Location 2 // GUIDE TO ECOTRAIL Gosford Forest Park is located on the A28, Armagh to Newry Road close to Markethill. Facilities Beside the large car park is a toilet block. A lunch room can be pre­ booked through the Forest Service at Gosford Forest Park, telephone 028 3755 1277 or www.forestserviceni.gov.uk. Forestry Education visits are free. Please contact Forest Service at the above GOSFORD FOREST PARK GOSFORD FOREST PARK number to notify them of your intended visit. Teachers / Group Leaders are responsible for the group through out the visit. Route The route is approximately 2.5km along maintained track for the entire route, passing through grassland, parkland and woodland. The track is mostly wide and level and may be suitable for those with mobility difficulties, although you may wish to use the main path from the car park to the millponds, avoiding the steeper path at the ravine. This is a working forest environment and from time to time paths may be closed for forest operations. Health & Safety prohibition signs will inform you of any areas you must not enter. Safety Please be aware of traffic in the area around the car park and along the main driveways. In parts the trail passes alongside a stream with steep banks, although the path is wide. The ponds are fenced along the edges where the eco-trail passes close by. Building work is expected to continue on the castle until early 2009. Please take care near any areas that are under construction. Refer to ELB or your organisation’s guidelines for ratios of adults to children whilst on educational visits. Equipment for the trail Tackling the Trail • Outdoor clothing including outdoor shoes • Crayons and waterproof coats • Compass • Leader Guide for Activity Booklet and • Measuring tapes map • Plastic spoons and bowls • Participant Activity Booklet and map • Magnifying lenses (optional) • Pencils/pens • Camera (optional) • Blank paper • Calculator (optional) To maximize the participants’ outdoor experience while on the trail, the amount of 3 // GUIDE TO ECOTRAIL writing in the Activity Booklet is brief. It is suggested that participants work in small groups to allow them to discuss information and views, to take turns in recording information and to gain as much first hand experience as possible. Participants can record information with drawings, diagrams, notes, lists etc. and photographs if possible. The pre and post visit activities give participants time in the classroom to read background information and to use their collected information in structured activities. The trail which consists of 13 points marked by numbered posts with green and white markings are indicated on the map. To reduce the number of posts in the forest, only the less obvious locations are marked by posts, i.e. E2, E5, E6, E7, and E11. At each point there are questions in the Leader Guide that can be used to promote discussion and thinking. The Activity Booklet and the Guide have questions and activities which GOSFORD FOREST PARK involve hands-on investigation and recording by the participants. In addition to the main activities, a sheet of photographs is available for participants to tick off if when they see features. They can also be used as discussion points. Some of the activities involve measuring and calculating. The techniques are given on the information sheets and would be best practised before going on the trail. 1 It should take about 2 /2 hours to walk around the trail and complete the activities. Links to Revised Northern Ireland Curriculum The main elements of the proposed Northern Ireland Curriculum that can be covered by completing the Ecotrail and pre and post visit activities are set out below. There are also opportunities to cover aspects of Creative, Expressive and Physical Development, Language and Literacy, Mathematics and Numeracy and Personal Development. Key Stage 2: THE WORLD AROUND US: Theme1: The Way We Live Children should have opportunities, through direct observation and hands on experience to: • Explore how we live now and how people lived in the past • Carry out investigations of natural habitats Pupils should investigate in an active way aspects of the following; Plant and animal life • Investigate a local habitat, including the relationship between the animals and plants in classifying according to observable features The way we lived in the past • Life in our local area – a study of evidence of the past from buildings, place-names, maps etc. Leaders Guide for Activity Booklet 4 // GUIDE TO ECOTRAIL Discussion symbol - Questions for the leader to use to encourage discussion Record symbol – Participants can record their answers