Summer - Royal Scottish Geographical Society

The 

eographer 

The newsletter of the 

Summer 2009 

Royal Scottish Geographical Society 

Scotland lends a hand in 

the warm heart of Africa 

In This Edition... 

· Talks Programme 

Supplement 

· Your Chance To 

Nominate Awards 

· Country In Focus: 

Malawi – The Too Warm 

Heart Of Africa 

· On The Map: 

David Livingstone’s Map 

Of Lake Malawi 

• An Expert View: Women 

And Geography 

• An Expert View: Carbon 

Capture and Storage 

“My object in returning to Africa is to try to get a permanent 

path to that central region from which most of the slaves 

have always been drawn... to propitiate the different chiefs 

along (the Zambesi)... endeavouring to induce them to 

cultivate cotton and to abolish the slave trade.” 

David Livingstone 1855 

· Reader 

Offer: The 

Third Man 

Factor – 

Surviving 

The 

Impossible 

plus other news, 

comments, books... 

RSGS – Making Connections between People, Places & the Planet

The 

Geographer 

Chairman’s Introduction 

Thank you for all your kind 

notes, letters and comments 

received about the new look 

Geographer, a tacit example of the 

changes Mike and his team are 

making to refresh and rejuvenate 

the Society. I hope it leads to more 

people joining as members and 

supporting the wider work of the 

Society in general. 

I was delighted with their initiative resulting in 

the Shackleton Talk being held in Perth Concert 

Hall on 16th May. It was an excellent evening 

and served to raise the profile of the Society 

with exceptional local media coverage. If you 

would like to be kept informed about these 

and other extra talks please consider letting the 

office have your email address. 

The Shackleton Room’s splendid bookcase is 

filling up; it houses the combined Collections 

of the Scottish Arctic Club and the late Angus 

Erskine. I express my personal thanks to 

the two members who have, anonymously, 

made gifts to help with the completion of this 

attractive meeting room. 

I finish on a more personal note. As well as our 

joint membership of the Society, my wife and I 

also have joint memberships of both the NTS 

and the JMT. We have not visited a property for 

at least three years and yet we remain members 

because we approve of their wider work and 

know our subscriptions support that work. I ask 

that you all view the RSGS in the same light 

– we need your support more than ever. 

With best regards, 

Barrie Brown 

RSGS, Lord John Murray House, 

15-19 North Port, Perth, PH1 5LU 

tel: 01738 455050 

email: enquiries@rsgs.org 

www.rsgs.org 

Glen Coe under ice 

Scientists have discovered that vast expanses of ice in east Antarctica hide 

spectacular jagged mountain ranges similar in appearance to the Highlands 

of Scotland. These ranges would have been carved by glaciers long before 

the ice sheet came into being about 14 million years ago. 

Professor Martin Siegert, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of 

Geosciences said that it was exciting to discover what lay hidden. 

“You get classic features – knife-edge ridges, very steep sides, valleys 

that are carved out,” he said. “It is very similar to the landscape in the 

Highlands, such as Glen Coe, which was also created by glaciers. The 

landscape is spectacular”. 

Professor Siegert went on to explain that there are many things we don’t 

know about the underside of the ice sheet, and in fact, we know far more 

about the surface of Mars. He felt that the mapping of the topography 

of the landscape enables us to get an idea of past changes and only by 

knowing the past can we know what will happen in the future. 

Emissions from 

agriculture 

According to a report to the 

Scottish Government last May, 

agriculture could account for 25% 

of Scotland’s total greenhouse 

gas (GHG) emissions. Significant 

changes in agricultural practice 

will be essential if the government 

is to deliver its commitment to 

cut Scotland’s emissions by 80% 

by 2050. To help bring about 

these changes, Soil Association 

Scotland has launched a Climate 

Change Programme - a three 

year initiative which will train 500 

farmers and growers in the skills 

and knowledge needed to both 

reduce GHG emissions, and make 

their businesses more resilient. 

The programme begins with a 

one day workshop that will look 

at nitrogen fixation through clover 

sowing and other practical and 

cost effective ways to improve soil 

management, reduce inputs, and 

increase carbon sequestration. 

It is open to all (including non 

farmers), and will run on six days 

up to October, hosted by a variety 

of farms across Scotland. 

For more information visit 

www.soilassociationscotland.org 

We need 

more members! 

Last year our member numbers 

fell again. Whilst many 

members enjoy our talks 

programme it isn’t the only thing 

we do. Membership income fell 

again for the eighth successive 

year. Can members please do 

whatever they can to help recruit 

other members, encourage 

people to attend our talks and 

share their magazines if they’ve 

finished with them – we need 

more than ever to promote the 

society and everything it does if 

we are going to succeed. 

Charity registered in Scotland no SC015599 

The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the RSGS. 

Masthead picture © Scottish Viewpoint Picture Library. 

RSGS – Making Connections between People, Places & the Planet

NEWS People • Places • Planet 

The 

1 

GeographerSummer 2009 

‘Unfinished Business’ 

completed in Perth 

Nearly 300 people 

braved the weather 

to attend the extra 

talk in Perth in May 

by Lt Col Henry 

Worsley. Mixing diary 

references from 

Shackleton’s Nimrod 

Expedition, original 

photos and modern 

footage, the acting 

soldier described 

his 920 mile trek 

Caitlen Daisley neckerchief is returned by Henry Worsley 

to the South Pole, 

retracing the footsteps of Shackleton’s journey of 1908/09. The 

team of three, all descended from the original crew, even managed to 

arrive at the point at which Shackleton made the life-saving decision 

to turn round (97 miles short of the Pole), one hundred years later 

to the day, and then continued to the Pole to complete the journey 

that Shackleton, a former Director of the RSGS, never did. Along with 

Shackleton’s original compass they also carried a neck scarf from 

young Caitlin Daisley, from Greenock, after the 12 year old applied 

to join their expedition. Henry Worsley used the evening to return her 

neckerchief and present other members of the Greenock Scout Troop 

with mementos of their trip. Not to be outdone the spirited scouts 

handed back a cheque for £920 they had raised on a sponsored walk. 

The talk also raised nearly £2,000 which was split between RSGS and 

the Shackleton Foundation. 

B R E A K I N G N E W S 

David Livingstone Centre to 

stay open - for now at least 

After the recent possible closure of several NTS properties, Mike 

Robinson met with the new NTS Chief Executive Kate Mavor to 

discuss ways to assist them, in particular in resolving the situation 

around the David Livingstone Centre (DLC). There are many parallels 

between RSGS and NTS, so our approach has been to try to help find 

a solution and help present the DLC’s case. We are keen, as we know 

both parties are, to find a solution. 

Owned by its trustees, the DLC has been run by NTS but has 

reportedly cost them £100,000 a year net to operate. The trustees 

themselves are willing and keen to take back ownership but the 

announced closure left little time to produce a rescue plan. 

RSGS has been encouraging discussions with both parties because of 

the obvious association the Society has with David Livingstone. With 

great local backing, the South Lanarkshire Council have increased 

their support. Other costs have been trimmed and as we go to 

print, it looks as if a short term solution has been found and the 

centre should be able to open this year after all, although there have 

unfortunately been one or two job losses. 

DLC representative Andrew Smith was delighted with RSGS’s backing 

and told us that all the hard work of the trustees and local community 

has paid off – at least for the immediate term. “We still need to find 

the money to sustain the centre into the future. We have launched a 

campaign and we hope as many people as possible will back us.” 

