#567: Natural History Reading List #24: "Landmarks"

The latest in a series of posts on suggested books that could be in a GCSE Natural History subject library. The library is building but a long way from the contents of my GeoLibrary blog which has over 600 books on its virtual shelves.

'Landmarks' was written by Robert MacFarlane. 

It was published in 2016, so is coming up for ten years old, which makes me feel old.

There are several reasons for including this book on the reading list.

This description from a New York Times review provides some sort of sense of the contents of the book.

It includes some lists of words which describe some quite specific aspects of landscapes - particularly of words which are disappearing from dictionaries and common usage.

Expanding the vocabulary of young people with respect to Natural History will hopefully be an important part of the new course once the specification is revealed.

#566: A new OCR Blog on Nature Education in School

This is an excellent blog by Kim Polgreen and Joe Boyle of the University of Oxford. 

It was written for the OCR Blog and relates to the continuing preparations for the GCSE Natural History.

There's a focus on what Secondary schools can do in their own grounds and at low cost to offer potential for students to develop their thinking around natural history and its value.

They say:

From what we see in our own community in Oxfordshire, the fact that the GCSE has been mooted and now been confirmed has changed the conversation. Natural History is now a legitimate subject for teenagers to study at school.

And while we wait and prepare for the GCSE, there is a growing recognition of a more urgent set of “business drivers” for secondary schools to engage with nature and promote nature education. Student stress and mental health problems, student absence, teacher retention, inequality of attainment, parent stress, and even excess building heat and outdoor heat in the summer – these are all becoming overwhelming challenges for school leaders that can be helped by nature.

The blog refers to some research they have done on the way that young people relate to nature. The research is linked to here.

It finishes with 7 principles for working with young people...

These aim to help teachers and schools take advantage of cited opportunities: for wellbeing, skills development, brain development, alternative settings for learning and community building.

These are excellent and the emboldened bits are the the bits I like the most. I think some resources which relate to these would be very useful going forward.

We await the first draft specification for further consultation.

1. Experience nature first-hand. Hands-on is much much better than pictures. Contact with soil and plants supports gut health. Different outdoor spaces support different students.
2. Address key school issues. Thoughtfully-designed nature engagement activities can be used to build confidence, resilience, community, attendance and attainment, with benefits resonating through the school community.
3. Work close to school. Nature is everywhere. Lack of funds for a big trip doesn’t preclude getting out into nature locally or in school grounds. There are lichens on the school walls, a huge variety of species on playing fields and verges, and birds everywhere. A pile of dead wood or a small pond creates a mini ecosystem. Visiting areas near school, within the students’ own environment, cultivates place-based connection.
4. Diversify views of nature. nature can be studied through science and geography, but also through art, literature, history, drama, religion, philosophy, economics and maths. Examining the varied interrelationships between humans and nature through human history offers many entry points.
5. Embrace co-learning. Teachers don’t need to be experts, they can become learning coaches, discovering with and from their students, using the many tools available. Nature is such an immense topic that we’re all learning all the time.
6. Mediate with care. nature engagement is best when it’s led thoughtfully: managing expectations, involving students in risk assessments, accepting variable behaviour and remaining calm and confident will build students’ confidence and enjoyment, and support their ability to learn.
7. Work together and celebrate difference. People approach nature in different ways. Some are quiet observers, others are active workers. Nature spaces can help collaboration, allow individuals to thrive, and develop mutual appreciation and respect.

Read more here.

And check out the wider work of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery.

#565: 75 years of the Peak District

2026 marks the 75th anniversary of the first National Park to be designated in the UK.

Peak District National Park

A local National Park will be a perfect place for visits once the GCSE Natural History launches, and many schools will be within a reasonable distance of one... or actually within one.

#564: Routes Journal - a special issue

Routes is a journal which features articles by students.

Volume 5 Issue 2 is now published, and is a special issue on young rewilders. Check out the articles on the links below. Well done to all those who have contributed to this special issue.

Editorial Introduction: Young People and Rewilding

By Oscar Hartman Davies (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) and Jonathon Turnbull (Durham University)

by Routes10/04/2026

Essays

Turning back the clock or facing the future? Rewilding’s alternative conception of time and the potential for social justice

By Alfie Wraith (University of Cambridge)

by Routes10/04/2026

BIG FISH, BIG TIME: Exploring more-than-human temporal affect with respect to sturgeon

By Jessica Barker-Wren (University College London)

by Routes11/04/2026

Restoring forests in a changing world: the ash dieback crisis

By Haoran Wu (University of Oxford)

by Routes11/04/2026

The role of young people in the UK species reintroduction movement

By Șeniz Mustafa (The Ealing Beaver Project)

by Routes11/04/2026

Rewilding Research: Exploring young people’s perceptions of nature, identity and home

