#608: Peatland restoration

Some years ago, I worked with a researcher to translate their work into the classroom. 

It was written for the RGS-IBG's From the Field project.

The work looked at how peat moorlands recovered after fires. There have been a number of fires in the Peak District and such fires are becoming more common with high temperatures and drought conditions.

Aims

Once a heathland ecosystem has been damaged by fire, it can take many years to become re-established. Like any area of vegetation, relationships become established between the plants and the animals that inhabit them, and across the trophic levels that make up the network ecology.

Rose’s work is to explore the mechanisms for the restoration of pollination, and the extent to which this has been successful over time. As an area recovers from fire, it will also move through the stages of plant succession: a process which will have been arrested by the fire.

This is essential if the ecosystem is going to recover. The restored heathland network tends to have a different structure to the ancient heathland, with fewer interactions between the plants, bees and parasites that live on the bees.

The work was funded by Goldsmiths Company.

#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.

#309: Data Skills course at the RGS-IBG

A new RGS course in association with the Field Studies Council may be of interest. 

We've been exploring the various skills that teachers who are going to be teaching the new specification. Handling natural history may well be involved there.

Do you want to improve your delivery of data skills? If so, we have got a new event for you.

Join our upcoming joint CPD with @fieldstudiesc looking at improving your skills, knowledge and confidence in teaching data analysis and statistics. https://t.co/eEFHEvZmZb pic.twitter.com/5WSkm68y3q

— RGS-IBG Schools (@RGS_IBGschools) May 3, 2024

Image: Questionnaire, Alan Parkinson - shared under CC license.

#289: National Education Nature Park - new resources

There are some new resources available on the National Education Nature Park website.

Over 1000 schools are now signed up to be part of the project, which includes a range of activities and resources for those who are signed up.

Exciting news! 🌟 1000 sites are on the #EducationNaturePark map! Each glowing dot represents a school, nursery, or college championing wildlife, connecting to nature and learning new skills. Want to join them? Get involved 👇 https://t.co/DqOYifM4OC

— NHM Learning (@NHM_Learn) April 18, 2024

Make sure you have added your school grounds to the campaign and signed up for the various updates.

British Science Week 2024 kicks off today and we're super excited to have a National #EducationNaturePark resource in the free activity packs! Download to join in 👇https://t.co/oTK0WOR6hr#BSW24

— NHM Learning (@NHM_Learn) March 8, 2024

#230: 'Geographical' Magazine

When the draft specification (finally) emerges, there will be a need to resource it for the teachers who are going to teach it. This will need to be done with some urgency.

One option that should be considered by those who have back issues of relevant journals is to revisit those to identify suitable articles. 

One such journal is the RGS-IBG's 'Geographical' magazine. 

I've had a departmental subscription for many years.

In many issues there is an article which is linked to some of the likely themes in the new specification, and as they are written for a general audience, this is going to be of value to both staff and students. A limited amount of content is also on the website.

You can also arrange for a subscription to print or digital. The digital option includes access to an archive of past issues. This would be a particularly valuable way to build up a library of suitable articles.

#166: Dudley Stamp's maps revisited

Cross-posting from my GA Presidents blog. Dudley Stamp was a former President of the GA.

Thanks to Steve Brace for the link to a new research project making use of Dudley Stamp's Land Utilisation Survey UK project. This involved thousands of school students mapping the area around their school and home.

We scanned Dudley Stamp maps & compared them with modern satellite data to record the extent of land-use change across Britain in mid-20thC. Our map outlines land conversion for every 10km x 10km sq. @andysuggitt & @AGAuffret#geographyteachers #NEA https://t.co/UIEk3Sw9Lj

— Steve Brace (@SteveBraceGeog) November 5, 2023

The full piece in 'The Conversation' explores a new project. 

The outcomes are reported in this research paper. (Open Access at the time of posting).

We estimate that roughly 90% of lowland meadow and pasture has been lost. Land was converted either to arable farmland, which saw a 22% increase, or to agriculturally improved grassland, which now occupies 27% of Britain’s land area.

Urbanisation saw the nation’s built area expand from 4% to 5%. And woodland cover doubled from 6% to 12%, largely due to a concerted effort to increase the country’s reserve of timber. For better or worse, the nation’s land use became less mixed and more consolidated.

All of this environmental change is thought to have had a profound effect on biodiversity. According to the recent State of Nature Report, the abundance of UK species has declined by an average of 19% since 1970. Some 1,500 species (or 16% of those analysed) are now threatened with national extinction.

The full piece outlines further changes affecting particular species and how the data can help to identify species at particular risk from climate change.

