#645: The RMetS Consultation on the GCSE Natural History

The RMetS has shared their thoughts on the GCSE Natural History ahead of the closing of the consultation on the proposed subject content.

Although the draft revised science and geography subject contents are not expected to be published within the consultation period of this GCSE, we anticipate that climate change education will be strengthened in both subject areas. 

Therefore, it is important that that Natural History GCSE builds on, rather than duplicates, learning in those subjects.

To this end, we recommend that the Natural History GCSE subject content should specifically develop systematic understanding of the interactions between weather, climate and climate change and the natural world, through an understanding of:

• How climate determines biomes.
• The interaction of extreme weather (including extremes of rainfall and temperature) and weather-related hazards (such as floods, droughts and fires) with habitats and species.
• The impact of current and projected climate change as well as climate mitigation solutions with habitats and species and how negative impacts can be reduced or avoided.
• The role of the natural world in the climate system, including the role of nature-based solutions (adaptation and mitigation) to climate change.

It is also important to clearly delineate the natural processes that controlled the interrelationship between weather, climate and climate change and the natural world before the Anthropocene, and the more recent human ones.

We support the inclusion of fieldwork and observation in the proposed content and recommend that this includes simple weather observations or measurements.

We support the broad range of data skills included but recommend that wider skills such as critical evaluation are also included.

#644: Shooting Times journal article

Via my Google Alert for GCSE Natural History.

It will be inter­est­ing to see what the uptake might be. Will it be mostly teen­agers who already have an interest in nature, want­ing to know more, or new­comers hop­ing for an easy course? There are gen­er­a­tions of fam­il­ies spend­ing little time out­side their imme­di­ate sur­round­ings. From my own exper­i­ence, I am con­cerned to see so many people whose primary con­tact with nature is via tele­vi­sion doc­u­ment­ar­ies, their views on envir­on­mental issues shaped by mis­in­formed presenters and social media influ­en­cers.

Per­haps some of us can fill the gap and offer to help with the field­work aspects of the new course. Field­s­ports are the ori­ginal form of nat­ural his­tory in prac­tice, so per­haps the onus is on us to engage pro­act­ively with local schools rather than moan­ing from afar should the antis take over the nar­rat­ive.

The article quotes someone from the British Association of Shooting and Conservation (BASC) - a friend of mine Paula worked for them over 40 years ago... the article asks some of the questions that many others will also be asking.

#643: The Path More Travelled

A cross posting from my Geo Library blog project - what do you mean you haven't visited? There's over 700 books that would be of interest to geographers.

'Absorbing and exhilarating . . . This book will literally expand your horizons' MICHAEL PALIN
'A panoptic, deeply researched and compelling history of our nation' PATRICK BARKHAM

This was the book I finished at the beginning of the summer break.

It's a chunky tome from Nicholas Crane which sits alongside his earlier book on the making of the landscape of Britain.

It explores the origin of the paths and tracks that run through England, from their first makings as the landscape was populated with the first arrivals. 

The paths firmed up with foot traffic and created a network of paths connecting settlements as they developed. Horses expanded the network, and trade turned them into roads. They were joined by trains and canals and then the car changed everything.

It's scholarly and accessible and full of incident and detail, taking you through the thickets of ancient woodland and out to the development of motorways and the current issues we face travelling through the countryside, including past struggles to gain access to open access land.

Details from the publisher:

In The Path More Travelled, acclaimed geographer and travel writer Nicholas Crane explores the hidden history of Britain's coast-to-coast web of footpaths, from the icy Cairngorms to the banks of the Severn (where he discovers footprints left over 7,000 years ago). 

Witty, wide-ranging and passionate, this is an enchanting call to rediscover and protect the lifeblood of our landscapes.

My copy was published by W&N in 2026

Hardback, 432pp

ISBN:  978-1399605816

If you want to hear more about the book, Nicholas Crane is doing a series of events around the country, including a talk in King's Lynn at the Town Hall.

Your best option if you live in the East of England is to come along to our Christmas social event on Tuesday the 8th of December.

It will be hosted by Norwich School.

Nick will have a focus on the ancient footpaths of East Anglia as well, given the location of the talk, and the fact he was born in Cringleford - a few miles from where my daughter lives - and grew up in the area.

My ticket is booked, so I will see you there and may even help you get some sausage rolls and brownies once the talk is over. We usually have mulled wine on arrival as well...

#642: Wildfires

Wildfires are breaking out across Europe.

It's not clear whether most of them started by natural causes.

A report from the House of Lords.

Wildfires are a natural phenomenon and an essential process in some ecosystems. However, around the world climate change, demographic changes and shifts in land use are altering their frequency and severity.