To help and for more info please see www.davidlivingstoneappeal.com 

Walton 

prize winner 

announced 

Named after Professor 

Ken Walton from 

Aberdeen in the 1970’s, 

the prize is given to the 

student with the best 

undergraduate geography 

dissertation from any 

Scottish university. 

The 2008 winner was 

announced recently 

by Aberdeen’s Alastair 

Gemmell - Peter Charville- 

Mort of St Andrews 

University. 

Dissertation title: Applications 

of Plasma-Oxidation in 

Palaeoenvironmental Geography 

and Archaeology. 

The dissertation looked at 

the applications of oxygen 

plasma and its potential as a 

pre-treatment technique for 

radiocarbon (C14) dating. One 

of the major limiting factors of 

C14 dating is the presence of 

contaminants on the surface 

and within the sample. The 

technique of plasma ashing 

reduces the time spent on pretreatment 

and is particularly 

applicable when sample size 

is limited. The technique was 

also found to be useful within 

palaeoenvironmental studies, as 

the isotopic composition of the 

sample remains unaffected.


Dee 

Caffari 

sails into 

history 

(again!) 

Hampshire 

yachtswoman Dee 

Caffari and her fourstrong 

all-women 

crew have beaten the 

2,500 nautical mile 

round Britain and 

Ireland mono-hull 

record. They arrived 

back in Portsmouth 

on 22nd June 2009 

having smashed the 

record by 17 hours 

and 16 seconds. 

This is Dee’s second 

record of the year, 

as back in February 

she became the first 

woman to sail solo 

non-stop around 

the world in both 

directions during the 

Vendee Globe. 

Dee is featured in 

the forthcoming talk 

season when she will 

be speaking to the 

Aberdeen, Perth and 

Stirling centres in 

January 2010. 

Kirkcaldy 

Chair 

Ron MacLaren, the 

Kirkcaldy Chair 

has stepped down, 

leaving a vacancy 

in the local centre, 

after several years 

of sterling work. His 

humour and help will 

be missed, but he 

has held the mantle 

successfully for 

more years than he 

cares to remember. 

We hope someone 

else in Kirkcaldy is 

able to step into his 

shoes before the new 

season of talks kicks 

off in the autumn. 

Help wanted 

to write book of life 

A virtual book of all life on Earth 

is being created by UK and US 

scientists. 

The online reference work will 

create a detailed world map of 

flora and fauna and track changes 

in biodiversity, with data gathered 

by members of the public. 

Early elements of the giant 

database, such as automatic 

species identification systems, 

are already under construction. 

“We are creating a virtual 

observatory for world 

Fruitful Scotland 

The Commonwealth Orchard is a 

grassroots Scotland-wide scheme 

to plant community, school 

and children’s orchards across 

Scotland and is looking for a 

range of community partners to 

help it reach fruition! The ancient 

concept of Common Weal and 

common good is at the core of 

this idea, that taking part will 

enrich everyone. 

The idea is to help communities 

across Scotland to plant 2014 

new trees, to celebrate and map 

existing orchards, and to pick 

Card problem solved 

biodiversity, where environmental 

observations, specimen data, 

experimental results, and 

sophisticated modelling can 

be done across all levels of 

biodiversity - from genes to 

ecosystems,” said James 

Edwards, executive director of 

the Encyclopedia of Life, in a 

statement. 

The Smithsonian Institution in 

Washington DC, and London’s 

Natural History Museum are the 

key backers of the project. 

and eat the produce - as well as 

to use orchards for a wide range 

of arts, events and community 

uses. It’s a great way to create 

a positive and delicious legacy of 

the 2014 Commonwealth Games. 

The Commonwealth Orchard 

was launched in the East End of 

Glasgow on 30th Dec 08 and is 

looking for support and backing 

to make this happen. Please 

contact: John Hancox on 0778 

606 3918 or email: 

john@commonwealthorchard.com 

www.commonwealthorchard.com 

Farewell 

to staff 

We were sorry to see Marilynne 

Johnstone leaving in May after 

a year and a half in the RSGS. 

Marilynne was largely responsible 

for the move of collections 

and files from the Strathclyde 

University premises to the HQ in 

Perth and helped enormously in 

establishing the new office – no 

mean feat amidst the hundreds 

of boxes, papers and various 

extended building works. She 

leaves the Society in good fettle 

however, and the office is starting 

to work smoothly and increasingly 

efficiently, so a huge thank you and 

we wish her the best in her travels. 

We were also sorry to see media 

consultant Bruce Maclachlan leave 

the RSGS. After an initial six month 

extension, Bruce’s contract came 

to an end in April this year and 

he joined staff for an enjoyable 

lunch in Perth in May as a thank 

you for his nearly thirteen years 

of invaluable service. Thank you 

to all of those who contributed to 

Bruce and Marilynne’s leaving gifts 

– we wish them both well with their 

future plans. 

Some members have reported the ink on their membership cards has rubbed off in the post. We apologise 

for the inconvenience and would ask anyone who has experienced this to send their cards back, or contact 

the office. The problem was a temporary one and has now been resolved, and we will reissue your cards.


The 

2-3 


B R E A K I N G N E W S 42% amendment approved by Scottish Parliament 

The Scottish Climate Bill 

The Scottish Climate Bill has 

entered its third stage debate 

in the Scottish Parliament and 

is set to become legislation 

by the summer, if there are 

no hold ups. This bill has 

been hailed by politicians 

as world leading and church 

groups, unions, aid agencies 

and environment bodies have 

all welcomed this approach. 

This year culminates with 

the climate negotiations in 

Copenhagen, and with Obama 

How to make friends... 

HQ played host to an introductory meeting with Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Minister for the Environment 

in May. John Swinney MSP also met with our new Chief Executive in the same month. We also met the 

Provost of Perth, the Leader of the Council and the Head of the Perth Common Good Fund, attended 

a National Geographic event in St Andrews and an SDC event in Edinburgh. Mike also shared the stage 

with the scientific envoy for The Maldives at the Edinburgh World Justice Festival and attended a ‘Green 

List’ awards event, run by the Sustainable Development Forum and The Scotsman Newspaper, as one of 

Scotland’s top 50 Sustainability Champions. 

Increased acidity of oceans warning 

The Royal Society has called for CO2’s effect on seas to be included in 

climate change talks in Copenhagen in December of this year. 

Increasing acidity can damage wildlife, particularly shell-forming 

creatures and the species that feed on them, with knock-on effects 

on people who rely on the oceans for food and livelihoods. Damage to 

corals could also reduce the coastal protection from storms that reefs 

currently provide. 

According to the US researchers, there were almost 13,000 fishermen in 

the UK in 2007, who harvested £645m of marine products, almost half 

(43%) of which were shellfish. 

“The effects will be seen worldwide, threatening food security, reducing 

coastal protection and damaging the local economies that may be least 

able to tolerate it” the report stated. 

