#285: Patrick Geddes and nature connectedness

Another person who will perhaps be introduced to students of the GCSE Natural History specification is Patrick Geddes, or at the very least some of his work may influence some of the contents of the final specification after consultation. 

Here's a slide from a presentation I was present at, at the Linnean Society. It described his influence on others and has a nice quote of his as well.

According to this piece in the GA journal 'The Geographical Teacher' (1921), Patrick Geddes was a GA Vice President.

“Editorial.” The Geographical Teacher, vol. 11, no. 2, 1921, pp. 3–5. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40555898. Accessed 11 Apr. 2021.

I have previously written about Patrick Geddes and his influence on the early work of the GA, and his ideas on nature connectedness. 

This is likely to be an important theme of the GCSE Natural History I understand from the early stages of its development. The disconnection of young people from nature was one of the drivers for the new specification project.

Many people will not be familiar with the work of Geddes. This page provides a useful summary of some of his thinking and writing.

He had some influential views on the environment and humanity's place within it.

Geddes was also involved in the Le Play Society, which was also an early part of the GA's engagement with teachers and networking.

An online archive is now available.

Sir Patrick Geddes (1854-1932) was a pioneer of the environmental movement. Credited as the father of town-planning, he used biological concepts to develop a holistic view of people and where they live, seeing both as organic and how the balance and imbalance between them affected health and well-being.