TY2015: The Birds and the BEES

Jack Spicer, Clongowes Wood College

As this was my first time being in Cork,I had no notion as to what the campus and surroundings would be like.I was genuinely surprised,I arrived 2 hours before the course actually started on Monday 2nd of Feb,so I got to give myself a tour of the rather large campus.I walked along the main arch and the library before finally arriving at the School of BEES. I entered the Cooperage building with high hopes.

I was greeted by Dr Emily Goldstein, whom I gave my insurance forms to, I was one of the first 4 of the 36 to come.After everyone had arrived,we were given a tour around the school of BEES,in which we were shown what rooms we would be commuting to for our lectures and practicals and lest we forget the most important area,the canteen.

The first day of the course was a great introduction as to what we would be doing for the rest of the week,it included a Geology lecture with Prof. Andy Wheeler,who showed us the rock garden and taught us about how the rocks had been formed and what they had been through.Then we had a practical on Terrestrial Ecology with Dr. Simon Harrison.He showed how to look at species found in soil which he had captured using pit-fall traps,which I enjoyed thoroughly.The last task of the day was by far my favourite,we were given the skills needed to identify hairs of mammals we had been given by looking at them under a microscope.

The second day consisted of a Q and A with the current Post Grads,followed by an informative film on a conservation project which took place on one of the islands near New Zealand.We then had a Zoology/Ecology lecture with Prof.Gavin Burrell,he showed his his studies of Sea Urchins.The highlight of the day was the Marine Biology lecture with Dr. Ruth Ramsay,in which she talked about her field and other fields of Marine Biology which can be studied.We ended the day by Dr. Barbara Doyle Prestwick telling us about how important plants are for our survival and how key a part Plant Science plays in our educational system.

On the third day,we had a few different activities to the norm,we helped some of the Postgrads with their research. I was to collect some of the cameras used for underpasses which badgers use to cross roads without having to actually traverse the road itself. That was followed by another lecture on Plant Science and how some plants protect themselves from predators.

We ended the day by having a tour of UCC’s large library and campus,which gave us an insight as to what being a student in UCC would be like.

Bringing us to Thursday,5th of February.For the first 2 hours of the day,my group went bird ringing with Dr.John Quinn.Some nets had been set up during the morning to capture some birds for us to ring/inspect.Once we had unraveled some of the birds from the net,we were shown how to hold them and how to measure their wing length.We then had an Interactive Careers Talk with Shay Nolan,who showed the group how to research a course properly and how to find out what that course can do for your career.The last activity of the day was a Geology with Dr.Bettie Higgs.The practical was a quiz.There was a number of fossils and stones strewn about the room,and we were given a question sheet which asked specific questions about the specimens.

I thoroughly enjoyed my week in the school of BEES,it was a great insight as to what college life is like in UCC. My one complaint would be that it only lasted 5 days.