#36: Maria Sybilla Merian

Today, we know that insects have different stages of life. 

For instance, caterpillars turn into butterflies. 

In Maria Merian's time, people thought these two creatures were actually different insect species. 

Here's a video on her life and achievements made by the Royal Society. 

One would hope that there is appropriate representation of women and people from minority groups amongst the names of people that are included and named in the specification - we don't want it to be just old white men such as Darwin, von Humboldt and Linnaeus.

Maria was the first person to work out that these were actually the same insect in different stages of its life.

She was the subject of a Google Doodle which was shown in April 2013 on the occasion of her 366th birthday.

This is a rather lovely design. See the separate post on other Google Doodles on the blog, with a suggested activity linked to the proposed curriculum which is a creative task.

The Google Doodle archive can be viewed here. There is some wonderful work here.

Here's a Linnean Society video as well:

#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.

#34: Linnean Society and Carl Linnaeus

There will be a list of people whose work students should be introduced to during their studies in Natural History. The specification will no doubt include a list of these prominent people and we will also suggest one here on the blog and in the resources that emerge for teachers using the new specification.

Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) is one of the people who will appear on the list.

He is the father of modern taxonomy: a system for classifying organisms.

This New Scientist profile is a useful summary of his life and work, and the importance of taxonomy for biologists.

The Systema Naturae is another name for this.

The Linnean Society is based at Burlington House - to the left as you head towards the Royal Academy through the arch off Picadilly.

I last visited in 2019, just ahead of the lockdowns.

The Linnean Society of London is the world’s oldest active society devoted to natural history. Founded in 1788 by Sir James Edward Smith (1759–1828), who was its first President, the Society takes its name from the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) whose botanical, zoological and library collections have been in their keeping since 1829. 

As the Society's website says:

These unique collections are of continuing fundamental importance as a primary reference for naming of plants and animals. They are enhanced by the Society's own rich library which provides key resources for scientific and cultural research.

Our vision is a world where nature is understood, valued and protected. To do this we aim to inform, involve and inspire people about nature and its significance through our collections, events and publications. Thanks to the wide ranging expertise of our Fellowship and our unique collections, we are a hub for science communication through interdisciplinary learning and engagement.

The Society encourages the debate and discussion of natural history including taxonomy, evolutionary biology and ecology. We strongly support all efforts to address some of the most urgent issues facing the natural world, such as climate change and biodiversity loss. We also support the implementation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We aspire to inspire by bringing together diverse communities and increasing engagement with scientists, historians, artists and all those interested in nature.

#33: In the Media

The OCR Hub has a slowly growing list of articles.

These are presumably going to be added to as the time gets closer to the appearance of some draft specifications, so keep an eye on the website. 

I'm hopeful there might be some more activity soon. 

The hub seems to have been dormant for quite a while. This does really all need to become much more active as the year progresses, as we need to start seeing some documents before too long if they are to be consulted on and developed by teachers and publishers.

At the time of posting, there hasn't been too much activity here, but I would imagine that this area will grow as we get closer to the stage when the draft specifications emerge.

#32: International Day for Biological Diversity

There will perhaps be certain days when the teaching of the GCSE Natural History will refer to a particular designation.

22nd of May is designated by UNESCO as International Day for Biological Diversity.

There is reference made to the international report in this area.

There is plenty to discover here.

A case study of Guarani knowledge, for example.

#31: Thought for the Day

When I come across a useful quote in my reading, I shall add them occasionally in posts called 'Thought for the Day'. 

Here's the first, which I obtained from the web page of a film called 'A Year in a Field'.

"As one comes closer the view grows wider and wider, until finally looking through the same narrow window one is looking at the universe.”

George Wald, Biologist

#30: Don't fence me in

I love this image by Harry Epworth Allen.

It shows the typical walls that are found in much of the Peak District - both the White and the Dark Peak. This looks like the area around Great and Little Hucklow, which I know well.

