Come and Study at Moulton College!

Student Research Leads the Way!

Our higher education students are now nearing completion of their studies for this year and many of the students are busy collecting data for their undergraduate dissertations. This is a terrific challenge for students who are faced with researching, planning, carrying out and then writing up their work in a 10,000 word document! Over the years the work has been so well received it has led to conference presentations and even publications and articles to be published to the wider scientific community.

This year the range of projects being undertaken is very diverse and reflects some very under-researched areas within agriculture and conservation. For the BSc Land Management course, here is a list of who is doing what so you can see what we mean:

Agriculture & Farming

• Affect of lamb breed on lambing success in England and Wales - Aileen
• Evaluation of one pass soil seed rape establishment using different drill types at Lamport Hall - Guy
• Use of bioelectrical impedance analysis to predict carcass traits in live lambs - Prosper
• Effectiveness of biofertilisers on the growth of winter wheat - Tom
• Use of e-technology in calculating the green area index for winter wheat - Nick
• Use of e-techonology in calculating the green area index of oil seed rape - Steve

Conservation and Ecology

• Open mosaic habitats and their associated Coleopteran assemblages - Carole
• A study of non-target wildlife species feeding from gamebird hoppers on intensively managed shoots - Dan
• RFID method for the spatial determination and tracking of harvest mice in the wild - David
• Impact of ride management on native butterfly assemblages in ancient woodlands - Jamie
• Effectivness of deer deterrants in influencing spatial distributions of free roaming deer in parkland and woodland - Jarvis
• Habitat preferences of marsh tits and blue tits at Monks Wood National Nature Reserve, Cambs - Lewis
• Ecological impact of muntjac deer on ancient woodlands and potential ecosystem services - Luke

To learn more about research in the Agriculture Subject Area, visit: http://www.moulton.ac.uk/the-college/research-at-moulton 

The Skys Above Moulton are Filled with Birds of Prey!

Countryside Management, Animal Welfare and Agriculture students were wowed by a birds of prey demonstration from Icarus Falconry of Northamptonshire on Monday 20^th May.  The demonstration covered a wide range of topics including the care and training required to keep and raise birds of prey along with the importance of the conservation of these birds of prey.  The birds that were brought to the demonstration and flown on the day included a young Bateleur Eagle, a Black Kite, a Harris Hawk and a Barn Own.

 

 

National Agricultural Colleges Clay Shooting Championship

A team comprising Countryside Management and Agriculture students along with Gamekeeping lecturer Bob Farmer attended the 2013 National Agricultural Colleges Clay Shooting Championships at Warwickshire College last Saturday. Students, David Ferriman and Reece Brown tied for 2^nd place with a team from Harper Adams University in the Flush Competition resulting in a bit of cash coming their way! The team also came 8^th in the Championship.

 

Countryside Students Bridge the Gap.....

A small group of countryside students used the skills they have gained over the last two years to construct a small bridge using just the timber they have cut from the woods. Rob, Dave and Tom took a while to get warmed up but once they got going there was no stopping them! As Tom busily felled suitable trees, Rob and Dave were hammering away fixing the bridge together. By the end of the session the group had constructed a simple yet affective wooden bridge.

Farming for Wildlife at Rectory Farm

Yesterday, Higher Education students were hosted by farmer George Eaton at Rectory Farm in Buckinghamshire. George farms an idyllic small farm in a traditional manner, but the difference is he has fully embraced environmental grant aid to farm for wildlife. Working with Natural England and Kings Seeds, George was able to explain how his commercial farming ventures (which include producing beef for waitrose) achieve a balance with managing the natural environment for conservation.

Alongside expanses of wheat and grassland leys, George manages two county wildlife sites (both traditional wildflowet meadows) and a stretch of river where water vole and otter both occur. He obtains some funding through the environmental stewardship suite of grants and students were able to see the diverse range of options employed on the farm. You can find out more about Rectory Farm here: http://www.rectory-farm.org.uk.

Cover Crop Gets Laid....

Countryside management students have been preparing the colleges cover crop, having completed their NPTC ATV & Tractor driving certificates as part of their course they had a chance to put their qualifications into practice. They used the colleges new Case tractor to disc the soil to break down the clods to prepare a fine seed bed.  They then drove the quad bike and grain spinner to broadcast the mixture of seeds which would form the bulk of cover for the college game birds.  

 

The cover crop they have sown contains maize, red and white millet, sunflowers, kale, buckwheat and forage rape. This will produce a cover crop that will provide additional feed, cover and shelter for the pheasants and partridges found on the college’s 430 hectare estate.  

 

 

Countryside Students turn up the heat....

Countryside Management students Angus, Jo, Sam and Elly try the team approach to making fire by friction. As part of an enrichment activity linked to their course students have learned how to make fire by friction using the bow drill method. They spent the morning selecting appropriate material such as elder and willow to make the drill and hearth of their fire kits and then whittled a bow from green wood before putting everything together to try and make fire.

 

 

Countryside Students Stock Fence....

Countryside Students continued to help out on the college estate. This week saw students putting in gates and constructing stock proof fencing to keep the colleges 1000 North Country Mules out of the neighbouring estates.

Greg, Dan and Ryan can be seen driving the posts in and then checking they are straight with a spirit level. There are plenty of opportunities for the countryside students to gain real landbased practical experience on the colleges 450 hectares.

 

Pleasant Pheasant Egg Hunt...

Countryside Management students recently successfully completed a project rearing Japanese Quail but keen for more experience they have now started to prepare a batch of Pheasant eggs for the incubator.

