Welcome to the booking page for the Field Studies Council’s Open University field schools. Please add the courses you wish to join to your basket, and then register or login to provide your contact details. You can then pay for your courses using a credit or debit card.
By booking an Open University field course at a Field Studies Council Centre you are accepting the booking terms and conditions specified here. The main points to note are highlighted below:-
Deposit
A non-refundable deposit is required to confirm course bookings on all Open University field school courses.
Balance of Fees
An invoice for the balance of fees will be sent to you approximately 3 months before the arrival date. The booking price balance must be paid not less than 56 days prior to the arrival date.
If any payment is not made in accordance with the Payment Schedule, we may treat the Booking as cancelled and apply the applicable Cancellation Charge.
Transfer
If you wish to transfer to a different course we will make every effort to meet your requirements. A £30 administration charge per field school will be applied to all bookings for any alterations to your booking dates or venue.
Cancellation
If it is necessary for you to cancel your booking, please inform the centre in writing as soon as possible. Cancellation is effective from the date your letter or email is received at our offices and will be subject to cancellation charges as follows:
– We retain any deposit paid if the booking is cancelled by the customer for any reason.
– If cancellation is made less than 56 days before the start of the course, the booking price balance is payable in full.
Station Transfers please contact the centre directly at [email protected]
By booking an Open University field course at a Field Studies Council centre you are accepting our booking terms and conditions specified here. Please note, to ensure the planning and safe delivery of this course Field Studies Council will share attendee data with Open University.
Example Timetable
Itinerary
Day 1
6:00pm - Arrive and settle into rooms
6:30pm - Evening meal
7:15pm - Session 1
- Introduction to the centre
- What do you hope to get from the course?
- Pollination PowerPoint presentation
Day 2
9:15am - Session 2
- Classroom introduction to pollinating insects (Bees, hoverflies, etc.)
- Exploration of the centre grounds looking for flowers and insects
- Demonstration of how to use nets to collect insect specimens and how to identify insect specimens in the field
12:30pm - Lunch
1:00pm - Session 3
- Observations in the field focussing on what can be measured in terms of flower variables, insect variables and environmental variables.
- Demonstration of how to use appropriate equipment to measure environmental variables.
3:30pm - Tea Break
4:00pm - Session 4 Statistics workshop
5:30pm/6pm - Break
6:30pm - Evening meal
7:15pm - Session 5
Idea sharing session – students work in groups to assess what is practicable to measure
Day 3
9:15am - Session 6 Plan a big group investigation
11:00am - Session 7 Big group pilot study
12noon - Appraise and adjust plan
1:00pm - Working lunch in the field
3:30pm - Statistics and group feedback
4:30pm - Session 8 Identifying flowers using Francis Rose Wild Flower Key workshop
6:30pm - Evening meal
7:15pm - Session 9 Other flower keys – BSBI and Plant Family Characteristics
Day 4
9:15am - Session 10 Writing up TMA presentation
10:30pm - Session 11 Small group investigations
3:00pm - Session 12 Project groups feedback
4:00pm - Finish
Evening finishing time varies on days 1-3 but will not extend beyond 9pm.
Please note: that all days and timings are subject to change depending on weather and unforeseen circumstances.
Before You Attend
What to bring:
- Suitable footwear and clothing appropriate for the outdoors
- Waterproofs (can be borrowed from the centre if needed)
- Lunch box and water bottle
- Pencils, pens and notebook
- Laptop could be useful but not essential
Sorry this course booking is closed