Geography field work in Tenerife

Our overseas international field trip was to Tenerife this year. The trip was for second year students studying the BSc Geography and BSc Geography and Environmental Science courses. The idea behind this choice of destination was to give students the experience of geographical field work in a landscape totally unfamiliar to them and help them to develop appropriate field techniques for the environments we visited. The students were able to employ laser rangefinders for measuring tree heights, GPS units for tracking altitude and other data gathering techniques.

The island, although busy with tourists at certain times of year, still maintains a unique flora with a large proportion of endemic species found nowhere else. The island was formed, and is dominated by a 3718m high shield volcano, El Teide, which helps to create different vegetation zones at different altitudes and affects climate and growing conditions from one side of the island to the other.

The students put their ecological and geographical skills to the test by examining the unique alpine flora in the caldera of the volcano and gathering data on these and the different types of lava flows that have created the landscape. Invasive species have begun to be a problem on the island and the students evaluated their impact in one of the local nature reserves.

Our final excursion was to the Anaga rural park, a protected area of mountains in the north-east of the island, with sharp peaks and deep ravines covered with carpets of laurel trees. The students were able to utilise their developing botanical skills as we created a walking transect from the ridge-top down to the coast.

At each location the students were asked to complete data entries and sketches in a field notebook. This will serve as a record of the data gathering techniques they learned and act as a reminder of the trip in the future.