Geography Southwest Newsbites April 2022
Welcome to the April 2022 Newsbites, providing a selection of geography events, resources and news. We hope you will find these items informative and useful.
Do join us on Tuesday 28 June 2022 for the first SW Geography Teachers’ Conference, a partnership event involving Geography Southwest, the University of the West of England (UWE) and the RGS-IBG. The venue is the Department of Geography, University of the West of England, and the day starts at 10.00 and finishes at 1615.
This free conference aims to provide opportunities for secondary teachers to develop knowledge and skills through keynote lectures and workshops presented by academics and experts in their field. There will be ample opportunities for informal discussions over lunch, during breaks and whilst perusing the geography exhibition. Teacher entry is free, but places are limited, and early registration is recommended. Details of the draft programme and how to book can be found on this link: https://uwe.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2hnrpG0yo1FBcjk
Geography events:
Geographical Association Conference 2022 is at the University of Surrey from Monday 11 April to Wednesday 13 April. Over 100 lectures, workshops and events are on offer across all key stages for teachers attending in person, and a slimmed down version is available online. GA Annual Conference and Exhibition 2022 (geography.org.uk)
Bookings must be made by Friday 8 April. There is a link to the Conference Handbook pdf and detailed programme on the website.
The Royal Geographical Society (RGS) has a full programme of summer term events for teachers on their website including the recently added History and geography curricula at GCSE and A Level: embedding equality, diversity and inclusion, on Thursday 16 June in London. This is a joint event between the Society and the Historical Association is aimed at both history and geography teachers, focusing on curriculum content and the work that is being done to ensure the teaching of both subjects at examination level is more inclusive and representative. Royal Geographical Society - Representative history and geography curricula at GCSE and A Level: embedding equality, diversity and inclusion (rgs.org)
The RGS are also hosting a free online event for teachers of KS1 and 2 on Monday 23 May, from 4 pm to 5 pm Exploring Shackleton’s Antarctic, focussing on the Endurance22 expedition and the recent discovery of the wreck of Shackleton’s ship. The event will include an introduction to the various RGS teaching resources relating to the expedition. Royal Geographical Society - What's on at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) (rgs.org)
Dartmoor National Park Authority are running the Dartmoor Educators’ Forum on Tuesday 10th May 2022, at YHA Okehampton Bracken Tor from 10am-4pm.
This year’s themes are Dartmoor for everyone, and Climate Change and the Dartmoor landscape. The event will bring those who work with children on Dartmoor together to share ideas and experiences, network and learn.
They can accommodate two people from any single centre / organisation but will keep a ‘reserve’ list. Places are strictly limited and are offered on a first come first serve basis. There is a nominal charge of £10. Further details are on the online booking form or can be obtained from: Melanie Hooper, Education Support Officer. Dartmoor National Park Authority, Parke, Bovey Tracey, Newton Abbot, Devon. TQ13 9JQ.
Dartmoor National Park Authority has a range of resources and ideas including lesson plans and factsheets related to Dartmoor on their website at Teachers and educators | Dartmoor
Transition Town Wellington have a wide range of events from tree planting to talks planned in the next three months. Their recent monthly newsletter also includes links to events of other organisations, a feature on Wellington’s new green corridor, and discussion topics, including the Wellington Weekly Sustainable Living article, Cutting our carbon footprint- Is meat really all bad? and items on regenerative farming and sustainable food production. To sign up for the newsletter mailing list email community.ttw@gmail.com
Somerset Earth Science Centre teachers’ events and educational programmes.
The Somerset Earth Science Centre’s website offers a range of topical and useful educational programmes from Key Stage 2 to A level and beyond, delivered at their fully equipped centre near Radstock. SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES | Mysite (earthsciencecentre.org.uk)
On Monday 4 April from 16:30 to 18:00, there is a joint Teacher Twilight session run by Somerset Earth Science Centre and Somerset Wildlife Trust. It will explore the advantages of enhancing school grounds for wildlife and how it can enrich the curriculum. For further details email: info@earthsciencecentre.org.uk or telephone 01749 840 156.
Geography resources:
Calculating carbon in a tree is a useful new resource by Forestry England for use in the classroom or the field. It is hosted elsewhere on this website at
https://www.geographysouthwest.co.uk/fieldwork/fieldwork-articles/calculating-carbon-in-a-tree/
Sinai Water Cycle: The article on Sinai water cycle article has recently been updated and can be found on this website.
https://www.geographysouthwest.co.uk/secondary/16-plus-articles/water-cycle-mana…ion-in-the-sinai/
Connecting the Culm (CtC) have a new project focussing on increasing flood resilience in six communities in the Culm catchment including nature based solutions. Managing Big Problems in Small Places
Connecting the Culm (CtC) are also looking for volunteers interested in water quality data for a project using data from the Culm sonde. You can read more about the sonde here. If you are interested in supporting the project by commenting on how the data could be presented and how you might use it, or being part of a focus group please email hello@connectingtheculm.com
The School Science website is a free website provided by the Association for Science Education (ASE). It includes a range of resources for geography teachers at all levels on their website at Home - SchoolScience.co.uk and there is a monthly newsletter which highlights new developments. https://www.ase.org.uk/schoolscience/newsletter
.River maintenance, flooding and coastal erosion data: The Government website https://www.gov.uk/environment/river-maintenance-flooding-coastal-erosion contains a wealth of useful information for the study of flood incident and risk. Teachers or students can search the database by postcode to find out the risk of river or coastal flooding or map areas to see where the high, medium and low risk areas are. You can also see risks of surface water flooding. It is also possible to view the history of flooding for a particular property and during periods of heavy rainfall or storms, check the flood warnings and alerts.
Opportunity for Schools to take part in a free role play workshop on issues of human rights, conflict resolution and environmental justice: Wednesday 29 June 2022
Researchers at the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, are looking to give schools the chance to receive a free role-play workshop on issues of human rights, conflict resolution, and environmental justice that is loosely based on Model UN simulations.
Dr Liam Saddington will be attending the SW Geography (Secondary) Teachers' Conference 28th June 2022 at UWE to deliver a session for teachers on bringing this workshop into the classroom, and is looking for school teachers who would like to then see the workshop in practice in their school the following day, Wednesday 29th June. Not only will the staff and students be able to learn from this exciting workshop, but their participation will also feed into University of Oxford research. The session will be delivered to students at your school, so there is no need for travel. If you are interested, please use the link below to find out more, and contact access-outreach@ouce.ox.ac.uk. More details can be viewed at Royal Geographical Society - Geography resources for teachers (rgs.org)