Ecuador’s President Rafael 

Correa said that he wants 

the world to pay his country 

around $5.2 billion in exchange 

for not drilling for oil in the 

Yasuni National Park, a 2.3m 

acre UNESCO world biosphere 

reserve, nearly 200 miles south 

east of the capital Quito. 

in the White House there is 

a great deal of hope that a 

credible agreement can be 

reached. Clear and distinct 

legislation from the Scottish 

Parliament could set an 

example for the world, but 

campaigners believe it must be 

unequivocal to have the impact 

everyone hopes it will have. It 

includes aviation and shipping 

in the targets; includes 

reporting consumption based 

emissions (i.e. all the ones we 

Ecuador wants $5.2bn not to drill 

The oil deposits, in the Yasuni 

Biosphere Reserve and National 

Park, have presented a dilemma 

for the Correa administration, 

which on one hand advocates 

strong ecological policies, 

but on the other depends on 

revenue from oil sales and is a 

member of OPEC. 

are responsible for, through 

imports etc, and not just those 

we produce in Scotland); and 

has duties on public bodies to 

report emissions; but whilst its 

emissions target for 2050 of 

80% cuts is welcomed, many 

feel the 2020 target (currently 

34% not the 42% many feel is 

necessary) falls short of being 

world leading and therefore 

lets the bill down as a whole 

and reduces its ‘leadership’ 

potential. 

Legacies 

promised 

You thought 

we had it bad... ?! 

In the current climate 

with declining 

membership 

subscriptions and 

falls in the value of 

investments, it has 

never been more 

critical for the RSGS 

to attract support 

from its members as 

well as attracting new 

members and we need 

you all to help if you 

can. We are fortunate 

to have received two 

recent legacies, both 

left by keen supporters 

of the RSGS. If anyone 

would like to talk to us 

about leaving a legacy 

pledge, please do get 

in touch. 

RGS 

Michael Palin has been 

revealed as the new 

President of RGS. 

The World Bank has warned that Africa is likely to be 

the worst-hit region by the global financial crisis. 

The crisis is impacting Africa through a sharp fall in all 

main revenue generating areas: private capital flows, 

remittances, and commodity prices. 

In addition, foreign aid is dwindling 

because the crisis is happening in 

countries that provide aid and, as 

their economies contract, aid will 

fall both in volume and as a share 

of GDP. 

As a result, and although the financial sector in many 

African countries came out relatively unscathed by the 

crisis, the real economy is reeling. Africa’s GDP growth, 

initially is now expected to fall to 2.4%, much lower than 

the 6.4% forecast. 

Such a drop is likely to have devastating, long-term 

consequences on Africa and could even lead to a 

humanitarian crisis, the Bank cautioned. 

The impact is expected to be even more devastating 

in the 35 countries classified as ‘fragile states’ by the 

World Bank – 25 of which are in Africa and include 

Malawi.


Scouting 

in Malawi 

In 2007, I was part 

of a UK expedition 

to Malawi. We took 

a total of thirty 

four young people 

from the UK to 

work with the 

Scout Association 

of Malawi. 

Twelve were from 

Scotland. Our 

project was the 

renovation of the 

National Campsite 

just outside Zomba 

on the slopes of 

the Zomba Plateau. 

We helped to make 

the campsite 

self sufficient 

and already this 

year, they have 

generated sufficient 

funds, to pay the 

Warden’s salary for 

one year. 

Scottish Scouting 

is launching an 

appeal to support 

Scouting in Malawi 

which, having been 

outlawed during 

the Banda years, is 

once again growing 

rapidly. 

Anne Masino 

Geosciences 

Geosciences have been 

given a stay of execution 

at St Andrews University. 

New Principal Louise 

Richardson, has postponed 

the closure of the division of 

the Geography Department. 

The next twelve months will 

see a full review of options 

before a final decision is 

made, so they are not out of 

the woods yet. 

First UNESCO Chair in Scotland appointed at UHI 

Professor Martin Price, Director 

of the Centre for Mountain 

Studies (CMS) at Perth 

College UHI, was appointed 

Chairholder of the UNESCO 

Chair in Sustainable Mountain 

Development at UHI Millennium 

Institute in March. 

This UNESCO Chair encourages 

cooperation across borders and 

recognises that mountains cover 

24% of global land, and that 26% 

of the global population lives in 

and around mountains, which 

provide vital goods and services 

to over half of humankind. 

The project objectives are: 

1) to facilitate further 

development and implementation 

of the Global Change in Mountain 

Regions Research Strategy; 

2) to organise and contribute 

to international meetings 

that facilitate action towards 

sustainable mountain 

development (this will include an 

international conference on global 

change and mountain regions in 

Fair Maid’s House update 

We have recently applied for substantial funding for 

the Fair Maid’s House on the back of our successful 

planning application. If successful we may be 

accelerating our plans despite the recession. 

We hope to update further in the next issue. 

Perth in September 2010, linked 

to a public event co-organised 

with the RSGS); 

3) to foster and support the 

development and delivery of 

Masters-level courses that 

support sustainable mountain 

development and subsequently 

with institutions in Latin America. 

For more details contact: 

Professor Martin Price, 

Centre for Mountain Studies, 

Perth College UHI, 

martin.price@perth.uhi.ac.uk 

Demand for water everywhere, but not a drop to drink 

The World Water Development 

report recently warned that 47% 

of the global population would 

be living in areas of high water 

stress by 2030. It also warned 

that ‘some countries are already 

reaching the limits of their 

water resources’, resulting in an 

intensification of competition for 

water resources that threatens 

to stoke conflicts and make 

water supplies an “increasingly 

politicised issue”. 

The report warned that a number 

of factors are combining to 

increase demand for water at a 

time when climate change means 

more regions are likely to face 

prolonged droughts. 

Welcome 

We are very pleased to welcome Fiona Parker 

(top) and Marie Hainey who have joined the 

staff at RSGS HQ. Fiona works full time and 

Marie part time helping to run the office and 

the finances and they will be the first point of 

welcome for those of you wishing to contact 

the office. 

According to the 

report, population 

growth combined 

with increased 

demand for meat 

and dairy products, 

increased demand 

for biofuels and 

an expected 

60% increase 

in hydroelectric 

power will increase 

pressure on water 

resources in many 

countries. 

The report concludes that these 

risks mean there is a strong 

economic case for investing in 

water infrastructure, calculating 

that each dollar invested in 

improving access to water and 

sanitation will deliver a boost to 

GDP of between $3 (£2.14) and 

$34 (£22).


The 

4-5 


Letter from Greenland 

Inuit in Greenland and across the circumpolar Arctic are already experiencing the effects 

of climate change. 

Inuit hunters with a lifetime of experience on the land and sea are reporting rapid changes 

all around them. They observe that the spring melt is faster, that storms are violent and 

less predictable, and that fish and seal species are shifting northward, for example. Inuit 

across the circumpolar Arctic are noticing that sea levels are rising because buildings that 

used to be away from the water are now being lapped at by the waves. In Canada and 

Alaska, Inuit communities are experiencing rapid coastal erosion in places where sea ice no 

longer protects shorelines from the strong waves churned up by storms at sea. This problem 

is compounded by melting permafrost, which threatens the structural integrity of houses, 

schools, roads, airstrips, pipelines, and virtually all the infrastructure in some communities. 

In addition, health experts are warning our people that the sea mammals we depend on for 

subsistence are no longer as healthy as they once were because contaminants are being 

collected in their fatty tissues and are getting passed up the food chain to us. They believe 

this problem will become worse as temperatures rise. 

