[00:48.00]SALLY: Good morning. Hinchingbrooke Country Park, Sally speaking. I'm one of the rangers.
[00:55.49]JOHN: Oh hello. My name's John Chapman, and I’m a teaching assistant at a local primary school.
[01:02.77]I've been asked to arrange a visit to the park for two of our classes.
[01:07.48]SALLY: OK. What would you like to know?
[01:10.44]JOHN: Well, I’m new to this area, so perhaps you could tell me something about the
park first, please.
[01:17.90]SALLY: Of course. Altogether the park covers 170 acres, that's 69 hectares.
[01:26.56]There are three main types of habitat: wetland, grassland and woodland.
[01:32.74]The woods are well established and varied, with an oak plantation, and other areas of mixed species.
[01:40.34]JOHN: Right.
[01:41.26]SALLY: The wetland is quite varied, too.
[01:44.07]The original farmland was dug up around
40 years ago to extract gravel.
[01:50.07]Once this work was completed the gravel pits
filed with water, forming the two large lakes.
[01:57.63]There are also several smaller ones, ponds and a stream that flows through the park.
[02:04.59]JOHN: OK, so I suppose with these different habitats there's quite a variety of wildlife.
[02:12.04]SALLY: There certainly is - a lot of different species of birds and insects, and also
animals like deer and rabbits.
[02:21.48]JOHN: And I understand you organise educational visits for school parties.
[02:26.58]SALLY: That's right. We can organise a wide range of activities and adapt them to suit
all ages.
[02:34.13]JOHN: Can you give me some examples of the activities?
[02:37.50]SALLY: Well, one focus is on science, where we help children to discover and study
plants, trees and insects.
[02:46.32]They also collect and analyse data about the things they see.
[02:51.36]JOHN: Uh uh.
[02:52.08]SALLY: Another focus is on geography.
[02:54.95]The park is a great environment to learn and
practise reading a map and using a compass to navigate around the park.
[03:04.06]JOHN: Do you do anything connected with history?
[03:07.89]SALLY: Yes, we do. For instance, the children can explore how the use of the land has
changed over time.
[03:16.09]Then there's leisure and tourism.
[03:18.45]JOHN: That focuses on your visitors, I would imagine.
[03:22.61]SALLY: Yes, mostly. The children find out about them, their requirements, the problems
they may cause and how we manage these.
[03:32.10]And another subject we cover is
music;
[03:36.11]here the children experiment with natural materials to create sounds and explore rhythm and tempo.
[03:44.00]JOHN: That must be fun!
[03:45.46]SALLY: Most children really enjoy it.
[04:24.00]SALLY: And of course, all the activities are educational, too.
[04:29.06]Learning outside the classroom encourages children to be creative, and to explore and discover for themselves.
[04:37.58]JOHN: I would imagine they get a sense of freedom that might not be a normal part of their lives.
[04:43.96]SALLY: That's right. And very often the children discover that they can do things they
didn't know they could do, and they develop new skills.
[04:53.91]This gives them greater self-confidence.
[04:56.73]JOHN: It sounds great. So, what about the practical side of it?
[05:02.73]How much does it cost for a full-day visit?
[05:06.35]We would expect to bring between 30 and 40 children.
[05:11.21]SALLY: If there are over 30, it costs £4.95 for each child who attends on the day.
[05:19.43]We invoice you afterwards, so you don't pay for children who can't come because of sickness, for example.
[05:26.99]There's no charge for leaders and other adults — as many as you want to bring.
[05:33.09]JOHN: That sounds very fair.
[05:35.34]Well, thanks for all the information.
[05:38.42]I’ll need to discuss it with my colleagues, and I hope to get back to you soon to make a booking.
[05:44.64]SALLY: We'll look forward to hearing from you. Goodbye.
[05:48.20]JOHN: Goodbye, and thank you.
