast. We can do the
netting two ways, either using fixed nets - set up on poles dug deep into the sand, which we walk
along at the ebb tide and haul out the fish. Otherwise, out in the estuary, we use sweep nets from the
boat. We shoot the net over the stern and then row out from the shore in a half circle, back to the
shore a bit further along. Back on shore we drag the net in and hope the fish are caught! Need to
know your tides and the fish!
I prefer the netting - I really don’t like being on the sea much. But I love walking along the sands - sun
or rain never matters - feeling the wind on my face, and the space. The sky seems huge. Best of all is
the noise of the thousands of birds calling all around - terns, plovers, curlew - just everywhere. What a
place it is! What I could do without is all the seals - we could really do with getting rid of them - they
take our fish you know!
Once we’ve got our load of salmon, we take it up to the ice house, not far away. It’s so cold in there,
keeps the fish fresh as daisies. So many being caught nowadays - this is a new idea for keeping
them.
Now the boat building…… but you’re tired of listening to my stories, you can hear about that another
day. You get going…….”
Or
“Now the boat building, well that’s a very different skill. There’s tools for cutting wood of all types, into all
kinds of shapes and sizes. We’re only talking about cobles - that’s our speciality, we use them, we
know what’s needed. You know them? Small, flat-bottomed, boats made from wood, clinker-style?
Takes one to row, and one to feed the net out. Used a lot of oak out of the local forests for the building. Helping to build a boat right now, I am, been getting difficult to find suitable trees though - I blame
the local people. They clear the old trees for their farming and then don’t stop their beasts eating the
young trees. Something will have to be done soon or we won’t have the wood to build boats any
more!”
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The Wartime Watcher’s Story
The Reserve Manager’s Story
“I am enjoying the very last drop, of my very last bottle of Polish lemonade. Now, I am going to push it
into the sand at the back of this Anderson shelter - that way I don’t have to carry it home, and I could
leave a note in it - some child in the future may find it, and think it’s a message from a ship-wrecked
sailor - that would be fun! Some fun and laughter is what we need these days.
“To walk along the beach on an early morning in late Spring is my idea of heaven. I often take time to
lie on my back on a sunny day in the dunes looking up at the sky. I feel the warmth of the sun on my
face and the sand. I see the clouds scudding by and my face is tickled by the spiky ends of the grass.
But it is my ears that are bombarded by the highpitched calls of the sea birds, and the melodious
songs of the small skylarks as they fly high and then parachute down – a seaside symphony!
This is not so fun though really - we have been in the shelter for an hour now, while German bombers
fly over us. It won’t be long we hope…..ahhhh, there’s the ‘all clear ‘ siren now. We can get out in the
wonderful open air again, and keep awake.
We are working hard even though we have finished building the line of anti-tank blocks along the shoreline. That was really hard work, for each one we had to create a mould from timber and/or corrugated
iron, then mix and pour in the concrete, let it set and then use the mould for the next one and so on.
The only mechanical help we had was a railway line that brought the raw materials in from Tayport, the
rest was up to us! Then there were the gun emplacements and the observation platforms to build. It is
very easy and quick using concrete and metal it must be admitted. Rolls of barbed wire are used everywhere, to keep attackers out.
I feel it is a very wild place here, with a lot of wildlife, a bit like where I come from on the coast of
Poland, near Gdansk. How I miss it! Very nice in peacetime, but not so easy to enjoy with survival our
main concern. Our days are now taken up with manning the observation and gunnery posts - it is quite
tiring looking across the sea and into the sky for long periods, we take it in turns, it can be very boring we smoke a lot, read and play cards to use up the time.
We can’t complain, our families are still suffering living under German rule - probably hungry. We at
least escaped and can fight for the freedom of our country with the British and their allies. We are fed
and sheltered nearby at Kinshaldy - a nice place, sheltered by the plantation.”
Prompts:
– The lemonade bottle and future
When I get up again my eyes spot the dabs of colour in the slacks, as the spring flowers burst through.
Whenever I come new colours seem to have been painted in! What a difference from a few years ago,
when most of the area behind the dunes was covered in a woodland. The trees had self-seeded from
the forestry plantation behind. A lot of them were the Scots and Corsican Pine and were shading out
other species. The windmill is doing a great job too in pumping water back into the slacks to make
them wet like they used to be.
I wish I had been around in the early 1900s before the forestry. This place was very different then.