Because we Inuit are already suffering the negative effects of climate change, and because 

we can already predict that higher temperatures will cause enormous challenges to our 

way of life, Inuit are calling on all nations to do everything within their power to stop 

climate change. For the good of all of us, we urgently call on legislators around the world 

to step up and take leadership on this matter so that there can be a major breakthrough in 

Copenhagen later this year. 

In Scotland, where I understand there is world leading legislation currently up for debate, 

policymakers have the opportunity to adopt ambitious emission reduction targets that will 

raise the global standard and thereby give the international negotiations a new forward 

momentum. 

On behalf of circumpolar Inuit, I strongly urge them to take advantage of this opportunity. 

Aqqaluk Lynge Inuit Circumpolar Council (Greenland) President 

to the Royal Scottish Geographical Society 9 June 2009 

Aqqaluk will be speaking for the Society in October this year in Kirkcaldy, Edinburgh and Glasgow. 

Efficiency bill 

Five years ago I began working 

on my member’s bill on energy 

efficiency and microgeneration.The 

bill proposes to provide incentives 

for householders and businesses to 

make their properties more energy 

efficient and to encourage increased 

use of renewable sources to heat 

and power our buildings – new and 

old. 

Support outwith Parliament 

has grown for the idea of giving 

people tax incentives to install 

energy efficiency and in the 

process create local jobs and save 

people money on their fuel bills. 

The debate has moved on hugely 

since I introduced my bill to 

Parliament, gathering strong 

cross party support on the way. 

Developers and builders are slowly 

beginning to act with technologies 

tested and more established, 

as a result of successive grants 

to householders to test out the 

technology. 

We can do more to tackle fuel 

poverty while tackling climate 

change. There is also a strong 

appetite amongst the renewables 

industry to see a mass market 

in technologies which in other 

European and developed countries 

are now seen as commonplace. 

The Scottish Government’s Bill 

as introduced lacks the policy 

measures and urgency to make 

the most of Scotland’s potential. 

I’ve been working with colleagues 

in the Labour Party and with 

colleagues in other political 

parties to strengthen the bill as 

it passes through the Parliament. 

I hope with new policy measures 

on energy efficiency added we can 

start to bring about the radical 

shift we need to tackle climate 

change. 

Sarah Boyack MSP 

“In Scotland, 

policymakers 

have the 

opportunity 

to adopt 

ambitious 

emission 

reduction 

targets that 

will raise the 

global standard 

and thereby 

give the 

international 

negotiations a 

new forward 

momentum.”

Country in Focus: Malawi 

The too warm 

heart of Africa 

“Climate 

change will 

affect us 

all, but it is 

the world’s 

poorest 

people 

who are 

suffering 

first and 

worst. 

Already 

the impacts 

of climate 

change are 

being felt in 

Malawi.” 

At the end of 

May, the World 

Development 

Movement (WDM) 

published a report 

showing the devastating 

impacts that climate 

change is having on 

Malawi and urged 

Scottish politicians to 

ensure that Scotland’s 

climate change 

legislation sets the 

standard for action to 

reduce emissions across 

the industrialised world. 

While the average Scot is 

responsible for 155 times the 

amount of carbon dioxide 

produced by the average 

Malawian, the World Health 

Organisation estimates 

that 1,500 Malawians die 

every year through climate 

change-related disease and 

malnutrition. WDM’s report, 

Warm heart of Africa: the 

impact of climate change in 

Malawi and why the Scottish 

climate bill matters highlights 

the strong and important link 

between Scotland and Malawi, 

dating from the days of David 

Livingstone right up until the 

present day, and the Scottish 

Government’s commitment 

to help the people of Malawi. 

With increasing temperatures, 

unpredictable seasons and 

higher incidences of flood and 

drought, lives and livelihoods 

in Malawi and across Sub- 

Saharan Africa are already 

being lost. 

Liz Murray, a geographer and 

Head of Scottish Campaigns 

for WDM said: 

“Climate change will affect us 

all, but it is the world’s poorest 

people who are suffering 

first and worst. Already the 

impacts 

of climate 

change 

are being 

felt in 

Malawi. 

In a 

country already struggling to 

cope with extreme poverty 

and the devastating effects 

of one of the world’s worst 

HIV/AIDS epidemics, climate 

change could literally be 

the last straw. A strong 

Scottish climate bill, that 

sets the standard for action 

by industrialised countries, 

could play an important part 

in securing a successful global 

agreement in the United 

Nations climate negotiations 

in Copenhagen in December. 

A copy of the report can be found 

at www.wdmscotland.org.uk 

New 3 Class Block at CI Primary School 

- 2008 

Renovated Block at Zingwangwa 

Primary School - 2008 

Holyrood School Malawi Project 2009 

After the outstanding success of the Holyrood 

Malawi Project 2008, where 23 of our senior 

pupils worked with the local community at our 

partner schools to build a new 3 classroom 

block and to renovate another. 

We have worked hard throughout the year 

to raise the £ 70,000 necessary to fund our 

project and also to ensure we are properly 

prepared for our trip and for the building 

projects we will undertake. By way of 

preparation we had regular meetings, attended 

a PDW at Craig Lodge, Dalmally, the home of 

Mary’s Meals. 

We also attended a short Construction 

Course at Cardonald College which was both 

informative and a great deal of fun. 

It was Nelson Mandela who said “Education is 

the one sure road out of poverty.” We believe 

this to be true and hope that through our work 

we can help, even if it is only in a small way. 

Tony Begley 

Senior Depute Head 

Holyrood Secondary School, Glasgow 

We hope to feature in a future edition the progress 

made by Holyrood School during their trip to Malawi.

The 

6-7 


My Malawi 

Every time I visit Malawi I 

am struck by the country’s 

huge potential. The stunning 

landscape, from the shores of 

Lake Malawi to the pine clad 

mountains of the Northern 

region, makes it a great tourist 

destination. 

Its fertile red soil, with the right 

management, can produce a 

wide range of crops, including 

coffee for export and maize 

and vegetables for domestic 

consumption. 

And Lake Malawi, Africa’s 

third largest freshwater lake, 

teems with the world’s largest 

collection of chilids (fish), 

making it a zoologist’s delight. 

But Malawi’s biggest asset, as 

with any country, is its people. 

When Scotland renewed its old 

friendship with Malawi in 2005 

both governments decided that 

the focus of our future cooperation 

would be people to 

people. 

Scotland may be a rich country 

when compared to Malawi, but 

we share the same personal and 

national aspirations. 

We both want a sustainable 

economy, the best education 

service possible for our young 

people, an active democracy. 

Scots have worked alongside 

Malawians for the last 150 

years and there is a little bit 

of Scotland in every corner of 

Malawi: from the street names in 

Blantyre, the country’s biggest 

city, to the bramble bushes on 

Zomba Plateau planted by some 

long dead Scot. 

And today there are more Scots 

than ever using their energy 

and their skills to help Malawi’s 

development. 

Thousands of Scottish 

schoolchildren raise money for 

their partner schools in Malawi; 

Scots healthcare professionals 

spend their annual leave working 

in rural clinics, saving lives 

and sharing their knowledge; 

volunteers help with feeding 

programmes and business 

advice. 

And Scots scientists are working 

with their counterparts in 

Malawi’s universities to find 

sustainable solutions in areas 

such as aquaculture, animal 

husbandry and managing HIV 

AIDS. 

Malawi faces many challenges. 

It ranks among the world’s most 

densely populated countries, 

with an estimated population of 

14.3 million. 

