Exeter students explore Exe Estuary
Pupils from St David's Church of England Primary School in Exeter recently took a free train trip on the Exeter – Exmouth Avocet Line to join the Exe Estuary Management Partnership on a visit to the Exmouth Nature Reserve.
The trip was organised by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership under their “Train trips for schoolchildren” initiative. This aims to introduce more children to rail travel and is run in conjunction with Great Western Railway, who provided free travel for the children and teachers.
The schoolchildren from Emerald Class enjoyed seeing many of the amazing creatures that live in the various estuary habitats, finding out how they are able to cope with the constantly changing tides. The children were led out onto the seemingly empty and muddy sandflats of the Exe Estuary, before taking a closer look and discovering a world of scurrying shore crabs, gliding periwinkles, tiny goby fish in puddles and piles of discarded shells – each telling a story of battles against predators, desiccation and tidal currents. Digging deeper, the children delighted in meeting wriggly worms with detachable tails, and they used nets in the creek to explore the estuary nursery where many species start their lives. The children ambled back to shore muddier and wetter, but glowing with the excitement that comes with discovering a secret world.
Class Teacher Mrs Jones-Whyte said: "The children had a fantastic time, lots of high-order questioning and thoughtful responses. They demonstrated what curious and responsible learners they are during their time discovering about train travel in our local area and life on the Exe Estuary."
Teaching Assistant Mr Meredith said: "We feel very proud of how the children worked both collaboratively and independently and respected our local environment"
Stephanie Clark from the Exe Estuary Management Partnership said: “Every spring we look forward to getting schoolchildren out on the Exe Estuary to explore the natural wonders of our environment.
"The children are encouraged to discover the hidden nature and learn about how creatures have adapted to thrive in the ever changing conditions of the estuary.
"We are delighted that the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership were able to offer free train travel for schools this year, it really opened up this opportunity to those that struggle to get out of the classroom and onto the estuary, so we would like to say a big thank you to them.
"Schools that would like to get involved in future education sessions can email exeestua@devon.gov.uk”
Celia Minoughan, Project Officer from the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, said: “We were delighted at the children’s enthusiasm for travelling by train. Some of them hadn’t been on the train before. A great day out!”
Great Western Railway Mid Devon Station Manager Melanie Harvey said: "This scheme is a great way to encourage local children to use our railway safely and confidently.”
