#602: Hitting the library

We now have the proposed subject content for the GCSE Natural History and you have some time to respond to the consultation to give your opinions. Please do... it's cheaper than buying books.

Don't forget to head off to your local library. It's vital to support it so that it doesn't go the way of many others and disappear. My main library is the Millennium Library at the Forum in Norwich.

However, this closed in April 2026 for a £1.3 million refurbishment and complete re-organisation. It reopens in mid-July 2026. I look forward to seeing what has been done there. There was a very large Natural History section in the library stretching for quite a while.

In the meantime, I headed for the library at Wells-next-the-Sea, which is a small one, and operates as as unmanned library for much of the week. I found these two books which look like being very interesting amd appropriate for the collation of materials and ideas and images that will have to take place fairly quickly once content is approved and we move onto draft specifications....

If they prove to be vital to have a physical copy of, there will perhaps be a budget provided for the development of the new specification and a library of books can be built up - some for teachers to refer to, and some for students to be inspired by.

Image: Alan Parkinson

#361: Natural History Poems #1 - Hallaig by Sorley MacLean

The first of a series of posts suggesting poems that students could be asked to engage with

Hallaig is a poem by the late Gaelic poet Sorley MacLean or more correctly Somhairle MacGill-Eain.

You can find out more about his life at this website, which has been around for a long time. He has a long career and was influential on the Isle of Skye and beyond.

I had the great pleasure of meeting him briefly while walking through the village where he lived, and close to which a friend was living at the time.

The poem was set to music by the late musician Martyn Bennett (one of my favourite musicians).

#275: Sharon Witt and Helen Clarke

I've been inspired by so many people over the years, and particularly by the conference presentations of Sharon Witt and Helen Clarke at GA Conferences, GTE and Charney Manor over the years. 

They recently presented on how we need to give attention to place, and in particular to our interactions with the 'more than human' world.

Here's some ideas for paying attention when out on a field walk, which might be of interest when it comes to planning some walks around the schoool site and immediate area to scope out its potential for a site for fieldwork, or to take part in the various activities suggested by the National Education Nature Park.

I'm reminded of this diagram, which has been shared lots of times over the years. It was taken from a newspaper article, and linked to my local area of Rotherham where I grew up - hence my additional interest in the story. It shows how the area that young people are free to wander in has shrunk over the years. I referenced this in my GA Presidential lecture as well.

Check out the work of Attention 2 Place here.

#121: Creativity required

I trawl through the mentions of GCSE Natural History on Twitter each month to see what people are saying and whether there is any news that is relevant. Back in June there was a mention of poetry, and I have now posted the first Natural History poem on the blog.

This tweet was from David Cooper, who writes about Place. Good to hear poetry being mentioned.

‘Poetry is hope in action’ (Clare Shaw): spent yesterday in & around @bristolmuseum discussing the new GCSE in Natural History & the need for young people to learn to love - a word that was used repeatedly & without apology - through culture & creativity as well as fact. pic.twitter.com/26yRJHkqBH

— David Cooper (@DrDavidCooper) June 18, 2023

I hope that teachers show a deal of creativity when it comes to creating their own school-specific resources.

Poetry is one way to achieve this.

Please share your favourite poems with a Natural History theme by commenting below.

#96: Google Doodles with a Natural History theme

From time to time, Google changes its logo to a Google Doodle. These are linked with the centenary or some other celebration of the birth (or death) of a diverse range of individuals, including scientists, artists and others.

Some of these Doodles celebrate the work and life of people connected with Natural History and related disciplines: Charles Darwin's 200th Birthday for example.

I posted earlier about Eunice Newton Foote's doodle.

One interesting student task would be to do some appropriate research and produce a new Google Doodle, related to the work of a particular person, or charity or wildlife organisation, in the same style as the official ones.

A full archive can be viewed and searched here. There is a huge archive of creativity here where the artists and other creatives who worked on these Doodles share their thinking and early sketches and designs.

There are hundreds of these for inspiration.

Many of these Doodles will not have been by people in the UK as they are often used in a small range of geographical locations rather than in all countries, and many people use a search box in a browser now rather than actually visiting the Google website itself.

e.g Japan Mountain Day

The Wadden Sea

The world’s largest network of intertidal sand and mudflats, which spans the coastlines of the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. On this day in 2009, UNESCO designated the Wadden Sea a World Heritage Site in recognition of its unparalleled ecological and geological importance and the decades of effort dedicated to its preservation.

Created by storms during the 14th and 15th centuries, the Wadden Sea is a relatively young wetland environment that comprises one of the world’s last remaining undisturbed intertidal ecosystems. This magnificent stretch of sea and sand houses numerous plant and animal species, including the grey seal and harbor porpoise. Considered one of the most critical regions globally for migratory birds, it’s estimated that the wetlands are visited by over 10 million African-Eurasian birds annually and can harbor up to 6.1 million birds at once!

The Wadden Sea isn’t just a pristine habitat for wildlife—popular ways human visitors enjoy the scenery include exploring the mudflats at low tide or touring the barrier islands by boat. However, it's vital for tourists to respect the site’s essential role in maintaining global biodiversity. Current conservation efforts are grounded in a strategic partnership between UNESCO, environmental NGOs, the Wadden Sea Forum, and the governments of Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands so that future generations can enjoy this natural phenomenon.

What are your favourite Natural History related Google Doodles?

#91: Concentrates of Place: a possible idea for an activity or resource

A cross posting from my LivingGeography blog.

I like this story from the National Geographic about a project aimed at capturing the concentrates of a place by a teacher: Marianne Braca.

The project was influenced by the work of Tanya Shadrick.

Marianne said:

Tanya describes her Concentrates of Place as a ‘deliberate way of honouring places and people.’

The project resonated with me, and as a geographer I am so interested in place. I also love the idea of collecting little pieces of a place and putting them in a tin for safekeeping, and I figured if I loved this idea my students would as well.”

Shadrick drew on memories from painful events in her life to develop the idea of capturing a place within a tin.

The idea of canning 'ideas' or intangible products reminds me of items such as this, which I purchased from Margate's Crab Museum recently as a novelty item.

Mostly because I couldn't afford to buy one of Piero Manzoni's cans which contain something a little less fresh.

It's also a reminder of one of the missions in the first Mission:Explore book, which invited people to sell the smell of a place.

This was incorporated into some resources from National Geographic some years back. It was really a privilege to work with National Geographic on several resources themed around Geography Awareness Week. We also produced a special Sustainable Seafood version of Mission:Explore Food and an entire booklet aimed at the week itself with special missions for exploring the neighbourhood.

They are still available on the website.

How about canning a particular biome or environment?