Geography Southwest Newsbites May 2023
Geography Southwest May Newsbites
The Summer exam season is a busy time for everyone, but it also provides opportunities to plan for the next academic year, look at new resources, attend inset events and take part in fieldwork. This May Newsbites includes a wide range of new resources, many ideas for teaching and a variety of inset courses.
The Geography Southwest Conference 2023 is on Monday 26 June 2023 at the University of the West of England and is free! If you wish to attend, do book a place soon as the remaining places are limited. https://uwe.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bdr8GiuGFsrIg86. The final programme is here: https://www.geographysouthwest.co.uk/conference/geog-sw-conference/sw-geography-conference-2023/.
Are you teaching coasts or earthquakes? Geography Southwest has been collaborating with South West Coastal Monitoring to produce resources for teachers. Have a look at the PowerPoints and worksheets on Start Bay and Hallsands. https://www.geographysouthwest.co.uk/secondary/ks3-articles/the-dynamic-coast-resource-pack-start-bay-devon/.
Two articles by Professor James Jackson have been added to the website supporting the teaching of natural hazards at A level, looking at earthquakes and their impacts on megacities. Earthquake hazards: vulnerability and threats in megacities - Geography South West
Don’t forget to encourage your students to enter the RGS Young Geographer of the Year competition. The 2023 theme is to create a Blueprint for the Future! The deadline for entries is 5 pm on Monday 2 October. Royal Geographical Society - Young Geographer of the Year (rgs.org)
Do also look at the May Primary Newsbites for ideas and resources for Early Years and KS 1 and 2. https://www.geographysouthwest.co.uk/primary/primary_news/primary-newsbites-may-2023/
Geography events
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)
Forthcoming RGS events include:
Digimaps for Schools – a quick guide for fieldwork: Wednesday 7 June, 4.00pm-4.30pm, online, free. Royal Geographical Society - Digimap for Schools: A quick guide to Fieldwork (rgs.org)
Teaching sustainable development differently, and better?: Friday 16 June: 10.30 to 3 pm. London. This free course is linked to the RGS resource on Sustainable development in Bolivia. Royal Geographical Society - Resources for schools (rgs.org)
GIS CPD RGS workshops led by ESRI UK: These courses will use ArcGIS to provide CPD on GIS at events throughout the summer and autumn terms.
Teach with GIS – getting started with ArcGIS Online – Wednesday 14 June, 10.00am-4.00pm, London
GIS for fieldwork and the NEA at Edge Hill University – Tuesday 27 June, 10.00am-4.00pm Liverpool
Teach with GIS – getting started with ArcGIS Online at York St John University -
Tuesday 3 October, 10.00am-4.00pm, York
Teach with GIS – getting started with ArcGIS Online at Newcastle University -
Wednesday 25 October, 10.00am-4.00pm, Newcastle
The RGS website also has a number of resources to support students thinking of applying to University to read geography. Royal Geographical Society - Why you should study geography (rgs.org)
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The Royal Meteorological Society is running an online Weather and Climate Careers Day on Saturday 17 June 2023, from 11:00 - 15:00 aimed at GCSE and A level students.
RMetS Careers Day: Interested in a Career in Weather and Climate? | Royal Meteorological Society
Geography resources
Geographical Association: A selection of downloads of presentations from the 2023 GA Conference are now available on their website. Sheffield 2023 session downloads - Geographical Association (geography.org.uk)
The GA’s publications provide valuable support for teaching various topics. A recent very topical addition to the Top Spec series is The Climate Crisis. Top Spec Geography: The Climate Crisis
Digimap for Schools: Have you discovered Digimap for Schools which provides maps at various scales for UK and further afield. Historic maps can be compared to the present day, and it provides a very useful secondary source for NEAs. A free trial is available on their website.
https://digimapforschools.edina.ac.uk/free-trial
Discover the World posters: - Discover the World have a series of free classroom posters for teachers. The A1 posters are colourful with high quality images and detailed information in the text. Their latest on Carbon Capture in Iceland available here. Classroom posters (discover-the-world.com) Other posters include Italy – Living with Volcanoes and the Solheimajokull - disappearing glacier.