It has one of the highest 

national HIV prevalence rates 

in the the world; according 

to UNAIDS around 900,000 

Malawians are living with HIV. 

And climate change is already 

having a terrible impact on 

the country. The World Health 

Organisation estimates 1,500 

Malawians die every year 

through climate change related 

diseases and malnutrition. 

And the daily struggle to grow 

food will become even tougher 

as the effects of climate change 

take hold. 

But I am hopeful for the future 

of both our countries. I have 

seen for myself what can be 

achieved when people work 

together – from fish farms on 

the shores of Lake Malawi to 

new classrooms in rural villages 

built by fundraising in rural 

Scotland. 

Each of the collaborations 

between Scots and Malawians 

represent what is so special 

about our partnership. 

People helping people. People 

using their energy and skills to 

make things happen, and people 

in Malawi, and Scotland, having 

their lives changed as a result. 

Rt Hon Jack McConnell MSP 

First Minister of Scotland 

2001 - 2007 

Malawi has mainly 

been in the public 

eye recently because 

of Madonna’s 

attempts to adopt a 

small child from the 

country, but there is 

much about Malawi 

which has gone 

largely unreported. 

It reports to have 

one of the fastest 

growing economies 

in the world and in 

May the country went 

to the polls for a 

crucial election. This, 

the fourth since the 

demise of President 

Banda’s thirty 

year dictatorship, 

re-elected the 

Democratic 

Progressive Party’s 

(DPP) presidential 

candidate, Bingu wa 

Mutharika despite the 

two main opposition 

parties joining forces. 

Here Jack McConnell 

reports on the special 

relationship between 

Scotland and Malawi. 

Strathclyde’s Malawi Project – helping future sustainability 

The University of Strathclyde 

chose to mark the 21st century 

through a project with Malawi 

on self help and sustainability. 

The project builds on Malawi’s 

historical links with Scotland 

and the University through 

explorer and missionary David 

Livingstone, who studied at 

Strathclyde in the 1830s. 

Through training support for 

the next generation of Malawian 

teachers, nurses, scientists and 

engineers, the staff, students and 

graduates from the University 

have been supporting diverse 

projects including the provision 

of library books and journals 

to the University of Malawi, 

assisting in water management 

schemes, the provision of solar 

powered electric supplies, and 

computing and IT equipment to 

support schools and colleges. As 

well, the University has provided 

scholarships for local students 

to undertake their studies in the 

universities in Malawi. 

One of the first Malawi 

Millennium Projects, and now a 

centre-piece of the wider links 

between the City of Glasgow and 

Malawi, is the David Livingstone 

Centre in Lilongwe. Opened 

eight years ago, the clinic was 

funded, equipped and nurses 

trained through the project in 

conjunction with Bell College. 

Since 2006, the Lord Provost of 

Glasgow’s Fund has helped to 

extend and update equipment, 

making this one of the key 

resources for the primary care 

of mothers and children, and a 

training facility for nurses.

On the Map 

David Livingstone’s Map Of Lake Malawi 

David Livingstone 

made three 

journeys to 

the area around what 

was then called Lake 

Nyasa, today Lake 

Malawi, in 1859, 1861 

and 1863, and was 

the first European to 

map it accurately. He 

was probably the first 

European to visit the 

area and produced this 

large sketch map of the 

south west corner of the 

lake on thin, squared 

graph paper, using both 

pencil and pen, with 

blue watercolour added 

to indicate the edges of 

the lake. 

It is thought Livingstone 

compiled the map in stages, 

possibly adding to it during 

or after his three journeys 

there, rather than drawing 

it all after completion of this 

phase of his explorations. 

Indeed in places he includes 

the same information, first 

in pencil and then – not 

specifically overwriting it 

but adjacent to it - in pen. 

It is thought that the hand 

written pencil notes on the 

map relating to Livingstone’s 

calculations of the latitude 

and longitude of the area and 

citing comparison with those 

on John Arrowsmith’s map, 

must have been added a little 

later, following his return 

from Africa and around the 

time of publication in 1865 of 

Arrowsmith’s map in David 

and Charles Livingstone’s, 

Narrative of an Expedition to the 

Zambezi and its Tributaries. 

Livingstone explored the west 

coast of Lake Malawi in 1861 

and in annotations on the 

lake’s shoreline he gives the 

dates he was there, 2 – 28 / 29 

September. He was careful 

to include geographical data 

describing the terrain such 

as the ‘high sandy shores’, 

‘high plains’ and indicates 

where the terrain was 

‘marshy’ or ‘rocky’. He did not 

personally explore the east 

coast though he obviously 

used local knowledge to add 

his pencilled-in indications 

of some of the peoples who 

lived there and the names 

they gave to their lands. 

He also took great pains to 

record local place names. 

Between July and October 

1863 Livingstone explored the 

area from the lakeside near 

Marenga westwards towards 

Chinya’nga, returning to the 

lake at Molamba (names 

rendered here as portrayed on 

his map) and this journey is 

depicted in dotted black lines. 

At the extreme northwest 

corner of his map he inscribes, 

‘Bemba Lake (?)’, presumably 

added from information 

gained locally. It was near 

Lake Bemba that Livingstone 

was to die ten years later. 

Margaret Wilkes 

I am indebted to Ian C 

Cunningham, former Keeper 

of Manuscripts in the National 

Library of Scotland for detail on 

the background to Livingstone’s 

compilation of this map. 

Map reproduced with kind 

permission of the Trustees of the 

National Library of Scotland.

The 

Geographer 8-9 


David 

Livingstone, 

the Man 

David Livingstone was born 

on the 19th March 1813 

in Blantyre, in a one room 

house in the tenement 

building called Shuttle Row, 

which he shared with two 

brothers and two sisters. 

David started work at the 

age of ten. He worked 

from 5am until 8pm and 

then went to school for two 

hours, six days a week. On 

the seventh day the walked 

into Hamilton twice a day to 

attend church. David spent 

any spare time reading and 

he had a wonderful retentive 

memory, always wanting to 

be a doctor and a missionary. 

He entered the Anderson 

College in Glasgow and 

qualified as a doctor in 1838. 

He set sail for Africa in 1840 

and during his thirty three 

years in Africa, he was only 

home twice. Whilst there, 

he became convinced of 

his mission to reach new 

peoples in the interior of 

the country and introduce 

them to Christianity. Whilst 

setting up a new mission 

at Mabotswa among the 

Kgatla people in 1844, 

he was mauled by a lion 

which might have killed 

him if it had not been 

distracted by the African 

teacher Mebalwe, who was 

also badly injured. Both 

recovered but Livingstone’s 

arm was partially disabled 

and caused him pain for the 

rest of his life. 

Livingstone reached 

southern Malawi in 1859, 

by then the main source for 

the 40,000 slaves sold each 

year in Zanzibar. As well 

as introducing Christianity, 

Livingstone also saw 

freeing the Africans from 

slavery, through promoting 

trade, as a key role. Indeed 

during a trip home in 1864, 

Livingstone publicised 

the horrors of the slave 

trade, which led to him 

securing private support 

for another expedition to 

central Africa. This enabled 

him to search for the Nile’s 

source and report further 

on slavery. This expedition 

was to be his last, and on 

1st May 1873, he died in 

Chief Chitambo’s village 

which is now in present day 

Zambia. Livingstone’s heart 

was buried under a Mvula 

tree near the spot where 

he died, now the site of the 

Livingstone Memorial. He 

is revered in Malawi as a 

national hero who helped 

end the slave trade and 

brought education, medicine 

and trade to this small 

landlocked country. His body 

together with his journal 

was carried over a thousand 

miles by his loyal attendants 

Chuma and Susi, and was 

returned to Britain for burial 

in Westminster Abbey. 

