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We strongly believe that, as well as learning about ecology and conservation in lectures, you should have the opportunity to experience them for yourself.
Read more about the hands-on field trips we run for Animal Behaviour, Zoology, and Marine and Terrestrial Conservation students.
Uganda
You'll spend around ten days of this two-week trip at the Makerere University Biological Field Station (MUBFS) in the forest of Kibale National Park. The focus of the trip is tropical ecology and conservation and you'll collect data on a range of species, from plants and insects to birds and mammals.
This field trip is compulsory if you take the Tropical Ecology and Management, which is an optional module. You'll gain a greater understanding of tropical biodiversity and learn about the ecology of the forest and the human factors that affect the structure of habitats and the distribution of animals and plants. Awareness of these issues is invaluable, whether your career aspirations are in animal behaviour, ecology and conservation, zoology or elsewhere in society. You'll also see some stunning wildlife.
The ability to scuba dive is an important practical skill for marine biologists, and on this field trip you'll gain the internationally recognised PADI Open Water Diver certification. You could also make the most of your time on the field trip and take the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course, gaining two certifications in one week.
You'll have numerous opportunities to observe and learn about the marine life. Students who have learnt marine survey techniques on this trip have gone on to work with the IUCN surveying coral reefs in the Maldives, thresher sharks in the Philippines, manta rays in Ecuador and more.
Courses for which this optional field trip is available (all year groups):
This field trip takes you to the Netherlands to visit four very different Dutch zoos: Rotterdam, Amersfoort, Burgers, and Apenhuel Primate Park.
You'll see a wide variety of world-class zoo enclosures, and learn how the needs of the animals, keepers and the viewing public are taken into account when designing new ones.
This field trip is compulsory if you take the ‘Zoos and Zoo Animal Management’ module; a third year module specifically designed to provide students with a range of key biological skills that many employers require. Students who have been on this trip have gone on to work for British zoos, and those further afield. They've told us that the skills and experience gained on this field trip, and on the module Behaviour & Management of Zoo Animals, has helped them gain jobs in the zoo world.
Watch our video: A trip to the Zoo with Anglia Ruskin
Millport Marine Research Station
Millport is a final year week-long residential field trip to the Field Studies Council facility at Millport, Isle of Great Cumbrae, off the west coast of Scotland. As a bespoke marine biology research site with fully equipped teaching rooms, aquarium and library with on-site accommodation, the station carries out beam trawls, plankton trawls and benthic grabs to study the marine life in the Firth of Clyde.
You'll experience British marine biology at its very best in terms of fauna, flora, scenery and facilities, with access to one of the oldest bespoke marine libraries in the country.
You'll complete your Practical Marine Biology module on site, with an identification test, practical field and laboratory work and projects, data analysis and write up. Your project could focus on any aspect of marine biology, including ecological, behavioural, taxonomic, educational or of a technical nature.
Past projects have focused on:
intertidal animals, such as winkle migration
deep-water animals, such as analysis of fighting injuries in squat lobsters
plants and how phytoplankton responses to coloured light
marine organisms and identifying all shelled molluscs
investigating red algae recovered from the shores or ship trawls
classroom guides for distinguishing a kelp from a wrack or starfish from a sun star
designing an alternative piece of technical equipment
The Isle of Rum is a National Nature Reserve and we see a variety of vertebrate life in a remote island location that very few people get the chance to visit. Our visit is timed to coincide with the autumn red deer rut, in which stags display and fight for territory and females. Here, you'll get a taste of British wildlife at its wildest.
You'll visit the nesting grounds of the Manx shearwater, a globally threatened seabird with very important colonies in the Hebrides. Other highlights often include cetaceans (porpoises and occasionally minke whales from the ferry), grey seals, otters (if we're lucky!), sea eagles and golden eagles.
You'll take part in talks from deer and shearwater researchers and from land managers working for Scottish Natural Heritage, which owns Rum.
This is a great trip for all students interested in animal behaviour, ecology and zoology. You’ll learn about vertebrate taxonomy, improve your identification skills and understand conservation and land management issues.
When we visit Rum we almost double the population of the island (which currently stands at about 40 residents), so in addition to the scientific aspects of the trip, it's an interesting cultural experience. This is an optional field trip associated with the ‘Wildlife and Conservation’ Module. Limited spaces, due to accommodation available on the island.
This trip is part of the module ‘Field Skills in Biology’ and will give you an opportunity to develop skills in various components of field biology. It will introduce you to the research methods necessary for conducting fieldwork in temperate habitats including how to identify UK fauna and flora, and planning and conducting a research project.
Through a range of exercises, you will receive training in field techniques in marine, terrestrial or behavioural ecology. Students who have been on this field trip have gone on to work for Wildlife Trusts and other conservation organisations. Accommodation and transport are included in the cost of your fees.
Courses for which this compulsory field trip is available:
