The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2863 by Angharad Copyright© 2015 Angharad

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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
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“Keep digging,” was my parting shot to James. If we were to uncover something it would need some careful exposure—like a note sent to our local journalist of the year, one John Jackson, who wouldn’t know a story if it climbed up his nose and tweeked his eyeballs.

The next morning, I expected to have to do some more teaching as we were still short of a couple of members of staff who’d caught some convenient form of lurgi and got them an extra week’s holiday. I thought I led my team by example, perhaps not. Obviously some are more committed than others.

I checked with Diane when I got there and I was due to do an ecology class at ten. This was on choosing and designing a project—at present I felt like doing one on a nice warm Mediterranean island, far away from students, Vice Chancellors and anyone else involved in higher education. Alas, I had ninety three kids waiting for me at home who required parenting, so I had to face up to my responsibilities and get on with life.

I looked for my copy of Wheater, Bell & Cook, ‘Practical Field Ecology’, while I drank the cuppa Diane had brought in. Normally the book was on my bookshelves but today it wasn’t, instead a space was there. I was about to call for Diane to ask who had taken it when I espied it on top of the folder of my teaching notes for this lecture.

It’s a no nonsense textbook which gives excellent advice on sorting, running analysing and reporting an ecological project, mainly aimed at undergrads but useful for anyone thinking of doing research by way of a field project. I like the way it even gives a page on syntax to use in writing a dissertation such as, the use of less or fewer, or which and that. I only wish some of my students would read it, especially as it’s on their book list and we also suggest they look at more places to buy it than just Amazon. We give a list of some other sellers like NHBS who also stock things like lenses and bat detectors to microscopes. I bought my first spring balance there—until I sat on it and had to get another—also from there, though it was called Alana Ecology in those days.

Our students are expected to supply their own books plus some equipment, such as hand lenses and we also suggest things like a digital camera and so on. If they run an ecology project as individuals they may end up spending quite a bit on equipment but at least they can have the use of a microscope if they need it in the laboratories.

I strolled down to the lecture theatre and chatted quickly with John the technician then set off onto the stage and explained I was doing this lecture as Dr Foster was in Gloucester or some other such quip.

I was glad I’d read my notes quickly as it’s a couple or more years since I did this lecture and the second half of the time was spent actually talking to the students about the reality of some of their ideas. Monitoring things in leaf litter or in ponds or streams is fine, but I had to point out that various species such as shrews, water voles, and otters were protected and required licenses. The same applies to dormice and badgers and all species of British bats. However, the latter can be studied with bat detectors but obviously only when they’re flying. As this is February, the project wouldn’t be possible until the weather was quite a bit warmer.

We always have someone who wants to do something off the wall such as monitoring beavers. Fine, they have some in Devon but it’s a bit of a trek from Portsmouth to get your fieldwork done. Plus, as it’s a controversial matter at present, Natural England were all for eliminating them as they were aliens, beavers were hunted to extinction here over a hundred years ago, and these are obviously of the European variety not North American. There was such a hue and cry about it all and local people supported keeping them that NE backed down for now they’re being monitored with a special interest in seeing if they can help slow down or prevent flooding by their building of dams. It wouldn’t be easy as an outsider to get involved in these projects especially if existing researchers thought you were stealing their material, and universities at Exeter and Plymouth wouldn’t be too pleased with our students trespassing on their stamping grounds except by liaison. I do know people at both universities through our mammal survey, but it doesn’t feel like the best of projects from a university which is pretty close to the New Forest, so studying the effects of the ponies or pigs on the environment might be more effective.

A few of years ago we had a young woman who did a project in someone’s back garden—almost. It was on a patch of grass in an orchard, and she monitored the insects in four or five metre squares in which she varied the length of the grass by mowing it—with an old fashioned push mower. She went there every week for six months and her study was said to be exemplary. I show them pages from the report that was written. I don’t tell them I did it in our orchard, spending two hours a week analysing traps buried in the grass. Sadly it meant killing things, which I don’t enjoy but the results were quite interesting.

I always try to get someone to try and watch hedgehogs—fifty years ago they’d have been in any garden of any size, or park, even in town centres, now they reckon there are about one thirtieth of the numbers from those days and one of the problems, people erecting fences which have no gaps in them.

The session ended well and they went off to think about doing either individual or group projects—there are advantages and obviously disadvantages to both. The university has to approve their project proposal which has to be submitted by Easter.

It was nearly lunch time as I arrived back in my office and Tom had left a message that he would collect me at half past twelve. I looked curiously at Diane. “He didn’t say what he wanted to talk about but he told me you were going with him.”

“I saw him at breakfast and he didn’t say anything then, but these days we tend not to discuss university stuff at home if we can help it. Any other messages?”

“Only the VC’s secretary—sorry, personal assistant—asking if you’d signed your contract. I told her I didn’t know and you were teaching.”

“He’ll get it when I’m good and ready and when I’ve taken advice from my counsel.”

“She seemed to imply you were about the only one outstanding.”

“There’s a surprise.” We both chuckled and just then Daddy arrived and we went off in my car, as usual, to his usual watering hole. I tried to find out what he wanted to talk about but he told me to wait. He had some files with him so I presumed it related to those, but what they were I had no idea and he wasn’t saying.