In January the students caught wild pheasants on the college estate just as keepers all around the country would have been doing in preparation for rearing the next season’s pheasants. These pheasants were then housed in pens built by the students and fed a high protein diet to ensure they produce good quality fertile eggs. The birds have been laying since the beginning of April and about 80 eggs have been collected over the last ten days. These eggs have been washed and sterilised and are now in the incubator and will hatch in 24 days’ time. You can see Greg and Dan carefully putting the precious eggs through this process in the pictures below.

 

 

 

Practical Work at Bush Walk Woods SSSI Proves a Success for Wildlife

From an agreement with the Ginpat Charitable Trust and Natural England (NE), Higher and Further Countryside Management students have been undertaking practical and survey work at Bush Walk Woods SSSI - an 8 acre section of a much larger ancient woodland.

Designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest by virtue of the unusual woodland plants found at the site, staff agreed a management plan with the owners and NE which is methodically being implemented. With spring now finally here, the woodland thinning and ride clearance work has resulted in a profusion of common spotted orchids (pictured) and regrowth of the hazel understorey. Indeed, selective thinning rather than sporadic coppicing is the key to reducing the main ecological limiting factor at this site - lack of light.

Dormouse nest boxes have also been set out in the wood in the hope of finding some of these rare woodland critters - check back to the blog to see if any found when the boxes are checked in June!

Countyside Students Continue to Build Bridges!!

This week the second group of countryside students took on the bridge building task. Again the group took to the challenge with energy and enthusiasm expected of those planning practical careers in the great outdoors. Angus took on the role as team leader doing a fine job organising the rest of the team and ensuring everyone knew what they were doing. Elly and Joe didn’t stop despite the onset of blisters while Phil and Sam made rapid progress in dismantling the handrails.

Countryside Students Tractor Driving Skills Continue to Improve....

The countryside Students have been back out in the tractors this week. The group practised their driving with trailers attached and demonstrated how to tip rubble safely. Abbey and Brady can be seen chugging across the yard with Brady providing expert advice to an already very compitent Abbey!

 

Deer Management at Bush Walk Woods

Extended Diploma Countryside Management students have recently prepared deer management plans for a local woodland. They have carried out regular surveys of the wood including the use of ‘trail cam’s’ (remote cameras which can be positioned in the woods and will record movement of wildlife) to determine which deer species are present and their approximate numbers.

 

 

 

They have found that there is a healthy population of Reeves Muntjac present in the woods and have recently submitted plans which would ensure that the deer population does not negatively impact on the sensitive ground flora and planned coppice work in the woodland.

 

Otter Holt Completion

The second phase of the otter holt build is now complete, and all that is left is to pin the structure down in-case the flood waters rise. The hexagonal, chambered structure was roofed with brash, waste timber and turf to create a non-intrusive holt for any resident otters – Lois, David and Dan are pictured standing outside the holt. A camera-trap was placed near the entrance so any subsequent use can be monitored – check back to the blog to see if the otter’s occupy their fancy new home!

 

In addition, students carried out some water quality testing by ‘kick-sampling’ a gravel riffle and identifying macro-invertebrates found (pictured). Some species are more tolerant of pollution than others, but thankfully clean water indicators including stoneflies were present.

 

 

 

Hunt for Rare Amphibian Proves ‘Great’ Experience

An intrepid team of HE students including Martin (pictured), Heather, Helen, Nat, Joe, Mark, Kat and Liz checked the live capture traps on the ponds on the eastern margins this morning which yielded a fantastic result – live specimens of the rare and protected Great Crested Newt. Pictures were taken of the ornate belly markings  to allow subsequent identification of individuals specimens – in this case a mature male. Unusually long lived, these fascinating creatures are a welcome addition to the biodiversity of the farm.

Farming and Countryside Management Event @MoultonCollege Wednesday 5th June 2013

Countryside students survey the pitfalls of hedgerow biodiversity

Countryside management students continue to look for signs of life in the college hedgerows. Having identified the value of the college hedgerows in previous weeks, the group set out to find what insects the farm hedgerows were supporting. The students set five pitfall traps at five very different hedgerows so they could compare the results and calculate the value of each of the hedgerows.

Tom managed to dig up part of an old chain-harrow as he set his pitfall trap which led to a group discussion on what they would do if they dug up an historical artefact such as a pot of roman coins. While no decision was made on what the group would do if they did make such a discovery it was agreed that an unexploded second world war bomb was the item they would least want to dig up…..

High River Levels Refuse to ‘Holt’ Otter Build

BSc Land Management students had an opportunity to do something a little different this week – to build a home (or holt) for Leicesteshire’s threatened otters. Staff member James has built several of these over the years and has the hexagonal, chambered and thatched design down to a fine art!

 

The mystery location of the holt was a river west of Corby that has received funding from the Environment Agency (EA) to restore the river system. As well as new fencing, cattle drinkers, flow deflectors and bank stabilisation areas an otter holt was also on the list, and this is where our group of students working with the EA and Ecology Link Ltd led by Lewis, David, Jarvis and Amber bravely stepped up.

 

Of course, otters do not dig their own burrows and are hard pushed to find suitable areas to hide when river corridors have been channelised and improved so much. So what better way to help them occupy this area than by building them their own ‘des-res’?! As you can see from the pictures the holt is half finished, so check back to the blog next week to see the finished masterpiece! Trailcam’s will also be set up to monitor occupancy.