with drawings, writing or a list Photo symbol - A good place for photographs, if you are taking a camera. GOSFORD FOREST PARK GOSFORD FOREST PARK Optional activity – Additional activities if time allows O WELCOME TO GOSFORD FOREST PARK ECOTRAIL E1 Sign post PLEASE BE AWARE OF TRAFFIC WHILST IN THE CAR PARK Read the information about the park and look at the map on the notice board. Can you see the castle, the deer park, the main entrance road and the lakes on the map? Note: The top of the map on the notice board is north. In which direction is the castle? North What can you see if you look east? Fields, deer enclosure In which direction are the mill ponds? West What would you reach if you walked south from the car park? The river Make a list of the activities that you can do, and things that you can see in Gosford Forest Park. Caravanning and camping, walking, cycling, horse riding Historical sites, deer, rare breed, arboretum, woodland 5 // GUIDE TO ECOTRAIL Directions: From the car park, head south along the boundary of the car park. At the corner of the car park follow the direction indicated by the red arrows. ➡➡➡ On your way you will pass a mini tower that was built by Prisoners of War in World War II. You can also see the remains of a waterwheel to the left as you leave the car park. Both of these features are on the photo page. E2 Ravine ALTHOUGH THE PATH IS WIDE, GOSFORD FOREST PARK PLEASE TAKE CARE CLOSE TO THE EDGE OF THE RIVER Have a look at the ravine and the river. How would you describe it? How do you think the ravine was formed? Use the words below to help you. The river has eroded (worn away) the soil down to the rock, leaving steep sides in the ravine. In the river bed there are different types of rock, the harder rock has not been worn away as much and makes ridges in the stream bed. This has left an irregular and twisting shape to the river. irregular straight sides twisting steep sides level edges natural man-made 6 // GUIDE TO ECOTRAIL Directions: Follow the red arrows to the mill ponds. Stop on the drive between the two millponds. ➡➡➡ A sluice gate at the millpond on the right diverts the water along a ditch. E3 Millponds The millponds were originally used to make sure GOSFORD FOREST PARK GOSFORD FOREST PARK that there was always water to turn the water wheel. Look at the shape of the ponds and the ground around them. How would you describe them? Use the words below to help you. Two equal sized ponds, either side of the driveway, regular shape, straight sides, island in the middle, path and bridge, weir out of both ponds, straight man-made ditch out of second pond, steep drop from first pond, probably dammed. irregular straight sides twisting steep sides level edges natural man-made 7 // GUIDE TO ECOTRAIL ➡➡➡ Directions: Walk along the drive and through the arch. Turn around to face the arch again. E4 Gatehouse This was the entrance to the original Manor House and Gosford Demesne before the building of the castle. At least one family lived in the gatehouses and it would have been their job to keep the entrance looking its best, GOSFORD FOREST PARK brushing the drive and keeping the archway looking impressive. Look around the archway and inside the gatehouses. Many alterations have been made and different materials have been used. This is one way of working out the age of each part of the building. A date above an archway shows when the north gatehouse was last worked on. Are these features made of stones, brick or carved stone ? Chimney breast in south gatehouse brick Archway over entrance to south gatehouse stone Window surround in north gatehouse stone Hidden doorway on west face of the arch way carved stone The edge under the slate roof cut stone The end walls of the gatehouses stone When were the gatehouses last worked on? 22-1-1969 8 // GUIDE TO ECOTRAIL Directions: From the gatehouse, walk back along the drive and turn left ➡➡➡ along the path at the edge of the millpond. Continue along this path until you reach an area with conifer trees on the right and several deciduous trees on the left. E5 Leaf Litter Please take care of this natural environment and leave it looking as close as possible to how it was GOSFORD FOREST PARK when you arrived. Leaf litter is made up of leaves and other plant material that is rotting down, with the help of many different animals, plants and other living things such as mould and fungus. Leaf litter can make a rich habitat where lots of different animals and plants can live. Find a good location under the deciduous trees. Use the plastic spoons to look through the leaf litter and the plastic bowls for mini-beasts that need a closer look.