Geography Southwest Newsbites December 2022
Our December 2022 Geography Southwest Newsbites looks ahead to 2023 with details of Spring term events. Also featured are topical resources for the end of term, new teaching materials and details of SW recent news events.
News and resources for early years and Key stages 1 and 2 can be found in the December Primary Newsbites under the Primary News section.
With the Christmas break approaching, do look at the articles on the Visit Southwest https://www.geographysouthwest.co.uk/visit-sw/places-to-visit-in-the-sw/ and Walk Southwest https://www.geographysouthwest.co.uk/visit-sw/places-to-go-walking/ sections of this website for ideas for places to go with a geographical interest. You will find lots of information and images and maps from Paul Berry.
Geography events
SW Geography Conference 2023: The 2023 SW Geography conference in association with the RGS-IBG and the University of the West of England will take place on Monday 26 June 2023, at UWE, Bristol. Do note the date in your planner. Full details will be available at the end of March.
The Royal Geographical Society (RGS) programme of lectures, teacher training and events for January and early February includes:
18 January 2023: On-line course. https://www.rgs.org/events/autumn-2022/maths-for-teachers-of-a-level-geography-event-(4)
19 January 2023: In-person day conference, London on the use of mathematics in geography at A level and how it can support NEA work. Royal Geographical Society - Mathematics in A level Geography Conference (rgs.org)
19 January 2023 at 1900. On-line lecture looking at the various issues related to re-wilding in the UK. Royal Geographical Society - Limits to Re-Wildling? - Andy Lester (rgs.org)
23 January 2023: On-line and in person lecture on sustainable travel. Royal Geographical Society - World-friendly travel: what does it mean to travel sustainably in 2023? - Sally Davey (rgs.org)
30 January 2023: On-line and in-person lecture reviewing the future of energy in a changing world. Royal Geographical Society - Global energy dilemmas revisited: energy security and sustainability in a new world - Mike Bradshaw (rgs.org)
2 February 2023: In-person training day in London on how GIS can support fieldwork and the NEA led by Esri UK, using ArcGIS. Royal Geographical Society - GIS for fieldwork and the NEA (rgs.org)
The full RGS programme of lectures can be viewed on their website, including both online and in person events. Royal Geographical Society - Browse our events (rgs.org) You can also view several RGS past lectures on-line.
If you are in Devon, why not visit the Haldon Forest Park near Exeter and see the stunning selection of shortlisted images from the Earth Photo 2022, an international photography competition.
The Geographical Association events: The GA Annual conference and Exhibition is due to take place from 13 – 15 April 2023 at Sheffield Hallam University and will be a hybrid event. The GA are running A level and GCSE revision sessions for students sitting exams in 2023 as shown below.
A level geography revision series Six on-line webinars in March and April covering key topics and revision techniques.
GCSE geography revision topics and skills Seven on-line webinars from March to May looking at key themes and exam skills.
Schools subscribing to these webinars will receive a recording to watch as many times as they wish.
Discover the World Updates: Discover the World offer free CPD workshops for teachers of around one hour, or longer if required. Workshops available include Seeing like a Geographer, looking at imagery of places and the reasons why imagery is so important, and Tourism in Rural Iceland: The Role of Perceptions in Sustainable Tourism Management which provides a detailed overview and a case study of the Katla UNESCO Global Geopark. Free CPD Workshops (discover-the-world.com)
Geography resources
The Geographical Association has published new titles recently in their Top Spec Geography series, including The Climate Crisis, and Health Geographies and the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Discover the World Christmas Quiz 2022 is now online, ready for end of term lessons! https://www.discover-the-world.com/study-trips/107856-2/
Previous Summer and Christmas quizzes can also be found on their website with many rounds still topical for classroom use. The Big Summer Geography Quiz 2022 (discover-the-world.com)
Gov.UK resources: The Gov.UK website provides frequent updates on river and flood alleviation projects. Recent posts include an update on the 2014-2021 Exeter Flood Defence scheme, summarising and has recently provided details of work on the River Exe and a link to an animated visualisation of potential flood effects. Exeter flood defence scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
There is also a summary of the Ormesby Beck wildlife restoration scheme in North East England, Wildlife to thrive as major Tees restoration project begins - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
A major new flood scheme is being developed along the Thames Valley in West London from Datchet to Teddington. Details can be found at Thames Valley Flood Scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and on this website. Thames Valley | Engage Environment Agency (engagementhq.com)
The Royal Meteorological Society’s MetLInk has resources relating to COP27, including a teaching unit about population growth, urbanisation, the construction industry and related and climate change issues. There are also links to other resources including the huge Benban solar farm in Egypt.