David Barrie 

“He is 

revered in 

Malawi as 

a national 

hero who 

helped end 

the slave 

trade and 

brought 

education, 

medicine 

and trade to 

this small 

landlocked 

country.” 

“Sebituane [a chieftain] offered to purchase [guns] with cattle or 

ivory, but the Mambari refused everything except boys about 14 

years of age. The Makolo declare they never heard of people being 

bought and sold till then, and disliked it, but the desire to possess 

the guns prevailed, and eight guns were exchanged for as many 

boys; these were not their own children, but captives… I have never 

known in Africa an instance of a parent selling his own offspring.” 

An excerpt from David Livingstone, ‘Missionary Travels & Researches in South Africa, 1857. 

Forthcoming talk - Colonel John Blashford-Snell 

Colonel Blashford-Snell will be speaking in Stirling and Lanarkshire in October, featuring lantern slides used by Stanley and 

an early recording of one of his talks, along with the compass Stanley carried when finding Dr Livingstone.

Opinion On: Slavery 

Slavery – a thing of the past? 

Despite the efforts of William Wilberforce & others to abolish slavery in the British Empire 

resulting in the Act in 1833, and the work of many others like Livingstone, in drawing 

attention to its continuation further afield throughout that century, slavery is not 

confined to history as most of us would like to think. According to Anti-slavery International 

(which traces its establishment back 

to the 18th century), millions of men, 

women and children around the world 

today are forced to lead lives as slaves, 

most commonly in bonded labour, early 

and forced marriage, forced labour, 

slavery by descent, human trafficking 

and the worst forms of child labour. 

The development of international standards against 

slavery and the near universal endorsement of the need 

to prohibit forced labour led to a decline in the use 

of forced labour by governments, which are now only 

responsible for around 20% of forced labour cases in 

the world. Notable examples of states which still use 

forced labour are Burma, China and North Korea. 

Even though it is private individuals rather than state 

officials who are primarily responsible for using forced 

labour, all governments still have a direct responsibility 

to prevent slavery from taking place. However, many 

governments consider that once they have passed 

legislation prohibiting and punishing slavery, then they 

have complied with their obligations. 

It is easy to be overwhelmed by the fact that there are 

millions of people living in slavery. However, there have 

been some very significant advances in the struggle 

against the practice in the last decade. 

For example, Nepal (2002, 2008), Niger (2003), 

Brazil (2003), the United Arab Emirates (2005), and 

Mauritania (2007) are some of the countries that have 

recently introduced or amended laws so that slavery 

practices are now prohibited and punished. 

In Nepal and Brazil alone, more than 100,000 people 

have been released from slavery and measures have 

been adopted to assist these people. 

At the international level, there is also a much greater 

awareness of slavery and more priority is given to 

combating it. This is reflected in the United Nations’ 

decision to create a new Special Rapporteur on 

Contemporary Forms of Slavery in 2008 who will report 

directly to the UN Human Rights Council on measures 

needed to fight slavery. This is the first new UN 

mechanism on slavery in over 30 years. It is also true 

that people’s attitudes can be changed in a relatively 

short period of time. 

Yet a world without slavery remains an aspiration 

rather than a reality, even 60 years after the Universal 

Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed that no one 

shall be held in slavery or servitude. It is long past 

the time when every human being - without exception 

- should be able to live a life free from slavery. 

www.antislaveryinternational.org 

Christian Aid and Malawi 

Scotland and Malawi share more than their beautiful hills. David 

Livingstone’s travels and missionary work began a partnership 

between the two nations that continues to develop. Both the 

Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland had 

established missions in Malawi by the mid 1870s. 

These foundations provide the basis for continuing links between 

the two countries and are reflected in the make up of some of the 

Christian Aid partner organisations who since 2005 have benefited 

from the Scottish Government’s International Development Fund, 

supporting HIV projects. 

“For knowledge to be gained, the topic has to be discussed,” 

said Val Brown from Christian Aid Scotland. “As you can imagine, 

sexually transmitted diseases are still an issue that many churches 

in Scotland would rather not talk about. What we tried to do was 

to break down barriers, encouraging young people to learn about 

all aspects of HIV and to present that information to their peers in 

churches and at school.” 

In Malawi, one in seven adults is HIV positive and life expectancy at 

forty two is one of the lowest in the world so this work is essential. 

Every year in Malawi, with regular droughts, millions of people 

struggle to grow enough to eat and indeed December to March is 

known locally as the ‘hunger season’. 

Flora Amadou was nursed back to health from the brink of death 

by the Baptist Clinic in Malawi. Recently diagnosed HIV positive, 

Flora and others in Mawale village are benefiting from a scheme 

that uses a solar pump to bring water to crops, enabling Flora to 

grow at least twice as much food.At the start of the last hunger 

season, Flora was surviving almost solely on tea and mangoes and 

losing weight dangerously fast. Now, she has shared in a bumper 

crop, the first of many which should banish the hunger pains for 

good. 

For more information visit www.christianaidscotland.org 

Claire Aston 

Acting Head of Christian Aid Scotland

Off The Beaten Track 

The 

Geographer 10-11 


Malawi - ’The Warm Heart of Africa’ 

I first went to Malawi in October 

1995. Though I’ve been back 

many times since, the impact 

of that first visit remains as 

strong as ever. The ‘Warm 

Heart of Africa’ is a name 

sometimes given to this tiny 

state surrounded by big brothers 

Mozambique, Zambia and 

Tanzania, and it’s also a big 

heart; you’d go far to find a more 

genuinely friendly people. 

Malawi suffers the dual 

constraint of being landlocked 

and restricted in area, its narrow 

shape being strongly influenced 

by the linear form of Lake 

Malawi. Formerly Lake Nyasa, 

this is one of the world’s greatest 

stores of fresh water, lying within 

the Great African Rift Valley. 

That first visit opened my eyes 

to so many of the challenges of 

sub-Saharan Africa. Along with 

my fellow geographer wife, we 

took a battered bus that was jam 

packed inside with people (not 

to mention hens) and weighed 

down with luggage, buckets, 

baskets, banana wood chairs and 

all manner of other katundu on 

the roof and we set off on the 

journey north, passing remnants 

of a once more extensive 

tree cover. The brachystigia 

woodland was starting into 

fresh and colourful new growth. 

We wondered if the overloaded 

bus could possibly make it up 

the steepest hills but the driver 

had a well perfected technique 

of pushing his foot hard on 

the accelerator as we charged 

downhill to ensure enough power 

to get up the other side. I thought 

it best not to nudge my wife and 

point out the mangled remains 

of a minibus lying at the foot of 

a ravine. 

Children by the roadside held up 

big cabbages and wildly flapping 

hens, hopeful of a passing sale, 

but jumped smartly back as 

our transport sailed on past, 

scattering goats and hens that 

had wandered on to the road. 

One boy held out a stick with 

skewered roasted mice, hoping to 

tempt peckish drivers to a snack 

and earn a few kwacha. Women 

in colourful, animated groups 

clustered around water pumps. 