Derbyshire Walls, by Harry Epworth Allen (1894-1958), @SheffMuseums. pic.twitter.com/jLg8X2xFPy

— Brian Groom (@GroomB) December 20, 2022

These walls are made by skilful people, and were a massive achievement - the walls run to hundreds if not thousands of miles in length and enclosed land owned by landowners including monasteries / religious areas as well as individuals. 

This article in Great British Life explains how they are an integral part of the British countyside in this part of the country. 

Here's a little extract from the article.

The existence of dry stone walls can be dated as far back as over 3,500bc. 

It is believed that farmers of the Iron and Bronze Ages constructed their agricultural walls with the huge structures arranged by the ethnic chiefs and lords. In Derbyshire alone we have standing walls that go back to Roman times; ancient clearance walls built to mark boundaries and contain livestock; slavers walls built by people who were captured and brought here because they could build walls effectively; and famine walls built by Irish labourers in the 1800s, working either for homesteads or wealthy land owners.

At a glance, the ages and types of dry stone walls are identifiable by their shape, form and location. Enclosure by Act of Parliament was standard in the mid 1700s, although the first Enclosure Act was passed in 1604. 

Walls built in this period are the most common in the countryside, dividing land in straight strips of a rectangular shape and called the enclosures walls, as seen in the countryside near Monyash and Flagg.

The walls are also important for some plant and animal species by providing a sheltered habitat for them to grow.

The idea of borders is also important, and there are some possible contexts here for work around Natural History in terms of identifying just how enclosures in the past have influenced the natural history and biodiversity of today.

#29: King's Series of National Nature Reserves

DEFRA and Natural England are combining to develop a series of new Nature Reserves.

Natural England will leave a lasting public legacy for people and nature by creating of a King’s Series of National Nature Reserves to celebrate the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III.

As Prince of Wales, His Majesty expressed a deep love and concern for England’s wildlife, natural and rural places, frequently reflecting on his love of walking and its role in promoting a healthy mind and body.

The plans will see the creation of a new ‘King’s Series of National Nature Reserves’, with five major National Nature Reserves named every year for the next five years - 25 in total.

The first - the Lincolnshire Coronation Coast National Nature Reserve - will be declared by Natural England this summer. 

Over 12 square miles in area, it contains a wonderful variety of sand dunes, saltmarsh, mudflats and freshwater marshes, which support many breeding and wintering birds, natterjack toads, special plants and insects.

The remaining four National Nature Reserves for 2023-2024 will be confirmed at a later date, but are likely to include the Mendip Hills in Somerset, Moccas Park in Herefordshire, Ingleborough in North Yorkshire and Lullington in East Sussex.

It would be good for schools in these areas to connect with these national nature reserves and get involved in the creation of educational resources.

Image: Alan Parkinson, shared under CC license

Update

The King visited the reserve when it was opened. It featured in a documentary shown on Christmas Day.

#28: National Nature Reserves Week 2023

 

There is a  week to celebrate National Nature Reserves in late May.

From the website:

National Nature Reserves are our most important places for nature, the beating heart of England’s landscapes. From Lindisfarne in Northumberland, to the Lizard in Cornwall. From ferny woodlands and ancient heaths, to glimmering wetlands and wild coasts. 

National Nature Reserves are not only precious, but as colourful and diverse as the wildlife and people who call them home.

These ancient and unique places are wildlife-rich, breath-taking, and play a vital role in securing our country’s amazing wildlife and geology. They are at the centre of landscapes and communities, providing the foundation and inspiration to work towards reducing the impact of climate change and increasing the resilience of our countryside, towns and cities for people and wildlife. They are at the heart of a growing nature recovery network. National Nature Reserves act as outdoor laboratories where learning, science and discovery come together. Time is running out for our wildlife and ancient landscapes. Our reserves are helping us to find the answers to tackle the threats of climate change and biodiversity loss.

From the very first six in 1952, there are now 221 National Nature Reserves in England. 

Almost two thirds of these are managed by Natural England, but also by over 60 different partner organisations including the National Trust, Wildlife Trusts, RSPB, local authorities and many other landowners and conservation bodies. These NNR partners all work together to ensure our most important places for nature thrive, and are protected for people to enjoy.