The Forestry Commission got the ground just after the First World War when, because of the war, the
country was short of timber. The planting job was done in 1925. They didn’t realise the damage they
were doing by draining the ground and planting conifers, they just wanted the wood. They put up rabbit
fencing to keep the rabbits out, but it also stopped the ducklings returning to the sea from their nests
among the newly planted trees – many perished each year despite the efforts of the foresters.
Before then, as the name suggests – Tentsmuir – it was heather moorland and wet bogland. We know
this from old maps and what people wrote about the area. The owner, wanting to make money,
introduced grouse shooting. He transplanted heather onto the new blown sand and managed it by
burning. The grouse were brought in from Perthshire. A lot of bird species have been lost from
Tentsmuir as a result of these land use changes, some have been gained too. When something isn’t
valued, no-one notices or cares about what happens to it.
Today, we realise that Tentsmuir is very special for the variety of animals and plants it supports and the
growth of the sand dunes. In 1954, Tentsmuir Point was made a National Nature Reserve. It’s my job
to make sure it is looked after and protected. But there are still a lot of people who don’t care and don’t
think. There is so much that local people, including young people can do to help – keeping the scrub
down, clearing litter, encouraging everyone to keep their dogs on a lead and explaining why, enjoying it
too! With your help we can make sure it survives.”
– In the shelter
– Working hard – tank traps
– Wild place – like home – boredom
– Family at home – food and shelter
Wartime Defences - artist’s impression
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resources
For further information and resources on the natural environment, plants, animals and their habitats, biodiversity,
sustainability, and, school grounds grants.
Contact www.snh.org.uk
On this site you can find recommended publications and lots of linked web sites. You can order free posters and
free fact sheets, download teachers notes, or contact our Education request service.
Go to the A-Z button at the top and look for Education on the A-Z. You can then choose from Primary,
Secondary, education request or school grounds.
Research on the Web
Click on the ‘Education Request’ section and scroll down to where you can see the list;
‘Birds and Beasts’, ‘Fins and Flippers’, ‘Plants and Petals’, ‘Boughs and Branches’, ‘Trout and Toads’ and ‘You Can
Make a Difference’.
Click to research recommended web sites.
Looking at Projects
Go to www.snh.gov.uk, click on the A-Z and go to Education. Scroll down to the ‘Young Peoples Art Project’ to
see films and web sites that young people have already made about their woodlands and marine environment.
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acknowledgements
The original text for this pack was provided by Lynnette Borradaile and edited for publication by Irene Watson.
Further activities provided by Susan Webster.
Thanks to all SNH staff, especially Julia MacPherson and Tom Cunningham.
Illustrations provided by Alan Scott, Jan Hendry and Irene Watson.
Photography by Lorne Gill, Laurie Campbell and David Whitaker.
Further thanks to:
Joyce Campbell
Tess Darwin
Fife Council Education Service
Dundee City Council Education Service
Learning and Teaching Scotland
Gordon Meade for supplying the Seal poetry
Julia Mifkin for supplying introductory poem
Design By River Design
Copyright Acknowledgements
Some of these activities draw from existing good practice, and particularly tried and tested activities.
Every effort has been made to trace copyright owners, and to acknowledge the original sources of activities and
illustrations used. We apologise to any authors who are unacknowledged and will gladly do so in future editions.
We should like to thank the following for their copyright permissions:
Fragile Environments - The Use and Management of Tentsmuir Point NNR, Fife, ed Graeme Whittington 1996.
Published by Scottish Cultural Press & Scottish Children's Press, Unit 13d, Newbattle Abbey Business Annexe,
Newbattle Road, DALKEITH, EH22 3LJ, Scotland, http://www.scottishbooks.com/index.htm
Journey sticks activity - Talking to the Earth, Gordon Maclellan. 1995, reprinted 2002. Capall Bann Publishing,
Auton Farm, Milverton, Somerset TA4 1NE.
http://www.capallbann.co.uk/home.cfm
Prehistoric Morton by Reg Candow, 1989, published and printed by D Winter and Son, Printers and Publishers,
Block 16, Dunsinane Avenue, Dundee
Birds, Bugs and Beasties - a pack for nature conservation study in Grangemouth. Published by Central Ranger
Service, RSPB, SWT, WATCH
Home Sweet Home activity - The Ecology Pack, Landlife, National Wildflower Centre, Court Hey Park, Liverpool,
L16 3 NA,
www.landlife.org.uk
Biodiversity for all - a toolkit by the Scottish Biodiversity Group.
www.scotland.gov.uk/biodiversity