MetLink - Royal Meteorological Society KS3 Geography - Egypt's Construction Problem -
The Connecting the Culm project in Devon which focusses on sustainable development of the river and its catchment area and its future resilience to climate change has produced a short film A better future for the River Culm which provides a clear introduction to the topic and a basis for a local river case study. Various environmental issues are discussed. A better future for the River Culm - YouTube. You can also study the Blueprint for the River Culm on their website 1. Introduction to the River Culm (devon.gov.uk)
The Walk with Us Project Walk With Us is a collaborative venture involving Plymouth Coastal Observatory, the National Oceanography Centre, Plymouth University, Newlyn Art Gallery and The Exchange, and Cream - Coastal REsistance: Alerts and Monitoring Technologies (CreamT). They have produced two coastal walks at Dawlish, Devon and Penzance, Cornwall created by artists and writers which can be followed over the course of approximately an hour. Maps, images and information are included. The walks provide different perspectives on the coast and will provide insights and ideas for teaching of changing places.
The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) have a selection of educational resources and factsheets on their website. Those teaching A level geography will find their factsheets on Ocean Currents and Predicting Ocean change useful. https://noc.ac.uk/files/documents/education/noc-educational-resources-ocean-currents.pdf The NOC new podcast launched in 2022 features short 15-minute items on exploring the seabed, the value of sea grass, and from November 2022, Defending the Coasts with Dr Jenny Brown, an overview of current ideas about coastline management. https://podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/defending-the-coasts-with-dr-jenny-brown-and-dr-zoe-jacobs/id1634390689?i=1000587236122
Coastsnap is a citizen science initiative from Plymouth Coastal Observatory. CoastSnap - SWRCMP (coastalmonitoring.org) People of all ages are encouraged to visit one of our photo points around the Southwest coastline, place their smartphone in the camera mount, take a photo and share it via our website or email. This will help document the changing coastal environment through the seasons and years. The website shows fourteen locations around the Southwest where camera mounts are located.
Geography news
Exeter makes positive moves towards net zero.
The City of Exeter aims to reach net zero by 2030. A recent conference at Exeter Science Park focused on progress towards this target and on what has been achieved so far. New buildings in the Science Park such as the George Parker Bidder buildings are net zero, and there are plans for a new net zero 140 room hotel to open in 2024. Exeter City Council aim to make 50% of all journeys within the city active travel, which means cycling and walking. This will be achieved by the creation of walkable neighbourhoods, more dedicated cycleways and better use of pavements. There is a strategy to retrofit buildings to improve their energy efficiency, with workers trained at Exeter College. The development of the electric Co-Cars and e-bikes Co-Bikes at locations around the city, with more charging points is aimed at reducing car ownership and ultimately car use within the urban area. Public transport will make use of electric buses and both council vehicles and buses will be recharged using renewable energy generated at the new 1.2 MW solar farm with its 3700 solar panels in Marsh Barton.
Dawlish Sea wall update: Work on section 2 of the new Dawlish Sea wall is nearing completion.
The Network rail website provides details of the current work, a map, cross-sections of the new sea wall and a visualisation video showing how the completed work will look. The £ 80 million scheme aims to increase the protection of the London to Plymouth railway line, improve the local environment and coastal footpath and create a more resilient structure against more frequent storms and rising sea levels. Dawlish sea wall - section two - Network Rail Section 1 was completed in 2020, and you can read about it on this website. https://www.geographysouthwest.co.uk/?s=dawlish+sea+wall
Bristol docks regeneration: Harbour Hopes – A vision for Western Harbour is the latest part of the regeneration of Bristol’s historic floating harbour. The vision (harbourhopes.co.uk) The 2022 website includes a set of slides describing the aims of Harbour Hopes and why regeneration is needed. A short 4-minute video shows how the area would gain from new developments in car-free movement and sustainable development. This site will be useful to teachers studying Bristol regeneration as a case study or planning a fieldwork trip to the Floating Harbour area. The nearby Bristol Docks Harbourside redevelopments were completed in 2019. Bristol Harbourside | Grant Associates (grant-associates.uk.com)