One useful activity would be to consider where your nearest National Nature Reserve is, and what format it takes.

To find them, you can use an interactive map produced by Natural England, and accessible from this link.

My nearest NNR is Foxley Woods, famous for its bluebells at the right time of year.

This is also an SSSI: a Site of Special Scientific Interest. 

These acronyms will also need to be part of the supporting materials for the new specification and we will be providing a list of them as part of the rsources we will be creating around the blog.

#27: Irish Biodiversity Maps

I was introduced to this website at the Charney Manor Primary Geography Conference in February 2023.

The base maps are varied and of high quality and can be zoomed into. 

Layers include habitats, geology, bat species and others, and can be added very easily to the base map.

Here's a description from the site itself:

Biodiversity Maps is the data portal and mapping system of the National Biodiversity Data Centre. It provides an overview of the state of knowledge on the distribution of Ireland's biodiversity from empirical observations, collected by organisations and individuals, from both the private and public sectors. It serves both as a portal to access biodiversity data published as open data, and as a shop window to display other existing sources of data on Ireland's biodiversity.

The National Biodiversity Data Centre offers the digitisation, management and display services provided by Biodiversity Maps as a shared service to data publishers, so that data from all sources can be compiled, stored and displayed to build up a comprehensive picture of the distribution of species across the island of Ireland and its marine waters. By so doing, Biodiversity Maps serves as the 'go to' source for up to date information on Ireland's biodiversity to be used by interested individuals, landowners, land managers, environmental professionals, researchers and decision-makers. The overall objective of developing Biodiversity Maps is to build the knowledge base on Ireland's biological diversity and to provide an online facility to aid in its conservation.

Datasets are published through Biodiversity Maps in two ways. First, datasets that are licenced as open data under what is termed a Creative Commons - with attribution (CC-BY) licence, are available to download and use by third parties, provided the data publisher is given due attribution when the data are being used. Second, datasets that are licensed as restricted are available to be mapped and queried online, but it is not permitted to download the dataset. Use of the dataset must be obtained from the data publisher, whose contact are provided in the information about the dataset (what we refer to as 'metadata').

The National Biodiversity Data Centre serves as Ireland's Node of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). GBIF is an intergovernmental organisation that has created an open-data research infrastructure to enable anyone, anywhere access to data about all types of life on Earth. All of the data published as open data on Biodiversity Maps is also published to the GBIF portal, making it freely available for researcher and policy development across the globe. Biodiversity Maps provides an easy mechanism to ensure that biodiversity data from Ireland is available not just for national, but also international research and policy needs.

All of the data mapped on Biodiversity Maps has been verified and validated, so that it can serve as a trustworthy source of high quality data on Ireland's biodiversity. Despite this, it is inevitable that some errors remain, and where these are identified, they are corrected. The National Biodiversity Data Centre welcomes feedback from any user of Biodiversity Maps pointing out any potential error. These can be sent to info@biodiversityireland.ie.

The system has been developed on behalf of the Heritage Council and National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Culture, Heritage & the Gaeltacht.

#26: Emergence Magazine - Mosses as Ancient Green

Ancient Green is an essay in a recent issue of Emergence magazine. 

It looks at mosses and their persistence throught the millennia, patiently growing over changes in the rocks. They have seen previous changes and they can give us some clues for the future and tell stories of the past.

A few extracts which I particularly liked:

They (mosses) cover the inanimate with the animate. 

Without judgment, they cover our mistakes, with an unconditional acceptance of their responsibility for healing. They’ve grown a bandage over the ground of Chernobyl, over mine waste and sludge ponds. There is a whole genre of photographic images of mosses in abandoned interiors, where dripping water and dim light create moss habitat out of human habitations. Broken windows and collapsing roofs invite a strangely beautiful carpet of bryophytes to upholster old couches and blanket beds of abandoned motels. For me, the most powerful of these scenes is the luminous mosses carpeting the conference room of a derelict Detroit office where the captains of gas-guzzling industry once conspired. The chairs where they plotted short-term exploitation have turned to long-term green.

