Geography Southwest Newsbites January 2023
Welcome to our first Newsbites of 2023. There is an exciting range of events, lectures and conferences on offer this Spring and several new topical resources have been published to support your teaching. Do also look at our Primary Newsbites which covers Early Years and Key Stages 1 and 2.
Geography events
SW Geography Conference 2023 will be on Monday 26 June 2023 at UWE run by Geography Southwest in association with the RGS-IBG and the University of the West of England. Further details of this in-person conference will be available at the end of March.
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)
Here is a selection of events from January to March. Note that booking is essential for some events, and payment of course fees where required.
17 January 2023: On-line course: Royal Geographical Society - Aspiring leaders: progressing from teacher to leader (rgs.org)
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: Royal Geographical Society - Mathematics in A level Geography Conference (rgs.org)
19 January 2023 at 1900: On-line lecture: Royal Geographical Society - Limits to Re-Wildling? - Andy Lester (rgs.org)
23 January 2023: On-line and in person lecture: 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: 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)
8 February 2023: 1400: On-line afternoon course on planning and delivering fieldwork, aimed at early career teachers. Royal Geographical Society - Fieldwork essentials for Early Career Teachers (rgs.org)
22 February, 1830: On-line and in person lecture on ways to solve the water crisis. Royal Geographical Society - Can ‘new’ water solve the global water crisis? - Dr Joe Williams (rgs.org)
14 March 2023, 1700: On-line introduction to finding and using images from the Geograph project. Royal Geographical Society - Finding and using educational images from the Geograph Project (rgs.org)
15 March 2023, 1915: On-line and in person lecture on recent volcanic activity and hazards around the world. Royal Geographical Society - Volcanic hazards as shown by recent eruptions across the world - Dr Carmen Solana (rgs.org)
22 March 2023, 1700: On-line introduction to Digimap and its potential classroom applications in KS2 and KS3. Royal Geographical Society - Digimap for Schools for KS2 and KS3 Geography (rgs.org)
27 March 2023, 1700: On-line course on ideas for fieldwork in and around the school grounds. Royal Geographical Society - Go local: Great ideas for fieldwork in and around your school grounds (rgs.org)
The RGS has a range of resources to support students wishing to study Geography at GCSE, A level and University on their website: Royal Geographical Society - Why you should study geography (rgs.org)
There are two free online courses aimed at helping teachers give advice to students about choosing geography, in February and March:
Wednesday 25 January at 1700: Royal Geographical Society - Supporting Geography Candidates with University Applications (rgs.org)
Wednesday 29 March at 15.30: Royal Geographical Society - Choosing the right university and geography course (rgs.org)
The Geographical Association events: The GA Annual conference and Exhibition is due to take place from 13 – 15 April 2023 at Sheffield Hallam University.
The GA is running 5 on-line webinars starting on 11 January 2023 designed to equip teachers with the confidence, knowledge and skills to navigate EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) within the geography classroom. Navigating EDI through geography
Students sitting A level and GCSE examinations in 2023 will be interested in the GA revision webinars in March and April.
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 offer free CPD workshops for teachers of around one hour, or longer if required. Free CPD Workshops (discover-the-world.com)
The Somerset Wildlife Trust’s website News | Somerset Wildlife Trust includes news wildlife initiatives in the area and details of events happening in January and February.
People’s Trust for Endangered Species are running an online evening course on Healthy Hedgerows on Thursday 19 January at 18.30 which may be of interest to geography teachers. Healthy hedgerows: from the individual hedge to the landscape-level - PTES
Geography resources
The Geographical Association has published new resources on river floods developed by Andy Owen, in partnership with the Environment Agency. These accessible, clearly produced resources include teacher notes, PowerPoints and PDFs and include topical images and data from recent events. An introduction to flooding (geography.org.uk)
Flood management on the River Severn (geography.org.uk)
Gov.UK resources: Recent posts on the Gov.uk website relating to rivers and flooding include:
Thames Estuary TE2100 Plan - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) – a summary of the issues facing the Thames estuary during this century and what is at risk. Recommendations for managing the increased risk of tidal flooding are set out.
Natural Flood Management Programme: evaluation report - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) provides a detailed overview of Natural Flood Management and its successes. Natural Flood Management aims to slow the movement of water within the drainage basin. The report includes references to several case studies in the Southwest region including Dartmoor, North Devon, and West Somerset and
The South West River Basin District Flood Risk Management Plan 2021 to 2027 (publishing.service.gov.uk) and the Severn river basin district flood risk management plan - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) provide comprehensive reports on flood risk and management in the relevant areas and several topical case studies. They are a valuable source of up to date data, and include many links to other useful websites.
Time for Geography latest addition is a video on the potential effects of the melting of ice in Antarctica. Antarctica, ice melt and global sea level rise (timeforgeography.co.uk)
Aimed at GCSE and A level students studying cold environments, with good images and animations, it provides a topical explanation of the Antarctic ice system and the differences between ice shelves melting and the melting of the land-based ice sheets.