Ben Harris and Eden Sedman (Rewilding Youth)

by Routes11/04/2026

Balancing radical and sustainable rewilding: A case study of London’s urban future through the Neighbourhood Mobility Map Guide

Trisha Mehta (Royal College of Art School of Design)

by Routes11/04/2026

Rewilding and complex human-nature relationship in cities: Ecological parks in Chengdu, China

Ruoyan Zhu (Hong Kong Baptist University)

by Routes11/04/2026

Blue rewilding and nature-inclusive design: Offshore wind farms as anchors for marine biodiversity recovery in the UK

Prerena Balu (Newcastle University)

by Routes11/04/2026

#563: Secret Garden

A new BBC series which started this evening focusses on the wildlife that can be found in people's gardens, although frankly the first episode featured a completely unrealistic garden...

There's an interactive tool as well, made with the Open University, which you can use to uncover the secret wildlife in your own garden.

#562: New from Robert MacFarlane

A new film by Jackie Morris and Robert MacFarlane.

It's a documentary.

Here are the details from the film maker:

In 2020, during a lock down that marked us all, I discovered The Lost words book. This illustrated object simply celebrated words that qualified the nature around me in northern Europe. These words were blue bell, fox, badger, willow, conker, magpie, raven... 

Common nature names that had been taken out of the Oxford Youth Dictionary in 2007 and to which the authors Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris had given a second life. As I was relearning the landscape around me, it seemed unimaginable to lose ways to point it out, understand it and care for it.

The philosophy behind The Lost Words - between grief of disappearance and creative action - became something I wanted to bring to the screen; It is there that I found hope.

Sarah Konrath's (Indiana University) studies show that the level of empathy in younger members of the earth's population has gone down by 40% in the last ten years. Considering the easy access to the hard truths of a world in crisis, this is not surprising. Furthermore, when looking at documentaries that warn of the state of our planet, we quickly notice that catastrophe is written into the fibre of each film, warning and debilitating. The kindness in The Lost Words was what struck me; and its kind but subversive approach is what gave me the desire to make a film that invites us to change our point of view on our position as interconnected earth dwellers.

This is not a film about the book, but a film inspired by its creative and hopeful gaze. It is in this aesthetic of care that Lost For Words inserts itself; holding out a hand to the human and more-than-human.

Here's the trailer:

#561: MPAs

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are important for marine conservation. There are few of them.

If you want to find them, check out the map here.

Find out more about marine protected areas with this infographic by @FishOceansCAN⬇️
🐠#Biodiversity pic.twitter.com/K27lAV5JPL

— UN Biodiversity (@UNBiodiversity) March 7, 2024

#560: Emperor Penguin decline....

A sad but inevitable consequence of the loss of sea ice, given the life cycle of this bird...

#559: Biodiversity Stripes - new infographics

I posted about these some years ago, but there is now a range of new visualisations available.

Visit the site and every few seconds you are treated to a new one...

#558: A new image of Earth from Space

Via Artemis II.

#557: Beetles

How to identify beetles?

A guide is here.

ID guides for major species which may be mentioned in the specification will be important. Some teachers who are teaching the new specifications may not be 

#556: RSPB - a fieldtrip option, and citizen science opportunity

The RSPB is one of the supporters of the new GCSE in Natural History. 

A list has been blogged previously showing the original supporting organisations. 

The connections which are made clear when the draft subject content emerges for consultation will be helpful in providing a steer for the approach that has been taken.

There are quite a few RSPB reserves around the country.

It is one of the largest conservation organisations in the country, and has many members. They have also been particularly critical in the last six months of changes in government policy around planning, which was a rare foray into this sort of campaigning work.

They also have a role in education, and could well provide a useful option for schools needing local fieldwork opportunities, or training, or perhaps to provide a role for certain students. 

There may well be some ornithological experts amongst the student body of any school - although the Merlin ID app is a useful alternative to actually recognising bird song.

RSPB reserves welcome visitors of course, and they also have an Educational 

The RSPB website is here.

RSPB members can access reserves and car parks. It is a good value membership given the number of reserves that can be visited.

#555: Changing banknotes

I've mentioned some of the wildlife that features on coins and bank notes previously.

Many countries feature wildlife on bank notes as part of the nation's heritage and culture.

Now we may get more wildlife on our bank notes.

Following a consultation. 44,000 people had their say on what themes and images they'd like to see on their notes.

60% of people picked nature as their preferred theme, and so the Bank of England are making a big change.

This suggestion has not gone down well with the Daily Telegraph.

Here's the announcement from the Bank of England.

#554: River Glaven

What is your local river? Can you get out to it to do fieldwork easily?

