About the course

Malham Tarn Field Centre is set amongst limestone grassland, looking south over 153 ha calcareous tarn (lake) in the West Yorkshire Pennines, with the long distance Pennine Way footpath passing the door. Much of the area that we use is a National Nature Reserve which includes limestone ‘pavement’ and crags, the Tarn itself, marshes, bogs, streams and a range of woodland. We use the Field Centre accommodation and laboratories, as well as occasionally visiting Malham village for social events, after each day’s work is done.

The course aims:

• to provide training in a wide range of ecological techniques, and experience of catching and handling animals in all the nearby habitats; followed by training in planning and carrying out ecological projects and reporting your results.

To achieve this aim:

• we include everything from insects to mammals. After an initial orientation period, students then split into small groups to carry out complete ecological projects of their own devising (with our help and advice)
• they see these through from question setting, planning, data collection, computer-aided analysis
• and finally present their results in a research seminar.

The course is designed to teach you how to carry out effective research projects in ecology, an ability that becomes vital in your honours year. It will also introduce you to the natural history of a diverse range of animals.

Finally we take the opportunity to show you the range of unrivalled botanical, geomorphological and archaeological features of the area and to discuss the way that human activity has shaped the habitats and landforms in the Pennines.

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