They will cover the abandoned frack pads with the same tenderness as the bare rubble of a melted glacier. Mosses were the first plants to blanket the Earth. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are also the last.

#25: WWF Living Planet Report - 70% of animals lost

A report which always makes fairly shocking reading is the Living Planet report from WWF.

This is the latest edition of the report, dating from 2022. There will be at least one more update before the new specification starts to be prepared for first teaching.

A young person's version of the report is also available.

The Young Person's report would be a fantastic resource for the course. It has a global scale look at key ecosystems such as the Amazon, and the world's oceans, and is presented in an easily accessible visual style.

#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.

#23: The Loch Arkaig Osprey Cams

Operated by the Woodland Trust.

This is one of several web cams which it would be useful to direct students towards so that they can see some wildlife live during the lesson.

This will be active at certain times of year in particular of course, and one might discuss with students the likely times of year when there is more activity generally.

Which other wildlife webcams are you aware of?

#22: OCR Survey - what are your thoughts?

On the GA Facebook page earlier today. A request for some thoughts. Please give your views as it will help shape the final specification and the support.

As it says on the survey's start page:
We have been working hard to prepare for the launch of our new GCSE in Natural History.

We would like to ask you some questions about the support that you would like to see in place ahead of teaching GCSE Natural History. We will be showing you a number of different resources designed to support teachers in delivering this qualification at different stages. We would like you to think about how useful each of these resources is in supporting the delivery of this qualification.

This survey will take you around 10 minutes of your time and you feedback is really appreciated. Your feedback will help to provide the right support package for teachers.

Go to the Survey directly here.

If you choose to complete the survey you will also get some clues as to some of the proposed support package and the thinking around who will teach this.

The support package questionnaire makes several mentions of different support for geography teachers and biology teachers suggesting that they think this may be a qualification taught jointly between those two departments.

#21: Make your own Wardian Case

Via SISI - Alien Detectives

A Wardian Case is a small enclosed ecosystem which can be created within a box or bottle. It can also be called a Terrarium.

This is a small experiment which can be undertaken to see how they work with a small plant inside a plastic bottle. It may be a good plan to create these at the relevant stage in the course, and track the success of the plants within them for a period of time.

It will be interesting to see what practical activities are suggested for students to complete as part of the draft specification to make the connection with the life sciences.

The Wardian case was created to try to keep plant speciments alive on the long journey back from plant hunting trips, or to send specimens long distances on board ships.

The first time they were used was an experiment. It took place in 1829, when the surgeon and amateur naturalist Nathanial Bagshaw Ward accidentally discovered that plants enclosed in airtight glass cases can survive for long periods without watering.

If you look outside of your window many of the plants that you see in the gardens are actually imports from other parts of the world. 

How natural are they really?

Wardian Case (1870 ) Copyright: Economic Botany Collection, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

This Kew Gardens piece looks at the importance of these portable greenhouses.

The new glass cases could be kept on deck allowing the plants to receive sunlight. The specially designed cases also protected plants from salt water, but allowed condensed moisture to reach the plants. With time and testing these cases were further developed to better protect the plants. This included the addition of crossed battens to hold the plants in place on rough crossings, and ventilation holes covered in perforated zinc to keep out rodents.

This Conversation piece looks at the impact of the Wardian case on Australia, which was of course affected by the tyranny of distance.

The cases were also used to break trade monopolies.

The invention also opened new opportunities for plants importing, breaking some of the geographic agricultural monopolies. One of the first and most noticeable cases was a Scottish botanist Robert Fortune’s venture: he smuggled tea plants from China in Wardian cases to start a new plantation in Assam, India, in the 1840s. 

The cases were also used in transportation of cinchona (quinine) plants from South Africa and rubber trees from Brazil.

This Linda Hall piece provides more detail on these cases.

There is potential here to use this as a context for exploring the movement of crops around the world, and how they connect with colonisation and some present day food brands and companies who benefited from the land grabs of the time.

