Yorkshire Water - Tophill Low Nature Reserve

Owned and run by Yorkshire Water our education centre is run by experienced staff . We aim to deliver all our activities outside on the reserve but we have a well equipped classroom that visiting schools have complete use of. The education room is on the ground floor of the visitors bird hide. The main toilet block is a short distance away from the facility but there is a disabled toilet nearby. To access the bird hide viewing area, visitors can use the stairs or the external ramp. The building is wheelchair accessible. The education guide is well prepared to adapt language and activities depending on the reading age and educational needs of the children in the tour group. Children with special educational needs are welcome. We offer a programme of free sessions for primary schools and additional bespoke sessions for secondary schools, universities and community groups. You can check our schedule of opening for availability at www.yorkshirewater.com/availability/ Please note that we can only take one class per session. KS2 Programme Guide for Tophill Low Nature Reserve Programmes available are: Life underwater -This session will help pupils discover how insects and other pondlife are adapted to survive underwater. Pupils will collect and identify common pondlife, learn about their life cycles and their place in the pond food web. Life on the water - Using our binoculars, hides and viewing areas pupils can learn to identify the birds they find. Pupils will be able to describe similarities and differences between them, from beaks, feet, size, colour and behaviour to thoughts about what the birds might eat and how they are adapted to their watery habitat. Wonderful woods - With our vast expanse of woodland, pupils will be able to study the life cycle of plants through our magnificent trees, from their buds and bark to their leaves and seeds. Working scientifically pupils will be able to describe patterns, take measurements, make predictions and give explanations for how plants are adapted to survive. Nature detectives - Using the essential scientific skills of observation and recording, pupils will be able to become nature detectives and track evidence of what lives on the reserve. Their findings will help pupils understand how different animals in the food chain are adapted to their environment and how the reserve is managed to protect them. Minibeasts - Pupils will find out what a mini-beast is, where they live and what they look like. Pupils will learn different techniques to collect and identify what they find. They will be able to study them carefully and understand what the reserve needs to do to encourage more suitable habitat. Wild world - In this session pupils find out about what it is like to live in the wild; what are the sounds, sights and smells? They think about where the different plants and animals live in relation to each other and whether they would be able to survive themselves. Could they find food ,water and shelter?