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology: the UKCEH website has articles and factsheets of use for teachers which may also provide background reading for NEAs. Recent articles have looked at threat of disease from ticks and mosquitoes, and the effects of the 2022 drought on butterfly numbers, and their factsheets include Peatlands and Microplastics
Hot and dry summer impacts UK butterfly populations | UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (ceh.ac.uk)
Peatland factsheet.pdf (ceh.ac.uk)
New Time for Geography videos: The latest Time for Geography short videos feature river flooding, threats to rain forests and impacts of the global fashion industry. Nature-based solutions and land-use management to reduce flood risk aimed at GCSE and A level is covered in Reducing flood risk through land-use management and nature-based solutions (timeforgeography.co.uk)
Threats to Tropical Rain Forests looks at the various impacts particularly as a result of road developments and impacts on the carbon cycle. Threats to tropical rainforests (timeforgeography.co.uk)
The environmental and social impacts of the fast fashion industry across the world is examined in The challenge of informal outsourcing in the fashion industry (timeforgeography.co.uk)
Investigating Rivers in the Bristol area. Do you teach in the Bristol area. If yes, have a look at the resources of the Bristol Avon Rivers Trust, particularly River Blitz. Bristol Avon RiverBlitz: RiverBlitz Explorer (bristolavonriverstrust.org)
River Blitz enables you to look at various aspects of the rivers in the Bristol Avon catchment, including levels of pollution and changes over time. Other resources include the studying the landforms of the River Chew using maps and a game to help understand Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) Bristol Avon Rivers Trust Education Resources
Teaching about nature-based solutions? The latest Team Wilder, the publication of the Somerset Wildlife Trust features an article on Nature Based solutions with links to other resources. Using examples from Somerset, the article includes peatlands, wetlands, woodlands and grasslands. There are also resources on ocean sediments, seagrass and saltmarshes and their importance in ecosystems and roles in the carbon cycle. Nature based solutions | Somerset Wildlife Trust
Rivers and Flooding: Recent reports on Gov.UK include a detailed analysis of flood risk and management options in the Severn River Basin catchment which provides useful data and examples for A level teaching. Severn River Basin District Flood Risk Management Plan 2021 to 2027 (publishing.service.gov.uk) Another report in the same series looks at the South West River Basin and includes short case studies on flood management such as the Dartmoor Headwaters project. The South West River Basin District Flood Risk Management Plan 2021 to 2027 (publishing.service.gov.uk)
There is also a new suite of games called Rivercraft 2 aimed at young people. Launched in April and available to download on the link below, Rivercraft 2 aims to help to educate children and young people about the risks of flooding and inspire young people to careers where people can make a difference. It is produced by a partnership of the Environment Agency, Microsoft and developers BlockBuilders and the games provide an innovative and exciting geography resource for students and teachers. Rivercraft 2: the game engaging young people on flood risk - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Want a different view of the coast, and a way of thinking about the character of a place? The Walk With Us project from the National Oceanography Centre has produced guided walks at Penzance and Dawlish looking at themes of coastal development and climate change with poetry, artwork and sound. Walk With Us – walk · listen · create (walklistencreate.org)
Teaching Global Goals and Global Governance? The latest edition of School Science newsletter features new downloadable pupil and teacher resources on who is responsible for ensuring we achieve Global Goals. A 30-minute activity for pupils from KS2 to A level is aimed at stimulating discussion and debate, to help them consider this issue in an interactive way. Who's responsible for global goals? - SchoolScience.co.uk
Studying the World’s oceans? Check out the latest news from the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) including this report on the risks of more severe storms affecting the UK. New report shows potential of more severe storms reaching the UK | National Oceanography Centre (noc.ac.uk) They provide a variety of up-to-date resources, such as a study of the issue of plastics in the ocean which would provide a suitable introduction to the topic at KS3 or GCSE. Plastics in the Ocean | National Oceanography Centre (noc.ac.uk)
Are you and your school interested in taking part in a research project focusing on how young people think about global politics? A new project aims to better understand how secondary school students think about issues facing some of the most marginalised communities in the world and enthuse them about how we can think differently about equality and diversity in the global governance system. Professor Fiona McConnell (University of Oxford) and Dr Liam Saddington (University of Cambridge) have been developing a simulation exercise based on stateless communities to support the Global Governance component of the A Level syllabus. This is a two-hour exercise in which young people debate issues of self-determination whilst taking on the role of communities excluded from the international system.