What fieldwork would be appropriate for the GCSE Natural History?

One river that I have completed fieldwork on most recently is the River Glaven.

This is a fairly short river which flows through North Norfolk.

Rising from tiny chalk headwaters in lower Bodham and Baconsthorpe, the River Glaven flows for approximately 17 km. Its main course begins just below Selbrigg Pond, where three tributaries combine at the outfall. From there, the river winds through wooded hills of glacial debris, traverses lush countryside, and meanders through picturesque flint villages, before meeting the sea behind Blakeney Point.

Image: Selbrigg Pond, where the Glaven comes to life.

I have followed the river for most of that route.

At Letheringsett mill there is a useful stretch where fieldwork can be carried out.

Image: Letheringsett

The River Glaven faces challenges from abstraction, climate change and development. These pressures affect water levels and temperatures, ultimately impacting the wildlife and communities that depend on this precious chalk stream.

The river has a Conservation Group.

Images by Alan Parkinson.

#553: RGS CPD on Biodiversity

As we move to the next stage of the development of the new GCSE Natural History, there will be a need for teachers to receive CPD in a wide range of new skills and knowledge. This sort of event will be particularly helpful.

How do we protect nature in a rapidly changing world?

Join us on Tuesday 17 March to hear leading conservation scientists and researchers discuss how we can safeguard biodiversity for the future.

• Professor Nathalie Seddon – Professor of Biodiversity (University of Oxford)
• Dr Liana Chua – Social anthropologist and Associate Professor in Malay World Studies (University of Cambridge)
• Dr Joshua Elves-Powell – Associate Lecturer in Biodiversity Conservation and Ecology (UCL) and National Geographic Explorer

Chaired by Martine Croxall (BBC News)

Be part of an important conversation on conservation, climate and the future of our natural world.

Book here - very reasonably priced.

#552: The John Clare Countryside Project

This was on the local news magazine programme tonight.

John Clare was a poet who was influenced by nature and the outside world.

The artist in residence Kathryn Parsons was interviewed.

The project is expanding.

An excellent booklet which provides details of the project

Download the booklet here (PDF download)

You can also download a set of Education resources.

The 2015 film By Our Selves (Andrew Kötting), featuring Toby Jones, traced Clare’s walk. Other fans of Clare’s work include Patrick Stewart and Damon Albarn.

#551: World Frog Day - March 20th

One possible additional focus for teachers is to mention or highlight some of the specific days during the year which are linked to specific species of wildlife.

Here's one for you:

March 20th is World Frog Day.

Use the Amphibian Ark website, which has a range of resources.

#550: Threatened rock art

The Vingen Quarry in Norway has a range of threatened rock art.

This Guardian article from 2024 explores the reason why such sites should be protected.

Rock art falls into the category of "representations of the natural world".

#549: New Natural History Centre at Heligan

Details are here:

A NEW educational hub dedicated to championing the cause of nature has opened at a tourist attraction in Cornwall.

The Centre for Nature Futures at the Lost Gardens of Heligan, near Mevagissey, was launched in front of an invited audience of educationalists and business people.

Speeches were given by Heligan co-founder Sir Tim Smit, Heligan chief executive David Harland, head of Nature Futures Dan Ryan and Mary Colwell, a conservationist and naturalist who has led a campaign to introduce a natural history GCSE to the national curriculum.

#548: Remote and face to face - the support we'll need

When the specification is (finally) released, along with SAMs and other support materials and guidance there will be a year or so to prepare teachers to teach the new specification. 

This will require them to upskill themselves (and I include myself in that).

Official and 'unofficial' support and textbooks and other material will start to appear, and the various organisations who have been involved so far will no doubt have their own idea.

There are already some organisations offering free online training - here are a few examples from November 2023 for example, from different organisations... they will of course be offering many more in the years to come...

On 16th Nov at 1:45pm, tune into our next STEM Live lesson, 'How to Classify a Sea Monster', brought to you by @LinneanSociety.

Here you'll learn how to study life in the wild, name living organisms and even draw imaginary creatures!

Sign up here: https://t.co/QgnSkAKaDv pic.twitter.com/5wqw1qw48q

— STEMLiveLessons (@STEMLiveLessons) October 24, 2023

Ever wondered what life is like on a historic estate? Join us @unisouthampton to hear from the team at Beaulieu Estate.

📍Southampton, 8 November 👉 https://t.co/W5TjyAusuK pic.twitter.com/GV4iIph7tI

— Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) (@RGS_IBG) October 26, 2023

What do you think will be the most useful types of support that teachers and schools that decide to offer the new specification will need to be provided with - whether by the awarding body or external bodies including publishers, subject associations, charities etc.