At one point a tribe of baboons 

thought that they would saunter 

across in front of the bus. A loud 

blast of horn, plus a realisation 

that our demon driver would 

brook no delay, especially from 

a crowd of monkeys, quickly 

scattered them back into the 

bush. This was the dry season 

and the village maize plots 

lay empty, their bare red soils 

peppered in desiccated yellowed 

stalks from the harvested crop. 

Wattle stores of maize cobs sat 

outside the houses, some of 

which had a shiny tin roof, others 

a covering of dried grasses that 

projected out over the edges 

and made them look as if they 

needed a haircut. 

Each day in the countryside 

raised as many questions as 

it provided colourful images. 

Why were so many children of 

school age out on the road in 

term time? Why did the women 

and girls have to carry water 

to their villages? Where were 

the men folk when the women 

were carrying heavy bundles of 

firewood on their heads? Apart 

from the baboons, where was all 

the wildlife? In time I came to see 

how the constraints of a long dry 

season, rising population, costs 

of secondary schooling, clean 

water supply, food security 

issues, cultural attitudes to 

gender, the impact of HIV/AIDS, 

low life expectancy, deforestation 

and habitat loss are all part of 

the challenge of what is one of 

the poorest nations on the planet. 

I’ve come to love this country 

and have made many Malawian 

friends, rejoicing with them in 

song and dance and condoling 

with them when the spectre of 

death has appeared in their 

midst. I’ve enjoyed the beauty of 

the lakeside with its circling fish 

eagles and mingled among herds 

of eland and zebra on horseback 

high on the breathtaking 

Nyika Plateau. Once, I spent a 

memorable few days on a voyage 

up Lake Malawi. It was on the 

Ilala, the wonderful old lake 

steamer built on the Clyde in the 

middle of last century, following 

the route that the old Scots 

missionaries took on their goal 

to found the Livingstonia Mission 

and passing lakeshore villages 

with huge shading baobab trees 

as David Livingstone had done. 

In a time when many worthwhile 

Scottish-based projects are 

being put into place in Malawi, 

it’s good also to stop and 

ponder the legacy of those early 

Scots missionary pioneers in 

the hospitals and schools. My 

lasting involvement has been 

with Ekwendeni Hospital where 

the work of supporting the 

sick continues. But I’ve also 

bumped my way many times by 

4x4 through rough bush tracks 

into remote corners of the 

rural hinterland where effective 

work in clean water provision, 

food security and AIDS orphan 

support is carried out in the 

primary health care programme. 

As an outsider, I’ve come to look 

on Malawi with mixed emotions 

but as a Scot in far away Africa 

I’ve also felt strangely and 

comfortingly at home. 

“I’ve come 

to love this 

country 

and have 

made many 

Malawian 

friends, 

rejoicing with 

them in song 

and dance 

and condoling 

with them 

when the 

spectre of 

death has 

appeared in 

their midst.” 

Doug Willis

An Expert View: Women in Geography 

Women in Geography 

“...women 

have been 

producers 

and 

teachers of 

geographical 

knowledge 

since the 

foundation 

of the British 

geographical 

societies and 

university 

departments 

of geography 

– and a 

significant 

number of 

these women 

were born 

and/ or lived 

and worked 

in Scotland.” 

It is a common misperception 

amongst undergraduates that 

women geographers only began 

contributing to the discipline 

in the 1970s. Members of the 

Royal Scottish Geographical 

Society are better placed than 

most to appreciate that this 

is not the case: women have 

been producers and teachers 

of geographical knowledge 

since the foundation of the 

British geographical societies 

and university departments of 

geography – and a significant 

number of these women were 

born and/ or lived and worked 

in Scotland. Mary Somerville, 

born in Jedburgh, wrote Physical 

Geography in 1848, which was 

credited with being the first 

British text of that title and 

welcomed by the geographical 

establishment and a wider 

readership, going to seven 

editions. Isabella Bird’s travel 

accounts were immensely 

popular in the second half of the 

nineteenth century and she was 

honoured by the RSGS. 

Marion Newbigin is often the 

first woman’s name to spring 

to mind in association with the 

society. She was born in Alnwick 

and graduated BSc and DSc 

from Aberystwyth, but lived and 

spent most of her professional 

life in Edinburgh, where she 

worked on Challenger findings 

and taught at the Extra Mural 

School of Medicine for Women. 

More than that, her career was 

inextricably connected with the 

Society through her 32 years 

as assistant and editor of the 

Scottish Geographical Magazine 

and it is for her influence 

as editor she is principally 

remembered as a ‘founding 

parent’ of Scottish geography. In 

1923 Newbigin and travel writer 

Ella Christie were the first women 

to sit on the Society’s Council 

(the Manchester Geographical 

Society appointed women to 

its first council in 1884, but 

it was 1930 before the Royal 

Geographical Society followed 

suit). Newbigin was also a prolific 

author who influenced debates on 

regional geography, the scientific 

method in geography and 

teaching techniques, as well as 

initiating much of what became 

biogeography. 

This interest in links between 

plants, animals and geography 

influenced two other women 

who were to be involved with 

editing the SGM. Isobel Wylie 

Hutchison, Arctic traveller and 

plant collector, became Honorary 

Editor of the journal between 

1944 and 1953 (the first woman 

to hold this post); and leading 

biogeographer Joy Tivy, Lecturer 

and later Professor of Geography 

at the University of Glasgow, was 

editor 1954-63. Lois Latham, 

Harriet Wanklyn and Catherine 

Snodgrass were also editors for 

brief periods. Combined, women 

served the SGM in editorial 

capacities for 60 years in the 

early to mid 20th century. 

Edinburgh University had a 

strong record of appointing 

women academics in the interand 

post-war years. Alice Lennie, 

assistant to George Chisholm, 

may only be recognised by a 

few, but the names of Winifred 

Day, Betty Third, Kay MacIver, 

Swanzie Agnew and Catherine 

Snodgrass will be familiar to 

many and no doubt bring back 

memories of lectures, map 

classes and field work. As head 

of department MacIver directed 

the growth of geography at St 

Andrews; Swanzie Agnew taught 

at Fort Hare in South Africa, 

only to be deported when the 

university was closed down as a 

centre of anti-apartheid politics; 

Snodgrass was also deeply 

political, expressed through 

her commitment to researching 

Scottish geography and support 

for the Scottish National Party. 

Peggie Hobson, developed a 

love for Scotland when a student 

and she spent eight years 

lecturing at St Andrews 1945- 

53, publishing several articles 

in the SGM on the parishes of 

Sutherland. Although she spent 

most of her professional life in 

South Africa and London, Hobson 

retired to Edinburgh and will be 

remembered for curating the 

society’s centenary exhibition 

on The Spirit of Adventure and 

Discovery 1884-1984, including 

a special section on women 

explorers. 

There are many other women 

who contributed to geographical 

knowledge and the work of 

the society, but I hope this 

sketch gives a flavour of the 

variety of their interests and 

the significance of their work. 

However, when looking at the 

history of the discipline there are 

always puzzles remaining: why 

was there a thirty two year hiatus 

between female editors of the 

SGM 1967-1999 and why did the 

Edinburgh department go from 3 

female lecturers in the 1950s to 

none in the early 1960s? Answers 

on a postcard please! 

