Natural Sciences students reflect on this year’s Evolutionary Biology field course which took place in Pembrokeshire in April 2026.
Twenty-five first-year Evolutionary Biology students spent a week in south-west Wales learning about plants, animals and fossils in the windswept and beautiful surroundings of the Dale Fort Field Centre over the Easter vacation.
The course is an opportunity for students to put the organisms they’ve met in lectures into context in the real world and to learn essential technical skills that can’t be taught in Cambridge.
It’s also a chance for students to develop a spirit of curiosity and to connect with their peers and teachers in a more informal way.
Dr Hamish Symington, Affiliate Lecturer at the Department of Plant Sciences and a field course demonstrator said: “We aim to give students a practical understanding of concepts which many have previously only been taught in a lecture theatre.
“As well as being out and about on the rocky shore, forest, mudflats and an SSSI Silurian fossil bed, there were opportunities for bird-, seal- and dolphin-watching and more. Using a van-load of kit driven down from Cambridge, students were able to look at plants and animals under dissection microscopes, starting to get more of a flavour of the remarkable diversity of form and function.
“Highlights included the reproductive structures of Vinca (remarkably complex), the writhings of a sea urchin’s tube-feet directing food to the Aristotle’s Lantern feeding structure, and some delightfully characterful nudibranchs feeding on encrusting bryozoans.
“Students’ rockpool finds included an enormous Calliactis sea anemone which lives as a symbiont on hermit crabs’ shells, a Rosy Feather Star, a tiny but beautiful photosynthetic sea slug (Elysia viridis) which sucks chloroplasts out of algae and retains them in its body, and many more.
“My own highlight rockpool find was the remarkably expensive filter from a plankton net which a student had dropped into the sea the previous day!”
Reaffirming a passion for natural sciences
The Dale Fort field trip offers students a unique opportunity to see their lecture material come to life in a real-world setting. Natural Sciences student Lucy Price shares how engaging directly with organisms and habitats reinforced her studies and provided an insightful perspective on biological adaptations.
“The trip to Dale Fort was spectacular. I learnt so much from both the demonstrators and the organisms we studied. I loved the rockpooling in particular - it was fantastic lifting up a stone and seeing so many different animals hiding underneath!
“Hearing from the demonstrators about the types of plants and animals occupying the various habitats we explored, and how they were adapted to such places, was so insightful; I really felt it reinforced what I have already learnt in lectures. The demonstrators were brilliantly helpful and encouraged us to engage with the organisms at hand and think about why they looked and behaved the way they did.
“The highlight of the trip for me was the project. My group studied stress responses of Bryzoans, animals that I had never encountered or even knew existed before the trip. I had so much fun planning, examining the organisms, and presenting the project. It was also great to share the experience with my group, who were equally enthusiastic about the work. Overall, the project reinforced my ambition to pursue a future in research and conservation and it increased my confidence in carrying out similar projects in the future.
“Going on the field trip also helped to ease some of the anxiety I had been feeling over the upcoming Easter exams. It was so helpful to be able to focus on the aspects of science and ecology I most enjoyed simply for the sake of learning. The other students on the trip were great company, and being able to meet other people who shared my interests and passions was lovely.
“I would absolutely recommend that future first-year students go on the Dale Fort field trip. It has reaffirmed my decision to continue my studies in plant sciences and evolution next year and made me excited to see what else the Natural Sciences course has in store. It was by far the highlight of my Easter holiday!”
Hands-on research, R coding and real-world evolution
Marina Pothos-Tapper, another student on the field course, particularly enjoyed the group project and the opportunity to transition from learning R programming in a classroom to applying it independently to her own collected data.
“The highlight of the trip for me was the project. Although it only lasted a day and a half, it felt like a significant amount of time to focus on one subject compared to other days. It was nice to have that sense of continuity, and very gratifying to get results – which were actually statistically significant! – based on something we had planned ourselves.
“The trip primarily improved my understanding of the course by allowing me to observe the processes we’ve been taught, which helps me remember them. I have found that the evolution lectures often focus on concepts – like kin selection or the evolution of bilateral symmetry – rather than the history of evolution. In contrast, the field trip felt more grounded as the teaching was based around the organisms we actually saw. This style of learning made it easier to grasp the core content, as I find the best way to get my head around things is to look at them from different perspectives.
“The most unexpected and welcome part of the trip was the opportunity to talk to the demonstrators about their research. I enjoy learning about things through conversation, as it allows me to ask questions and make sure I have understood. These discussions were really interesting and aren’t something I normally get to do during term.
“The activity which made the biggest impact was analysing my project data. I really enjoy statistics, and this was the first time I felt I could truly apply what we’ve learned in R. It was much more engaging to figure out the appropriate statistical tests myself and get meaningful results, rather than following a set of questions with predetermined answers. The demonstrators were also very helpful here, and it was fun learning how to do the extra tests I wanted to include.
“I have always found the idea of fieldwork-based studies appealing because I enjoy working directly with nature. The field trip cemented this interest, and it’s one of the reasons I am hoping to pursue a career in conservation and ecosystem studies. The statistical work was also really enjoyable, and I’d like to learn much more about that in the future too.”
Marine biodiversity and developing independent research skills
For Callum Russell, the course was a standout part of his first year in Natural Sciences at Cambridge, renewing his energy after a busy Lent term and strengthening his interest in taking the Plant and Microbial Sciences course in his second year.
“The ability to extend learning beyond lecture-based theory was a real triumph of the course. This helped contextualise complex morphological features and their transitions, which had previously felt a little obscure. I especially enjoyed walking along the coast to observe different land plant lineages in their natural habitat – though this often meant my walking speed was little more than a crawl – furthering my interest in studying Plant and Microbial Sciences in the second year. The demonstrators were always available to help me understand the lifeforms, which were often far less perfect than textbook drawings, and to connect our observations to broader topics in evolution and physiology covered in later years of our degree course.
“The independence to carry out a small research project under the guidance of the demonstrators will stick with me. The opportunity to develop skills across many stages of research was invaluable. In particular, the presentation taught me a great deal about common pitfalls in science communication – something that also applies to writing essays – and I feel much more confident going forward in this. Having spent a staggering amount of time counting Bryozoa lophophores, I have also developed a newfound appreciation for the intensity and enthusiasm required for research, and am excited for the years to come.
“Coming from Guernsey, I had several expectations regarding coastal and marine environments. While many species were familiar, there were plenty of surprises. My personal favourite was the large number of nudibranchs I found, ranging from barely visible under a microscope to palm sized. Observing the differences in behaviour and morphology between these species captivated me. Additionally, the enthusiasm of the demonstrators allowed me to view these lifeforms in a new light, reigniting the wonder I first experienced when rock pooling. As a result of this, the variety and number of species we observed far surpassed my wildest expectations.
“This field course has undoubtedly been a highlight of my first year, refreshing my enthusiasm after a stressful Lent term. Developing a more thorough understanding of the lecture content has not only aided my studies directly but also reaffirmed my passion for this scientific field, which was further enhanced by riveting discussions with the demonstrators about their own research”.
Images: (left to right) A grey sea slug and a snakelocks anemone. Credit Hamish Symington; Walking up to the Gann flats to count peacock worms on the project day. Credit: Marina Pothos-Tapper; Callum Russell taking a brief break from being enthralled by nudibranchs. Credit Hamish Symington.