Our Year 5 Journey to the Living Rainforest

Last Wednesday, Year 5 got up very early and set off for the Living Rainforest to learn all about different animals and how they have adapted to their environment in places such as the Amazon, Madagascar and other countries on the Equator.

When we arrived, as we were the only school there, we had plenty of time to look round in our four groups. (Group 4 had an extra VIP guided tour!) As we wandered along the Forest Floor, we saw some attractive, colourful birds including a Toucan and an amusing black bird called Rory.

There were animals that lived in the water that had adapted to their changing environment. It was interesting that the Piranha’s cousin’s teeth were like human molars because they did not eat other fish. A bit further along, we saw stingrays and turtles.

All along the path there were examples of different plants with amazing leaves that got rid of the water quickly so they kept dry. The Pitcher Plant even had a flower that trapped insects which fed the plant.

Nearby, there was a beautiful iguana (dragon). It had a colourful neck to attract the females. The python was in a cage resting but we were told interesting facts about it.

Here are some examples of what some of the children thought about our trip:

“We had a good day out at the Living Rainforest. I enjoyed looking at all the animals and I learnt that spiders shoot out their hairs into monkeys’ eyes so they don’t eat the spider.” Ethan

“We had a great day at the Living Rainforest, we enjoyed the sloth and the armadillo. I learnt that adaptions can be very important to animals and birds.” Kian

“We had an amazing day at the Living Rainforest, the amazing thing is that I never knew that some plants are so big and they even look poisonous, but aren’t. I learnt that some fish have teeth.” Chloe

“My favourite animal was the iguana because it was extremely beautiful and I learnt that poisonous dart frogs need to eat poison to be poisonous.” George

“I loved seeing the terrific turtles and the perfect, poison dart frogs. I found out that sloths are nocturnal.” Isla

 “We had an extraordinary day at the Rainforest. My favourite part was when we saw the turtle and the tortoises. I learnt that snakes don’t actually suffocate their prey, they actually cut the blood circulation from going to the brain.” Mya

“I really enjoyed seeing the bird eating tarantula and the caiman!” Ruby-Mai

“I dearly enjoyed the blue poison dart frogs. I found their colour mesmerised me, they were blue with black dots, but there are also many other frogs with different colours. I also loved the toucan even though it kept ‘squarking’” Kacie

“I enjoyed seeing the sloth and the tortoises. I also enjoyed playing at the park. But my favourite part of all was seeing the sloth” Sasha B

 

Overall, it was fantastic to go on a school trip again and we learnt a lot about rainforests for our topic.   A massive thank you goes out to all the adults who took us.

By Isla & Chloe