If you would like to take part, Dr Liam Saddington will visit your school to run a two-hour Model UNPO (Royal Geographical Society - Debating Global Governance: “Model UNPO” role play (rgs.org). Along with Professor Fiona McConnell, Dr Liam Saddington will write up this research for publication in a journal. Dr Saddington will take notes during the session, but this project does not involve recording students and your school and students will not be identifiable. If you are interested in taking part, or have any questions, please contact Dr Liam Saddington. lrs46@cam.ac.uk"
Geography News:
Heavy thunderstorms cause flooding in the West Country, May 2023
Severe thunderstorms produced torrential rain and led to flash flooding across Cornwall, Devon and Somerset during the afternoon of Tuesday 9 May 2023. Over 40mm of rain fell in less than an hour during the storms. In urban areas such as Exeter with large areas of impermeable surfaces, surface runoff resulted in flash flooding of low-lying areas. Honiton Road in the suburb of Heavitree became impassable with 2 metres of floodwater and was closed for several hours disrupting traffic and several houses were flooded. The flooding occurred at a place called Heavitree Bridge where the Northbrook stream passes under the road in a culvert, which could not cope with the rapid runoff. Properties were also affected in the town of Sidmouth.
Live: Flash floods hit Exeter as vehicles stuck and major road closed - Devon Live
In rural areas, the intense rain exceeded infiltration rates, with rapid overland flow across fields, many of which had limited interception because the crops had not yet grown fully. The water caused local rivers such as the River Otter in Tipton St Johns to burst their banks and schools had to be evacuated. Smaller streams in Newton Poppleford and Woodbury overflowed and muddy torrents swept down village streets.
Flash flooding leaves cars trapped and roads closed in parts of Devon | ITV News West Country
UK – Evacuations After Floods in Devon and Somerset – FloodList
Residents from eighteen homes in North Cadbury in Somerset were evacuated to the Village Hall when rising water levels exceeded one metre.
Somerset: major incident declared after flash flooding | Flooding | The Guardian
UK’s first Surfing Reserve declared in North Devon
An 18-mile section of the North Devon coast has become the UK’s first World Surfing Reserve, joining 11 others around the world. The designation was officially declared in May 2023, and includes the popular surfing beaches at Saunton Sands and Croyde. North Devon will join 11 other World Surfing Reserves which include Malibu and Santa Cruz in California, and the Gold Coast in Australia.
The North Devon coast faces west, and the long fetch across the Atlantic produces ideal surf waves. Saunton Sands offers both friendly surf conditions near the car park and more challenging conditions at Downend Point, particularly at low tide.
The North Devon World Surfing Reserve will bring together various stakeholders with an interest in the coast and its waves including surfers, landowners, local authorities, education organisations and conservation groups to help protect the waters from potential threats such as dredging, pollution and overdevelopment. It will also help promote the long tradition of surfing and related businesses.
Studies of the seabed by the University of Plymouth have provided valuable data, and discussions have taken place with the developers of the White Cross Wind farm which is due to be built 30 miles offshore in the Bristol Channel to ensure it will not affect the coast. Home | North Devon Surf Reserve
Offshore wind farm planned for North Devon
A new offshore wind farm is planned for the Bristol Channel, around 30 miles (50 km) off the North Devon coast. The innovative wind farm will produce 100 MW of renewable energy, enough to power a small city of 130,000 people. The plans are currently undergoing consultation before approval to build is finally given. Their website provides useful interactive resources to study the case for the wind farm, how it will be built and where the electricity will come ashore. If the project receives permission to go ahead, it will create several hundred jobs in the supply chain during the construction period. White Cross Offshore Wind - The future of renewable energy
Job opporutunity: The Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (WWT) is currently advertising for an Environmental Education Project Manager to lead Generation Wild, our Nature Connection project for schools, children and families in disadvantaged areas. Full details can be found on their website: https://jobs.wwt.org.uk/vacancies/1758/WWT/environmental_education_project_manager/