The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) National Oceanography Centre | Making sense of changing seas (noc.ac.uk) continues to develop its range of educational resources, including updates on its work through Ocean News and regular Podcasts. Educational Resources | National Oceanography Centre (noc.ac.uk)
The latest Ocean News includes a link to an article about uneven sea level rise in the Mediterranean, linked to changes in water density. Terrawatch: the rise and bigger rise of Mediterranean sea levels | Sea level | The Guardian
The NOC Into the Blue podcasts, launched in 2022, provide regular topical updates on Ocean research and issues, available on YouTube and other platforms. Into the Blue Podcast | National Oceanography Centre (noc.ac.uk)
The Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme (FCRIP) is part of the government's National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England. Their website includes information, case studies and links to schemes around the country. Teachers in the Bristol area can look at flood resilience on the Bristol Frome. Resilient Frome | Engage Environment Agency (engagementhq.com). Other projects in the South West focus on sand dune management and nature based solutions in Cornwall, and a variety of flood innovation schemes in Devon. Devon Resilience Innovation Programme (DRIP) | Engage Environment Agency (engagementhq.com)
Glacier Map GlacierMap (peruglaciers.org) is a new resource enabling users to map the changing size of Peruvian glaciers in the Andes. This can be linked to an article from Geography which looks at reasons for the changes in glacier size and the implications for human activities and water resources.
GlacierMap: a virtual opportunity to explore the Andes’ vanishing glaciers. Clason, Caroline, Rangecroft, Sally, Kallis, Gina, Lewin, Shaun and Mullier, Tom. (2021) Geography, Volume 106, 2021, Issue 3.
OCR Natural History GCSE website GCSE Natural History - FAQs (ocr.org.uk) includes updates about the development of this qualification, and useful sources for teaching about nature and wildlife issues. There is a sustainable Christmas quiz which may be of interest as we move into January. I'm dreaming of a green quiz'mass – 20 natural history/sustainability quiz questions and answers (hubspotusercontent-na1.net)
Peak District Geowalk. A new, innovative website has recently launched providing a GeoWalk around the Peak District, which will be of interest to geography teachers visiting the area or planning fieldwork in the Peak District National Park. Peak District GeoWalk | a guide to the rocks and landforms on a long distance walk through the Peak District. The 215 km walk is in manageable sections and includes the classic physical geography landforms of the White and Dark Peak, and explanations of the associated geology. Guides to each section of the walk are available as PDFs.
Geography news
Spaceport Cornwall provides base for space rocket launches from the UK
Spaceport Cornwall is being developed with investment of over £ 20 million. It will provide direct employment to 150 people and boost the local economy around Newquay. Cornwall Airport Newquay is an operational airport. The new buildings and infrastructure associated with Spaceport Cornwall are integrated within the existing developments. As capacity develops, up to 12 horizontal rocket launches will take place each year from aircraft taking off from the Spaceport. This is a significant development for both Cornwall and the UK. Although the first launch in January was unsuccessful due to a technical issue with the rocket, there were no problems with the use of a Jumbo Jet to lift the rocket to 35,000 ft prior for the launch. The website provides more details of this important project. Spaceport Cornwall
Battery Storage Factory to help sustainable energy use in Cornwall:
A 49.5MW Battery Storage Factory will be built near St Austell in Cornwall and should be operational in 2028. Cornwall is a centre for developing lithium technology and has a renewable energy from solar and wind farms. Battery Storage factories will play a critical role in balancing power generation from day to day as the weather conditions change. The company, Balance Power, sees this development playing a key part of the UKs move to net zero.
St Austell to have large battery storage factory built nearby - Cornwall Live
North Devon shipyard wins new contracts
Appledore Shipyard, in North Devon, which is owned by Harland and Wolff has been given a major contract worth £ 55 million to refit a Royal Navy Minehunter. This will employ 100 workers for the next 2 years. The shipyard has a long history of shipbuilding and was upgraded with new equipment in 2020. The shipyard will also be part of a construction project to build three new fleet support ships, making this yard a major engineering centre on the North Devon coast. Appledore Shipyard Part of £1.6 Billion MoD Contract | Sir Geoffrey Cox KC MP
Appledore Shipyard lands £55m vessel refit contract - BBC News
New solar farm to be built near Cullompton
Plans for a 60 hectare solar farm on farmland at Langford near Cullompton were given the green light in December 2022 after a lengthy appeal process. The site will cover an area the size of 70 football pitches and will produce enough renewable electricity by 2024 to power 10,000 homes. The estimated cost is £40 million and during its lifespan of 40 years, the 50MW production should save around 20,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The site will then return to farmland. Further onshore solar farms are planned elsewhere in East Devon. Langford Solar Farm plans approved after appeal - BBC News
Coastal erosion risks along North Somerset coast.
A recent report from Somerset County Council published in 2022 highlights how much of the coast is at risk from coastal erosion. Particular problems occur at Blue Anchor, near Watchet where the B3191 is at risk along with buildings close to the cliffs. Immediate problems with older sections of concrete sea wall were addressed in 2022. Further work costing £4 million will be completed by 2025. The Somerset Live article includes air photos and maps of the areas at risk.