How to Make Your Own Quadrat

08/05/2020

Quadrats are very useful tools as they focus your attention on a small section of the environment, allowing you to see more detail… a bit like binoculars. Quadrats are useful tools to subsample a large area to get a representative picture of number of different species found on the seashore (biodiversity) and how many there are in a measured area (abundance). To find out more about quadrats, and their use by scientists, see Science Learning Hub: Quadrat.

You can easily make your own 1 metre square quadrat to survey the seashore community. A 4-metre piece of string, with knots tied every meter works fine – or maybe 4 flax leaves tied together. Be creative with the materials you use! Cardboard, bamboo, plastic, wood can all be used to make a quadrat. If you have pipe and some bungee cord you can make a quadrat that is foldable and reusable (use our resource to help guide you, it can be found here). Science Learning Hub also has more detailed instructions here! 

Instructions on how to make your own quadrat

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