#OTD 1855 a scientific meeting at the @ApothecariesLDN was hosted by Fellow of the @LinneanSociety Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward; he is seen standing next to his vivarium, the original 'Wardian case'. pic.twitter.com/1cruBsIIjE

— Glenn Benson (@talloaksfrom) April 11, 2023

#20: People's Plan for Nature

The People's Plan for Nature is worth a look I think as we get closer to the development of resources.

Great to see the #1 theme in an imagined future is a closer relationship with nature - and an honour to be part of the #PeoplesPlanforNature process. Download the full report here: https://t.co/KSKs28g3x5 pic.twitter.com/dCPeZ8r65o

— Miles Richardson (@findingnature) March 23, 2023

There is a PDF download to the full report - 99 pages.  (PDF download)

This was the number one response from people:

The three most urgent actions the People want to see are:

• To put nature at the centre of decision-making
• Farming subsidy systems to prioritise sustainable and nature-friendly farming
• Greater government accountability through a permanent Assembly for Nature

#19: Natural History Reading List #1 - Sustainability Education - A Classroom Guide

The plan is to feature books on the blog that may end up in a reading list for departmental library of Natural History books for those departments offering the new specification.

These may be current books which may be purchased new, or classics which can perhaps be obtained second hand, or at reduced price. 

There will be some cross-references here to my GeoLibrary blog.

I would imagine that the final draft specification will also include a suggested list of additional reading, which won't be confined to books of course.

Thanks very much to Stephen Scoffham and Steve Rawlinson for giving me a copy of their book in April last year at the GA Conference 2022, and for the generous inscription they wrote inside it too.

There are many contributions in the book from familiar names and plenty to encourage teachers to consider their practice and how it connects with encouraging students to look after the planet and encouraging teachers to look at their lessons through the lens of sustainability. There are overlaps with some aspects of the suggested specification consultation, which will inform the final product that emerges.

As the title suggests this is definitely aimed at informing classroom practice.

It's a book to explore when considering where to strengthen the sustainability element of your school curriculum in whatever phase you work.

There are some familiar names contributing chapters to the book including:

Sharon Witt and Helen Clarke on our Watery Planet; 

Elena Lengthorn on Weather and Climate; 

Paula Owens on Special Places and 

Ben Ballin on our Unequal World.

My copy was a first edition, published by Bloomsbury.

Paperback, 278pp

ISBN: 978-1-350-26207-2

#18: Jo Sale - 'Schools Week' - July 22

A piece in SchoolsWeek by Jo Sale back in July 2022 suggested that we need rather more work than just a new GCSE in Natural History to tackle the need for change.

She said that the curriculum reforms in response to climate change are not enough. Read the piece and see what you think. She also suggests that waiting to 2025 to even start the new courses is also a delay that we do not need if the new qualification is to achieve some of its desired goals over time.

#17: Hedging their bets

More news of mistakes by government recently, this time referring to hedgerow planting as part of the new plans for supporting wildlife in the countryside. 

Hedgerows are an important habitat for a wide range of species, and are really important for biodiversity. Some are hundreds of years old - those in Devon which are an important feature of the landscape are over 800 years old.

There was apparently a typo in the document that was previously published...

CPRE is 'the Countryside Charity' and has a particular focus on hedgerows.

Their hedgerows campaign is calling for #40by50. 

But what does this mean?

From the CPRE website:

The government loves talking about tree planting and peatland restoration, but it seems to have forgotten our hedgerows. 

We’re campaigning for them to commit to a target for planting and restoring thousands of miles of hedgerows across the country.

'We need a 40% increase by 2050 at the latest.'

40: We want to see the hedgerow network increase by 40%. This number was recommended by the independent Climate Change Committee and is equivalent to about 120,000 miles in Britain – half way to the moon!

50: This is the time frame. We need a 40% increase by 2050 at the latest. This requires adding over 4,000 miles of new and restored hedgerows per year, starting now.

For those in need of a definition of hedges, here's a useful one:

A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties.

Top image: Alan Parkinson - shared under CC license - a hedge in Norfolk - love your local hedges...