SW Geography Conference 2024

Introduction

Welcome to the SW Geography Conference web page and newsletter. Here you will find details of this year's conference which we will update as we approach the date of the conference. After the conference, we will provide archive links to the presentations.

This year's SW Geography Conference will take place on Monday 17 June 2024. Please make a note of the date and get in your cover requests early! Booking is now open!

As previously, the conference will take place at UWE in Bristol. We are extremely grateful to UWE for their support without which it would be impossible to hold such an event.

Teachers will be able to book for free. Last year, we reached our delegate capacity several weeks in advance of the event and we therefore strongly advise early booking in April. You can now book your place using this link: SW Geography Teachers' Conference Tickets, Mon, Jun 17, 2024 at 10:00 AM | Eventbrite

As in the past, the conference will comprise several keynote lectures, workshops and exhibitions. We will update this page regularly with further details. Do sign up on our 'X' (Twitter) account to receive alerts.

Draft Programme 2024

We are delighted to confirm the following keynote lectures:

Rebecca Kitchen (Head of Professional Development, GA) The GA's Curriculum Framework: classroom implications

This session will introduce the GA's curriculum framework and consider how it might be best used to strengthen geographical knowledge in the classroom. It will consider the importance of applying geographical knowledge and conceptual progression throughout the curriculum.

Matt Wheeldon (Director of Infrastructure Development at Wessex Water) Storm overflows: causes, impacts and solutions

“Sewage dumping” makes great headlines. But what is really going on? Matt will discuss how storm overflows came to be, what impact they have on environmental and public health, and how different solutions have a variety of wider consequences.

Dr Katie Hall (ESRI) Developing geospatial skills through the National Education Nature Park

The National Education Nature Park empowers children and young people to explore, map, and improve their education settings for both people and wildlife. Engaging with the Nature Park helps develop their connection to nature alongside vital digital skills for their futures. Join Katie in this session to explore how GIS is being used to collect and analyse habitat and biodiversity data, and where you can find the resources, support and guidance needed to put nature at the heart of education.

Dr Andy Tallon (UWE) Changing Places: Urban Regeneration in Bristol

This talk gives an overview of the urban geography of Bristol as a case study city, and then focuses on urban regeneration issues, approaches and innovative examples of practice in the city.

Workshop presenters include:

Dr Liam Saddington (Teaching Associate in Human Geography, University of Cambridge) Climate Justice and Young People: Bringing Year 9 Fieldwork into the 21st Century

This workshop is focused on newly created educational materials for supporting Year 9 Geography. Through a collaboration with local schools, the University of Cambridge has been developing a new scheme of work to support the teaching of human geography of climate change exploring topics around climate justice. It includes support for running local fieldwork on climate justice. This will support geography pupils in developing a wider understanding of climate change and support the development of fieldwork skills before GCSE.

Neil Watson (Coastal Engineer, Environment Agency) Coastal change: the Moors at Arne, Dorset

The presentation looks back 10,000 years across The Moors at Arne coastal managed realignment site to illustrate the story of natural sea level fluctuations, and highlight the challenges from rising sea levels for people living around Poole Harbour over the next 100 years.

Andy Owen (Author and assessment consultant) Spaces for everyone

The toppling of the Colston statue in 2020 illustrated how public spaces can fail to be inclusive of all and how perceptions of place change over time. This workshop will look at how public spaces may be perceived by different groups and how students can successfully design fieldwork to investigate perceptions of public space. [Sponsored by Insight and Perspective]

Darren Bailey (Education Manager, Ordnance Survey) Using primary and secondary data sources within GIS

Using the Digimap for Schools service, this session will look at how you can use primary and secondary data to create geolocated maps.  The session will provide practical examples of how this can be used in the classroom, look at how you can use mobile devices to collect data and then use GIS to display the information.  Bring a device with a web browser and Microsoft Excel so that you can have a go yourself!

Delegates should download the two files via the link at the bottom of this page

Professor Jenny Brown (Coastal Oceanographer, National Oceanography Centre) Using coastal observations to engage students and promote careers in oceanography

To understand how climate change is impacting our coasts we require new observation systems. This workshop will explore online coastal monitoring data to develop skills in science, technology, engineering, maths and geography, demonstrating how they could be applied in a career working in oceanography.

Tom Humphreys (Deputy Head, Skern Lodge) Promoting student wellbeing in geography fieldwork 

How do we support student geographers to ‘feel good’ when they’re conducting practical fieldwork? With a growing emphasis placed upon education leaders to support young people’s wellbeing alongside academic attainment, Tom will share his experiences as a Fieldwork Tutor at a residential field centre with a look at both research conducted by the University of Exeter and a collection of candid student testimonials to critically consider how fieldwork influences how young people feel.

Carla De Laurentis (Senior Lecturer in Environmental Management, University of West of England) When the wind turbines stop: opportunities and challenges for the management of end of life of wind turbines.

Wind farms reaching their end of technical, or consent life, are increasing. One of the biggest emerging environmental sustainability issues faced by countries globally is what to do with this ageing infrastructure. This workshop will present newly created education material that focuses on wind energy and the challenges we are facing with the management of the end-of-life of wind turbines. This workshop will explore how end-of-life decisions are being undertaken and how these can influence the different options of waste management alternatives to landfill.

[Last updated 16/4/24]

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).