Geography Southwest Newsbites May 2024
Welcome to the May 2024 Geography Southwest Newsbites! We look forward to welcoming geographers to our free Geography Southwest conference 2024 on Monday 17 June at University of West of England. (UWE). The conference is now fully booked, but we are holding contact details on a waiting list, should places become available. We hope to publish selected presentations on this website in July, so look out for further details. The conference programme can be viewed at SW Geography Conference 2024 - Geography South West
In this post you can read about news items from the South West, new resources for geography teaching and details of geography events.
Do also look at our guest blogs. Our current guest blog looks at arctic permafrost research and its significance, https://www.geographysouthwest.co.uk/guest-blog/the-importance-of-coastal-permafrost-loss-in-the-pan-arctic/
The previous guest blog focussed on research into changing sea ice. https://www.geographysouthwest.co.uk/news/an-introduction-to-sea-ice-observation/
Geography in the news
Improved rail infrastructure for Cornwall: The Mid Cornwall Metro is a joint venture between Network Rail, Cornwall Council and Great Western Railway.
The aim is to increase the number of train services in Cornwall and provide a coast to coast service from Newquay in the north to Falmouth in the south. Work on the £56.8 million project is already underway with new double track sections to enable two trains to pass, new station facilities and walking and cycling links to stations. When complete, trains will run hourly and expanding cities like Truro will be more connected to other places in Cornwall. Mid Cornwall Metro - Network Rail
Tackling footpath erosion on Dartmoor. There are over 450 miles of footpaths on Dartmoor. Volunteer groups regularly meet with Rangers to help repair damaged footpaths. The Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) has been restoring eroded paths near Nun’s Cross and creating new paths as part of the Miles without Stiles project, as part of a three-year funding programme by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Dartmoor National Park has published a free useful resource for teachers studying impacts of tourism on moorland and how to restore damaged land. EROSION FACTSHEET 9-03-web.qxd (dartmoor.gov.uk)
Rewilding, rewetting and rewiggling a river near Bristol: A rewilding project on the Belmont estate at Wraxall near Bristol airport has seen a significant increase in species diversity. The recently completed rewetting project has connected the local river to the Land Yeo, providing natural flood plain storage creating new wetlands. The river has also been rewiggled, recreating former meanders across a degraded wheat fields, helping to delay runoff. There is a short video on the project which shows clearly the stages in river restoration. Rewild and Rewiggle: Nature recovery in action (bristol247.com)
New Resources for Teaching Geography
Miss Molecule & Friends; free educational resources to inspire and engage young people into STEM subjects. Miss Molecule & Friends is a series of inspirational animations with accompanying lesson resources which have been aligned to the UK curriculum. The package has been designed to be used independently by teachers, parents and the general public to educate and engage children aged between 9-11 years on a variety of subjects and industries related to renewable energy, critical minerals, sustainability, biodiversity and wellbeing.
The first episode in the series features Lithium and delves into where Lithium comes from, where it is found, and what is it used for. Miss Molecule also interviews staff from Cornish Lithium who explain their sustainable extraction methods being pioneered in Cornwall and talk about the careers available in the industry.
The resources are free to use and include a short animation, lesson plan and worksheet. To view the current resources available and to keep up to date with new episodes please visit: www.missmolecule.co.uk.
This project is a collaboration between Studio Wallop, Cornish Lithium and GeoScience Limited and has been funded by The Institute of Engineering and Technology and the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.
Although the first episode is aimed at Years 5 to 7, it would provide a useful short introduction for older students. The next episode will focus on Methane - what it is, the types of methane production, the issues it presents when too much is released into our atmosphere and the solutions being implemented to reduce emissions. It will also have a Southwest focus using case studies from companies such as Bennamann.
Teaching about rivers and river restoration: The Resilient Frome | Engage Environment Agency (engagementhq.com) article looks at increasing resilience and flood protection on the Bristol Frome catchment to the north of Bristol. There is a short video explaining the key aims of river restoration.
