Fieldwork in Wytham Woods

This post is from Su-Yin, who asked me to post for her.

On Saturday, I went with Terhi and 12 volunteers from the Earthwatch and HSBC
Climate Partnership to collect leaf and soil samples for my MSc dissertation
project on nitrogen uptake in forests. It started out as a rainy day, but the
weather held up for the most part after the volunteers arrived. Manned with
our trusty shovels, trowels, and a newly purchased telescopic tree pruner, we
set off for a morning of fieldwork in Wytham Woods.

After an introductory talk and demonstration, we separated the volunteers into
two groups - the soil collection group with Terhi and the leaf collection group
with myself. The volunteers were HSBC employees under the 'climate champions'
programme from the UK, Turkey, and Malta. They were very enthusiastic about
the hands-on learning and had fun using the pruners and equipment for obtaining
soil and leaf samples.

Just as the sun's rays peeked out from behind the clouds, we finished sample
collection earlier than planned and headed back to the field station. What did
the volunteers gain, you ask? A glimpse of how to undertake research in the
field and building their 'climate champions' credentials. What did we gain?
Some samples for my study, of course. :) What did everyone gain? A pleasant
morning of wandering in the woods, leaf-picking, and the grown-up's version of
playing in the dirt. ;)

Now for the fun part - processing samples!

All the best,
Su-Yin and Terhi