What does fieldwork mean?
Fieldwork is when you go outside and find out things about a place. You can do this by yourself or with your friends.
Before you start your fieldwork, you need to decide what you want to find out.
You can do this by thinking of questions and how you will find out the answers.
Watch: Fieldwork outside the classroom
Play the video to watch Amber and Ben learn about fieldwork outside the classroom.
Mr Lewis: Okay Eco-Team. I've been asked by our headteacher how we can make our school grounds better.
Amber: I think we should create a new garden to get more wildlife to come here!
Mr Lewis: What a good idea! Can we think of some things we would need to find out to make it a success?
Ben: We need to find out where the plants will grow best in the garden.
Ahmed: And we could see what animals and plants already live around the school.
Mr Lewis: So, how do you think we can find out about those things?
Amber: If I leave a tray with sand on in the bushes, we could look at the footprints left behind by the animals. Then we can tell what animals live here.
Ben: We could use those things that measure how much rain there is…
Mr Lewis: Rain gauges?
Ben: Yeah! We could put them in different places around the school. Then we can find out which spot gets the right amount of water for the plants to grow in the garden.
Amber: We could find out what plants already grow well around the school by taking photos of different kinds of plants and counting them.
Mr Lewis: Well done! This is great fieldwork!
Ben: What’s fieldwork?
Mr Lewis: It’s when you visit a place and find out about it. For example, you’re finding out lots of things about our school grounds that will help us decide where to put the new nature garden. I’m really excited to see what you discover!
Amber: I looked at the footprints in the sand and I found we have hedgehogs!
Ben: I found out where there is the right amount of rain for the plants to grow, and it’s right here!
Amber: These are all the different plants we already have here.
Mr Lewis: That’s some great research! I think we now know what the best place to plant our new garden will be, and what to plant there!
Things to think about before you start fieldwork
Before you start your fieldwork you could think of questions such as:
- How many birds visit the garden every day?
- What animals live under stones in the garden?
- What flowers do bees like best?
Once you have thought of your questions, you can decide how you are going to find the answers - this is when you get outside and do your fieldwork!
Have a look through examples of fieldwork investigations:
Image caption, Fieldwork in the forest
You can investigate what types of insects live in the forest.
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What about you?
Think about what you would like to find out about in your local area.
Activity 1: Doing fieldwork
Activity 2: Fieldwork quiz
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