Teaching about the weather and climate change? A new article from the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) looks at the changing patterns of storms. Centuries of weather data give new insight into Europe’s stormy past | National Oceanography Centre (noc.ac.uk) It compares the recent increase in storm intensity and frequency to patterns in the past and shows that periods of significant storms are not just a recent phenomenon, although the causes may be different.
The NOC Into the Blue podcasts provide look at key questions about climate change and the oceans. The current series looks at the significance of ocean currents particularly the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The website also includes previous Into the Blue episodes. Into the Blue Podcast | National Oceanography Centre (noc.ac.uk)
Teaching about coasts? Two new publications in 2024, The Jurassic Coast (East) and The Jurassic Coast (West) from the Geographical Association are essential guides to fieldwork or lessons on the landforms for the Jurassic Coast. Landforms of the Jurassic Coast (west) (geography.org.uk) Clearly illustrated and with topical examples and useful links to websites they are the latest in a series of updated guides. Shop (geography.org.uk)
An example of beach seeding is avialable from the Environment Agency. It looks at work ongoing at Gibralter Point in Lincolnshire to increase coastal resilience and protection of the coastline from flooding. It makes a useful mini-case study. £7m beach management reduces flood risk in Lincolnshire - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Looking for ideas for A level students for a coastal fieldwork NEA? The GA has a presentation on A level coastal fieldwork by Andy Owen with worked examples from North Norfolk and several ideas which could be used elsewhere. A level coastal fieldwork - Geographical Association (geography.org.uk)
Teaching about sustainability? The Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education has new modules on English and Mathematics teaching and sustainable development. On their website is a 30-minute introductory video for teachers, Looking to the future: an introduction to climate change and sustainability in schools, with Helen Czerski. It provides ideas on how to teach about sustainability and the importance of raising issues in schools with our citizens of tomorrow. Teaching for sustainable futures | IOE - Faculty of Education and Society - UCL – University College London
Teaching about River catchments? The website of the Connecting the Culm project in East Devon has a wide range of resources relevant to GCSE and A level geography including details of the Blueprint for the Culm showing how the catchment may change over the next century. Blueprint - Connecting the Culm
Teaching about drought and climate change? The UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) has a report on its website based on the 2022 UK drought, showing how the UK will have to manage future summer droughts and their effects on water supply, agriculture, health and wildfires. Summer 2022 drought provides warning for future years | UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (ceh.ac.uk) There is also a short video on the problems of drought and how to reduce vulnerability to drought.
Forthcoming Geography events
GA National Festival of Fieldwork. The Geographical Association’s National Festival of Fieldwork starts in June and the theme this year is ‘Fieldwork for Everyone’. How will your students get involved? Find out more details in this article on our website. https://www.geographysouthwest.co.uk/home-second-row/national-festival-of-fieldwork-2024/
The Royal Geographical Society (RGS) programme of talks and events for teachers can be found on their website: Royal Geographical Society - Browse our events (rgs.org). Note that some events are in-person only and there are charges for certain events.
The RGS is running an online introduction to Digimap for Schools on Tuesday 25th June from 4 pm to 5 pm. Digimap for schools for KS2 and KS3 geography - RGS
Monday 17 June: Harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for teaching history and geography (in person day course, London). This is a joint event from the Historical Association and Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) suitable for primary and secondary teachers of history and geography. Harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for teaching history and geography - RGS
National Oceanography Centre. The NOC is opening its doors in Southampton for an Open Day on Saturday 8 June which will incudes displays and interactive exhibits. NOC Open Day to celebrate World Ocean Day and mark 80th Anniversary of D-Day | National Oceanography Centre
Geography competitions and awards. The Rex Walford Award RGS competition for new teachers is now open for applications. This year's theme is Choose Geography. If you are a trainee teacher or have recently qualified, do consider applying! Rex Walford Award - RGS
The RGS competition for students. Young Geographer of the Year is open to applicants and there are four age group categories. The theme this year is Choose Geography. Full details of how to submit entries are on the website, and the closing date is Friday 4 October 2024. Young Geographer of the Year - RGS Young