All the maps are available for free download.

#61: Valuing Nature from the RGS-IBG

A new resource from the RGS for July 2023.

Valuing Nature is a book about the pressing need for people to value the natural world.

We have made a narrated flick-book-summary for you and your students #geographyteacher

Take a look today, and see if it fits into any schemes of work https://t.co/4N2S6l2L70 pic.twitter.com/NaCgy5hoVk

— RGS-IBG Schools (@RGS_IBGschools) July 28, 2023

Description:

Valuing Nature promotes exactly that, a renewed awareness that we must value the natural world. The book, written by Dr Rob Fish, addresses the growing schism between humans and nature, and encourages us to remember we are one of many elements in ‘the web of life’. Illustrated by Holly McKelvey, the story begins on the fictitious campus of Ostrom University and – through the characters of Aisha, Michael, Sebastian, Chloe, Simone, and Joseph – touches upon the definition of nature and the different approaches we have to it.

The interaction between people and nature is dynamic. It is an ‘assemblage of human and non-human life forms’. Ultimately, it is important to understand that the natural systems of planet Earth make varied and valuable contributions to human wellbeing, and we must cherish and protect them. This is a sustainability concept known as ‘the Ecosystem Services Framework’.

#35: National Education Nature Park - in development

I've been following the development of the National Education Nature Park, and discovered a few weeks ago that I know someone who is one of the key people involved in delivering on the project, so hoping to get a little more involved as the project develops and moves into the later stages. 

The National Education Nature Park is part of a suite of activities which are aimed at delivering on the promises of the Government's plans to help fight climate change. This is the DfE's Sustainability Strategy.

There is also a Climate Action Award Scheme for schools.

Read more about the project here on the DfE site.

And this video is helpful as an introduction to the key ideas.

Some key information:

The Natural History Museum are leading the delivery of these initiatives, in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society and supported by Royal Society (RS), Royal Geographical Society (RGS), Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), Learning Through Landscapes (LtL), UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) and the National Biodiversity Network Trust (NBNT). You can find out more information here: National Education Nature Park and Climate Action Awards Scheme | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk).

The National Education Nature Park and Climate Action Award will launch in the Autumn and education settings will be able to register to participate in May.

Another video:

Children tested innovative activities for the National Education Nature Park last week, at an event at @RHSBridgewater.@esriuk created mobile apps that enabled children to map their emotions along with what they saw, heard and smelt across the gardens👇https://t.co/KBUjEDl0G9 pic.twitter.com/I7Y81bai2R

— Educate Magazine (@EducateMag) May 23, 2023

Details:

• From creating pollinator-friendly habitats, digging ponds and rain gardens, identifying wildlife or planning planting schemes, young people will choose, plan, and implement a range of site improvements and habitat enhancements based on the latest scientific evidence.
• With England’s primary and secondary schools covering an area roughly twice the size of Birmingham, this is an opportunity to empower young people to make a real difference by creating environments across the country where biodiversity thrives.
• School grounds are the most under-recorded urban habitat type in England. The partnership will be working with Esri UK to provide free geospatial mapping tools so children and young people can monitor biodiversity gains on their learning sites and in their local community.
• The partnership will deliver a comprehensive, curriculum-based set of free climate education resources, lesson plans, and schemes of work from Early Years Foundation Stage, through Key Stages 1-5 and Further Education.

#24: Wildflowers for Primary Schools for the King's Coronation

I've set up a Google Alert for the term 'GCSE Natural History' and it sent me to a recent post from the Department for Education.

They are going to be sending Wildlfower Seeds to Primary Schools around the country.

According to the blog post:

This initiative is inspired by His Majesty the King’s commitment to the environment. Working with the Eden Project’s National Wildflower Centre, over 200,000 seeds packets will be sent to schools.

If planted together, around 40 rugby pitch sized wildflowers meadows would be created. The packets of seeds include native annual wildflower species, like cornflower, corn poppy and corn chamomile.

Planting the seeds will be an opportunity for children to engage with the natural world and learn more about the importance of biodiversity, as well as being a way for them to celebrate a historic national moment.

The Eden Project has produced some educational resources, and guidance on planting the seeds.

There is also a link to the new GCSE in Natural History which I am preparing resources for, and have a dedicated blog.

You can also join over 750 other teachers on our GCSE Natural History Facebook page.

As the post says:

We’re also developing a new Natural History GCSE which will enable young people to explore the world by learning about environmental and sustainability issues, and gain a deeper knowledge of the natural world around them.

This is all part of the development of a National Education Nature Park which is in the making.