6. Collecting baseline data from your quadrat
Start recording all the fauna, flora and fungi within the decided number of squares of your quadrat. You are counting what is above the ground but will have to spread apart the leaf litter/grass to see what is underneath it.
Use the Record Sheet.
If you cannot identify a life form collect it in a speciman container or take a very good description and a photograph.
Additional suggestions for enhancing the experience include:
- Use tweezers to pick up bugs – for those kids who don’t like touching wriggling things. Or, get those kids to do the recording.
- Don’t bother doing any identification in the field. Put unknown flora, fauna and fungi in the specimen jar and take back to the classroom or lab to identify using Meet a Metre's resources.
- Ensure scientific counting. This is your baseline data. You need to know exactly what is in the quadrat to know what difference you have made after the enhancement process.
- A lot of fungi don’t look like mushrooms or toadstools. There is plenty around at this time of the year.
- Put each quadrat in a different area (and have the kids working within earshot) so that kids can compare findings with each other
- There is a good maths lesson in working out the exact slope of the quadrat.
- Gumboots, old clothes and a kneel pad/plastic bag are useful. You can’t see much from 1.5 metres up!