Last week the Geography department took the whole of Year 9 out to explore, enjoy and be captivated by the awe and wonder of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. This was an excellent finale to our topic of World Biomes and allowed students to explore vegetation and ecosystems from around the world.  We had beautiful autumn weather which set the perfect scene as our native deciduous woodland trees and vegetation were turning red and golden. Students visited a range of top attractions in the garden including the tree top walk, Palm House, Temperate House, The Hive and the students favourite the Princess of Wales Conservatory. This greenhouse included desert biomes, tropical rainforest and ferns, carnivorous plants and beautiful orchids.

The pictures here show the delights of Kew in all of its glory. The Hive is an incredible art structure that is designed as a bee hive would be and being inside you hear the noise of bees buzzing and the lights flashing representing how the bees communicate. The image shows what the inside of The Hive looks like inside.

Year 9 groups outside The Palm House before we entered the humid rainforests that span the equator. It was not long before coats were taken off as the heat inside helped to create a real experience. Inside the drips off the leaves help to create the damp jungle conditions that you would experience in the tropical rainforest. Students had to find examples of fruit, medicinal plants and drip tip leaves!

The treetop walkway was another highlight of the trip. Where students experienced the top of the trees from 18m up and could look out across the treetops and west London.

Click here to view the Kew Gardens field trip album.

The Geography Department