Select a transect from the edge of a woodland (or any other vegetated area) into the centre and mark this out with a tape measure.
Use systematic sampling to select points at which to measure the amount of light getting through the canopy. This can be done using a light meter or holding up a quadrat to estimate the percentage cover. There are also several apps available that measure light intensity and luminosity.
At each sample point along the transect, vegetation type and abundance are recorded. Students can estimate the percentage of ground covered by each plant species in the quadrat. Alternatively, students can count the number of individual plants in each species that is evident in the quadrat and express this as the number of plants per square metre.