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Fieldtrips
In conjunction with local day based fieldtrips the School also organises first and second year residential fieldtrips. In first year there is a two-day induction fieldtrip for all students to Donegal to introduce them to their subject areas, each other and the staff. While in second year there are fieldtrips to more diverse locations. Environmental Science and Marine Science students venture to the Algarve in Portugal for two weeks, while Geography students have the choice of going to Canada or Tanzania for their trip.
- Portugal Field course
Second year Environmental Science AND Marine Science students travel to the Algarve in Portugal where they undertake fieldwork in a number of different areas such as coastal studies, landscape ecology, and hydrology. Students learn how to use new pieces of equipment such as an EDM (Electronic Distance Measurement System) and also learn how to interpret and scientifically quantify data relating to specific environmental/marine problems. The trip teaches not only useful field based skills and the processing of field collected data but others such as presentation skills. The trip is a friendly mixture of hard work and fun in a pleasant learning environment.
- The Tanzania Field course
The field trip to the Tanzania gives second year geography students the chance to experience first hand the sights, sounds and smells of an African country that is classified as amongst the poorest in the world.
Whilst there students have the opportunity to investigate economic development both within an urban and a rural context, the roles of women in family and working lives, agriculture and village credit systems, urban markets and coastal tourism management. In addition students see landscapes and wildlife that is very different to anything they have experienced before, travel by river as well as by land-rover and stay in villages and under canvas. Students say that the memories of the trip will last a lifetime!
- The Marine Science field course
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The second-year Marine Science field trip to Algarve (Portugal) is combined with local (Ireland) marine survey experience and gives students fantastic oppportunities to utilise state-of-the art diving, marine geophysics and marine biology techniques. Activities include open water diving, sidescan sonar and echo-sounding surveys using various research vessels.
- Toronto Field course
In both 2001 and 2002 second-year geography students and lecturers spent one week in Toronto undertaking fieldwork. Toronto is a culturally diverse and economically dynamic city. Students undertook a range of fieldwork activities building up their understanding of how the city and its surrounds have developed.
These included ethnicity projects examining the many different communities established by Canada’s immigrant population and tourism projects which gave us an opportunity to view the city from the top of the CN tower and visit Niagara Falls. Student feedback was unanimously positive with some even declaring a wish to emigrate there!
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