In the UK, natural wildfires, for example those sparked following lightning strikes, are rare and most wildfires are the result of human action. The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), which represents fire and rescue services (FRS) across the UK (44 in England, three in Wales and one each in Scotland and Northern Ireland), notes that most wildfires nationally originate from human activity such as:

• littering (from improper disposal of a cigarette to dropping litter such as reflective items and glass bottles that then start a fire)
• unattended fires (campfires, bonfires and barbecues left unattended or not fully extinguished)
• deliberate fire-setting
• controlled burning used to manage land that then gets out of control

There is no single definition of what constitutes a wildfire in the UK, with different definitions used by government agencies, the media and FRS. 

The UK government used to define a wildfire as any “unplanned and uncontrolled fire(s) in the natural environment”, but now defines the term to mean an “uncontrolled fire that burns vegetation, such as grass, heather, woodland, crops and scrubland”.

The NFCC maintains that not all outdoor fires are wildfires. Instead, it defines a wildfire as “any uncontrolled vegetation fire which requires a decision, or action, regarding suppression”. In addition, the NFCC specifies that a wildfire will meet one or more of the following criteria:

• involves a geographical area of at least one hectare (10,000 square metres)
• has a sustained flame length of more than 1.5 metres
• requires a committed resource of at least four FRS appliances/resources
• requires resources to be committed for at least six hours
• presents a serious threat to life, environment, property and infrastructure

One of the most heartbreaking ones, was relatively local to me, and an area I know well: Dunwich Heath which borders Minsmere RSPB reserve.

A fundraiser shows the depth of feeling for this landscape.

"This beautiful purple landscape, once filled with the sound of warblers and skylarks and people enjoying a walk through the heather, is now unrecognisable."

Hilary McGrady, director-general of the National Trust

#641: Losing front gardens

This Conversation article revisits a theme which has been the focus for some fieldwork in the past in Ely. I've blogged about that separately.

People have tended to pave over front gardens and drop the kerb to create off-road parking... which then restricts the available on-road parking, which encourages more people to do the same.

Many modern housing developments prioritise off road parking.

This is increasing urban temperatures as the surfaces absorb and retain more heat, and the lack of vegetation reduces biodiversity.

I have a front garden laid to lawn with some pots by the front door. This makes it low maintenance but retains some elements of green space and a permeable surface for rainfall.

The article references an RHS report from 2025 on the loss of gardening spaces and the inequality of access.

This report found:

• The average domestic garden is 244 square metres – that’s nine tenths of a tennis court.
• 19 million trees can be found in Great Britain’s domestic gardens and 50.5 million across all cultivated green space - six times more than London’s entire urban forest.
• Just 0.15% of domestic garden is artificial lawn but this still accounts for 7.5million square metres while artificial grass across all cultivated green space stands at 18million square metres - more than six times the size of the City of London
• More than a third (35%) of domestic gardens comprises lawn, with 25.8% under trees and 11% as flower beds.
• 42% of domestic garden space is paved over (55% of front garden space and 36% of back garden space), reducing gardens potential to cool, capture pollution, support biodiversity, carbon sequestration and storage, and restricting rainwater absorption by the soil and exacerbating flooding.

To maximise the benefits of cultivated green space and protect them for the future the RHS is urging:

• Policymakers to guarantee “Space to Grow” in all housing and urban planning, so every household has access to a garden
• Homeowners to consider robust planting and permeable paving for front garden driveways to help mitigate flood risk and promote the cooling potential of gardens as well as support biodiversity
• Local councils to ensure diversity in tree planting, prioritising those species that will respond best to climate change
• Developers to design gardens with water channelling, capture and storage facilities to help future proof them

Gardening is certainly a popular activity, both to do but also to go to see. There were massive queues in the local area where I live due to the RHS Sandringham Show: an expansion on the previous Sandringham Flower Show.

#640: Greenlightenment

Another post which came from my Google Alert for "GCSE Natural History"

For the last week, Steve Backshall has been presenting his Wild Heligan event at the 'Lost' Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall.

This Cornish Times article explains how he and Tim Smit (creator of the Eden Project) are calling for a "greenlightenment".

Sir Tim said: “The launch of the government consultation is a seismic moment for British education and we must recognise that a deep understanding of the natural world is fundamental to humanity’s future.
For too long, natural history has been seen by some as a folly – the domain of tweed-jacketed professors hoarding specimens in glass cases – but the reality is that so many of the problems in our education system can be solved by putting natural history at the centre of the curriculum. We need young people to realise that natural history is for everyone, not just the privileged few, and that nature surrounds us wherever we live. It is our responsibility to equip the next generation with the tools to protect nature so it doesn’t become history.”