#537: A year of Environmental lunacy

Lovely to see Sharon Witt and Helen Clarke bringing NAEE's Year of Environmental Lunacy blog project to a close with their suggestion of the Murmuring Moon for December.

Some lovely suggestions here for finding out more about this moon, to go with the other contributions through the year.

I was delighted to provide the suggestion for August's Sturgeon Moon to 'replace it' with the Thistledown Moon.

#424: A year of Environmental Lunacy

The NAEE is sharing a Year of Environmental Lunacy. 

There will be a monthly post looking at the full moon which occurs in that year. These have a name which often stems from America and Canada's Indigenous / first nation people, and the world they lived in, but that means they are not always appropriate for the UK.

This project is about suggesting a name which fits with the UK's wildlife.

The first one has just gone up, with Paula Owens suggesting that we call the Wolf Moon (January's full moon - which occurs tomorrow) as the Fox Moon.

NEW Blog series :: Environmental Lunacy Project - UK NAEE https://t.co/cYbi32Rd3m

— NAEE in the UK (@NAEE_UK) January 12, 2025

Delighted to say that I will be contributing one of the monthly posts later in the year.

Check back each month to see a different author suggest an alternative new name for that month's full moon.

#364: Sycamore Gap: a GA resource

A new(ish) resource which can be accessed and used by members of the Geographical Association. I am considering adding a section of this to my teaching this year.

Sycamore Gap is a significant landmark in Northumberland where three distinct features combined: a natural and dramatic dip in the physical landscape about halfway along the 80-mile run of Hadrian’s Wall, itself an ancient monument and reminder of the power of the Roman Empire, and until recently, a lone, 300-year-old Sycamore tree. The site has UNESCO designation and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Arguably, it will still be known as Sycamore Gap because of its story.

The tree has stood for hundreds of years, perfectly framed by the landscape, thrilling locals and visitors alike until it was deliberately cut down, under cover of darkness, sometime between the evening of 27 September 2023 and the following morning. 

The loss of the tree has caused an outcry and reaction of public grief.

These materials are designed to help children think about some of the issues this story raises. What do they know about Sycamore Gap? Where is it? Have they been there? Why and how do certain landmarks hold such meaning? What is the cultural impact of this and other significant landmarks on our lives? Whose place is this? Who decides what happens here?

While these materials provide a relevant and current context for developing geographical substantive, disciplinary and procedural knowledge, they also model how you might investigate other landmarks with particular significance to your own local community and landscape and the emotions they engender in people.

Complete Materials:PowerPoint
Teachers Notes
Photo Activity
Individual Resource Pages:

Sycamore Gap 1: What’s the geography story?
Sycamore Gap 2: What can images and maps tell us about landmarks?
Sycamore Gap 3: Why can we see so many stars?
Sycamore Gap 4: Changing views
Sycamore Gap 5: How do we feel about it?
Sycamore Gap 6: A Gap in the landscape
Sycamore Gap 7: Why should we value trees?
Sycamore Gap 8: What would be your ‘tree of the year’?
Sycamore Gap 9: Change
Sycamore Gap 10: How do we fill the Gap?


Thanks to Steve Rawlinson, Tessa Willy, Sharon Witt and Margaret Mackintosh for feedback, edits and ideas.