1. You the Teacher can run your own classes.

• Use the facilities of the Centre with Staff acting as your Assistants.

2. The Centre Staff can run a general interactive introduction to biology/ecology.

• This with relevance to the curriculum for the particular grade involved
• Approximately 2 1/2 hours long.

3. A comprehensive full participatory course with the Teacher, class and Centre Staff.

• The children are prebriefed from the preparation pack.
• The children are divided into  7 groups in the classroom.
• A group leader for each group is appointed.
• When the students return to the classroom a combined presentation is done.
• The presentation will consist of displays, photographs, explanations and documentation.
• This to benefit all the students.
• Approximately 7 1/2 hours – 1/2 for lunch.

A classroom stocked with live specimens from the field.

4. A course run by a Specialist using the Centre facilities.

• You choose the Specialist.
• The Specialists fees are for your schools account.

5. A 3 day course with 2 night sleep over (Friday – Sunday).

• Tented accommodation and food provided.
• All girl or all boy groups only. No mixed groups.
• First night activity – star gazing and moth trapping (depending on the weather).
• Second night activity – small mammal and twilight birds.
• Day time activities are an expanded version of item 3 above.
• Maximum group size  20 students.
• Cost R400 per student. Details on application.

Laboratory classroom facilities are available.

Part of the vegetable garden, overlooking the Paarden Eiland Wetlands.

The Paarden Eiland Wetlands
Come and see the unique and comprehensive educational opportunity that exists in this exciting Wetland System, which offers the following habitats contained in a small geographic area;

• Tidal estuary

• Sandy beach

• Lagoon – permanent water, brackish water

• Seasonal mudbanks

• Meadowland

• Dune scrubland

View infusoria and microscopic pond life under a microscope. See the potential of the area to demonstrate most of the biological priciples. Judge how wonderful and beneficial a days fieldwork could be.
Field courses can either be run by us or in support of your ideas.
When the course is run by us, we will follow up by handing out outcomes-based worksheets so that you may assess the residual value of the course.

Facilities and Equipment
The abreviated list of some of the facilities and equipment we can provide for your use;

• Extensive library of reference books and videos on Natural History.

• Microscopes and equipment, staines and reagents, mounting and preserving equipment, laboratory equipment, instruments and glassware, measuring and weighing equipment.

• A wide range of nets, traps and other capture equipment, aquaria and breeding cages.

• A wide range of instruments including salinity, pH and oxygen measuring.

• Fridges and deepfreezers for specimen storage and control, gas and water facilities.

• Moth trapping equipment – including whitesheets and frames for mercury vapour, ultra violet1 and 2, fluorecent and tungsten lighting.

• Tools such as spades, forks etc.

• Photographic equipment, video camera.

• Line transects, quadrants and range rods.

Video recording of the class lessons is available for reviewing at home or at school.