SW Geography conference 2023

This year's free Geography Southwest conference took place at the University of West of England (UWE) on Monday 26 June 2023. Over 70 teachers attended the free event which included four lectures and six workshops.

The SW Geography conference is a collaborative event organised by Geography Southwest in association with the RGS-IBG and the University of the West of England, Bristol (UWE).

Programme

The lecture programme addressed some very pertinent and topical themes including sustainability, climate change, river management, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), was supported by several workshops led by well-known individuals within their field.  Details of the programme are summarised below. Several presenters have kindly shared their presentations from the conference and the links appear below.

Keynote Lectures

• Dr Liam Saddington (Cambridge) 'Beyond Sinking Islands: Resisting Climate Change in Tuvalu'

Low-lying islands are among the spaces most affected by the climate crisis. Global discourses have depicted atoll states as so-called ‘sinking islands’ that are on the frontline of climate change and spaces of future climate displacement. However, political leaders and communities from atoll states have resisted these discourses – particularly those related to inevitable inundation and migration. Focusing on Tuvalu, an atoll state in the South Pacific, this lecture explored how Tuvaluan climate adaptation and diplomacy sought to create alternative futures. Drawing on data from fieldwork in the Tuvalu and at the 2018 UN Climate Change Conference in Poland, the lecture considered the geopolitics of climate change in Tuvalu. Firstly, exploring how climate change adaptation, such as land reclamation, is utilised within Tuvaluan geopolitics. It also considered how Tuvalu has used creative climate diplomacy to become an important actor within international climate governance.

• Harry West (UWE) 'A tale of two rivers: the water cycle and what affects river catchment hydrology'

This lecture was built around a case study of two neighbouring catchments - the River Ock and River Lambourn. Whilst these catchments are neighbours and share lots of the same characteristics, they have different flow regimes. The Ock is quite flashy and dynamic, whilst the Lambourn is base flow-dominated and non-flashy. So, how can two catchments which are so close together have such different flows? Using GIS and spatial datasets, Harry worked through the water cycle exploring factors used to investigate these contrasts.

• Rebecca Nesbitt (Author; New Scientist Book of the Year 2022) 'Tickets for the Ark'

In the midst of a global extinction, we can't save everything. Best-selling author Rebecca Nesbit tackled the tough questions about what we should protect. Even conservation successes such as protected areas can come at a cost - there's a dark history of human rights abuses as people are removed from their land to make space for nature. Her lecture looked at how far the priorities of nature conservation and ecological stewardship can take account of environmental justice.

• RGS Lecture: Iram Sammar (Department of Geography with Social Science and Public Policy at King’s College London) 'Who am I? Exploring personal geographies'.

Iram showed how geography teachers can connect with their students by exploring in her4 lecture their personal geographies under the title called 'Who and I?'. Her lecture has been used by Geography Mentors in the pilot schools of the Geography for All Project. In the lecture she shared the impact it has already had on students and teachers. The lecture also included how to become an anti-racist educator - to be heard, seen and included, as advocated by authors such as Aisha Thomas and  Jeffrey Boakye. Iram introduced the audience to Ecstatic Responsive Cognition (ERC) as a pedagogical approach to engaging and impacting learners.

Workshops

• Chloë Searl (The Island Geographer): 50 common mistakes in the NEA . . . and how to avoid them!

Fieldwork tutor and award-winning author, Chloë Searl (The Island Geographer) explored some of the most common mistakes students make at each stage of the preparation, execution and write-up of the NEA investigation. Practical strategies for teachers showed how to help students avoid these pitfalls and ensure that they have the greatest opportunities to access the higher grades.

• Darren Bailey (Ordnance Survey): Exploring the potential of OS mapping and GIS in the classroom.

Darren explored the potential of using Ordnance Survey mapping and GIS in the classroom in this interactive session which gave delegates the opportunity to have some hands-on experience of using a GI software package and seeing ways to link GIS to the curriculum.

• Karen Corfield (Discover the World Education): Exploring the world beyond the walls of the classroom.

In her workshop, Karen considered the academic and pastoral benefits of running overseas trips. She offered practical suggestions on how to organise a trip from the teacher's perspective, as well as providing suggestions for the perfect destinations for students. The workshop explored ways to support and enrich the curriculum with specific case studies.

• Christine Whinney (Head of Programmes, Sand Dams Worldwide): Restoring drylands, rebuilding livelihoods and regreening environments with sand dams.

Sand Dams Worldwide supports some of the world's poorest people to transform their own lives through water and soil conservation in drylands. Sand Dams Head of Programme Christine Whinney explained how sand dams work, their significant role in mitigating the effects of climate change, their success in drylands and how they can help millions of people in drylands to access clean water and food, restore degraded land, rebuild their own livelihoods and regreen local environments.

• Isabel Kelly/Josie-Alice Kirby (South West Coastal Monitoring): The Dynamic Coast - a new KS3 resource.

This workshop introduced delegates to South West Coastal Monitoring, focusing on the ways that the team can support and enrich the teaching of coastal landscapes in the classroom. They introduced a new KS3 teaching resource, ‘The Dynamic Coast’. Through the use of PowerPoint presentations, worksheets and OS mapwork activities, the resources tell the story of how a village was washed away into the sea and how, through coastal monitoring and an understanding of the future challenges associated with climate change, we are able to mitigate future disasters.

• Dr Clare Maudling (Postgraduate Research Fellow, University of Exeter), and Dr Stuart Maudling (Biology Teacher at Redmaids High School and Marine Biologist): Coral reef management – case study of Pom Pom Island – Malaysia.

Clare and Stuart’s workshop looked at the development of coral reefs on the island of Pom Pom, Malaysia, and the various ways human activities are damaging the reef. Strategies for rebuilding the reef were discussed along with the complexities of managing the interests of different stakeholders on and around this island.

During the course of the conference, delegates were able to visit several display stands in the Publishers Exhibition presented by resource providers and educational publishers. There was a short presentation by a representative from the Landscape Institute South West giving  background information about the chartered body for the landscape profession and some of the careers that geography students may be equipped to consider pursuing.