Avril Maddrell 

Department of Geography and 

Environmental Management, 

University of the West of England 

(avril.maddrell@uwe.ac.uk) 

To receive 20% 

off this title 

visit www.wiley.com 

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Burying carbon dioxide 

Geographer 

The 

An Expert View: Carbon Capture and Storage 12-13 


In Scotland, and the UK, most 

of our electricity is generated 

by combustion of coal or of 

gas. We accept this benefit 

without much thought, 24 hours 

a day, 7 days a week. But it 

has become more clear during 

recent decades, that there are 

environmental consequences of 

this consumption. At present, CO 2 

is emitted to be disposed into 

the atmosphere at no direct cost 

to the electricity generator, or 

the consumer, but this additional 

CO 2 disturbs the complex, but 

naturally balanced, flows from 

biosphere, to atmosphere, to 

hydrosphere, and burial in soil or 

sediment. Two separate effects 

occur. Firstly, the atmospheric 

CO 2 dissolves in shallow ocean 

water, and comes to equilibrium 

saturation. That makes carbonic 

acid, and so the ocean becomes 

more acidic. Secondly, a 

greater concentration of CO 2 

in the atmosphere increases 

the absorption of incoming 

solar energy and raises the 

temperature of upper levels 

of atmosphere, to produce 

potential for global warming, and 

consequent sea level rise. 

It is not just the rate of fossil 

CO 2 emission that needs to be 

reduced. Recent work on climate 

modelling by research groups 

shows that the total mass of CO 2 

is a controlling factor. By 2030 

if humans worldwide continue 

to emit fossil CO 2 at the present 

rate, the limit will be reached at 

which the probability of a 2ºC 

world temperature rise becomes 

greater than a 1 in 4 chance of 

excess climate change. 

In most industrialised countries 

about one third of fossil CO 2 

emissions are from electricity 

generating power plant. In 

Scotland, this is about 35- 

40% from the coal-fired power 

plants at Cockenzie, Longannet 

(the third largest coal plant in 

Europe), and gas burning at 

Peterhead. These sources offer 

an opportunity to capture about 

16 million tons per year of CO 2 

before it goes up the stack and 

is dumped into the atmosphere. 

The process of Carbon Capture 

and Storage is being developed 

for this purpose. This can capture 

the 14% content of CO 2 from 

flue gas by using an amine 

solvent, which is regenerated by 

heating to drive off the pure CO 2 . 

Compression to more than 70 

atmospheres changes the pure 

CO 2 to a liquid state, enabling it 

to be transported by pipe (just 

as natural methane gas is moved 

across Scotland at present). The 

destination can be hundreds 

of kilometers distant, to inject 

this CO 2 into microscopic pores 

of sandstone deep beneath the 

North Sea. 

Why not just build more 

renewable power? If only life was 

that simple. Scotland needs at 

least two sources of electricity, 

because the wind doesn’t blow 

all the time, and the tides don’t 

flow continually. A backup is 

needed, from which more, or 

less, electricity can be made as 

required. Nuclear power can not 

rapidly adjust its output, and is 

not planned to be rebuilt. Even if 

renewables can produce most of 

Scottish electricity on good days, 

the top-up, and the filling-in will 

need to be undertaken by coal 

and gas power plants with CCS. 

The injected CO 2 is buoyant, with 

a density similar to crude oil, 

consequently an impermeable top 

seal is needed, so that upward 

leakage can be prevented, and 

the CO 2 retained securely, for at 

least 10,000 years into the future. 

These combinations of geological 

conditions occur in all oil and gas 

fields. Our research at Edinburgh 

University has shown that natural 

CO 2 has been successfully 

retained for up to 70 million years 

in such settings. Additional CO 2 

storage may also be developed in 

sandstone rock formations filled 

with salt water, which have no 

other known use. 

How much storage capacity is 

there? A report by the Scottish 

Centre for Carbon Storage, 

a collaboration between the 

University of Edinburgh, 

Heriot-Watt University and the 

British Geological Survey called 

Opportunities for CO 2 storage 

around Scotland was launched by 

First Minister Alex Salmond at 

Edinburgh Castle on 1st May. An 

important discovery is that the 

hydrocarbon fields offshore of 

Scotland could host 1,290 million 

tons of CO 2 , and store a massive 

4,600 to 46,000 tons of CO 2 in 

salt water formations. That could 

accommodate CO 2 from Scottish 

power plants for hundreds of 

years, or alternatively all the CO 2 

from power plants in north-west 

Europe for about 100 years. 

Suprisingly, the conventional 

opinion that CO 2 could enable 

enhanced oil recovery of an 

additional 10-15% of oil from 

existing fields appears to be an 

expensive option, and needs 

both a high price for oil and an 

abundant reliable supply of CO 2 . 

So that will not happen until 

CCS becomes established on 

the mainland. The report also 

investigated pipeline routes which 

could gather emissions from the 

power stations, and Grangemouth 

refinery, to transport this CO 2 

offshore to a selection of possible 

storage sites. These options 

are all feasible in cost and in 

timescale, prompting the First 

Minister to state that this ‘could 

be the birth of a whole new 

offshore industry’. 

So, when is any of this likely to 

happen? That needs a big budget, 

about £1 bn, to fit CO 2 capture 

equipment onto Longannet. 

Scottish Power are one of three 

finalists in the competition to 

win UK Government grants to 

make this happen, for the first 

time anywhere in the world on a 

commercial sized power plant. 

A small step was taken in that 

direction on 29 May, when the 

first carbon capture unit to 

operate 

CO2 

on a working power plant 

in the UK was switched on for a 

6 month trial. This will capture 

2 from just 1 Megawatt of 

the 2,400 MW generated by 

Longannet, but will enable testing 

of specially designed amine 

solvents, to evaluate their working 

conditions. If these tests are 

successful, and the Government 

support is won, then Longannet 

could start its long road to 

‘cleaner coal’ at the end of 2014. 

“In most 

industrialised 

countries 

about one 

third of fossil 

CO 2 emissions 

are from 

electricity 

generating 

power plant. 

In Scotland, 

this is about 

35-40%” 

Professor Stuart 

Haszeldine 

School of GeoSciences, 

University of Edinburgh 

More information can be 

gained at 

www.geos.ed.ac.uk/sccs/

Education 

Worldwise Geography Challenge 

The James Young High School won the 

British heat of the Worldwise Geography 

Challenge. 

Although falling at the start of the Easter 

break with the weather forecast rather 

cold, wet and windy, eight teams of 

three students from around the UK 

had a fantastic time competing in 

the first of two Worldwise Challenge 

weekends, held at Malham Tarn 

Field Studies Centre in the Yorkshire 

Dales. Scotland was represented 

by The James Young High School 

and Larbert High School. On the 

Friday evening once everyone had 

arrived the teams got to know each 

other and were introduced to their 

challenge for the weekend – prepare 

an oral and visual presentation 

titled ‘What makes Malham a special 

place?’ 

The GA President, Margaret Roberts 

announced The James Young High 

School, Livingston, as the overall 

winners of the 2009 Malham Worldwise 

Challenge trophy and an invitation to 

take part in the World Finals in Taiwan. 

It was a fantastic weekend. The students 

and teachers all worked very hard and 

really enjoyed themselves, even though 

they were all under ‘observation’ most 

of the time. The CPD sessions 

were useful and many new 

contacts were made between 

the teachers and the GA 

representatives. 

Elaine Batty 

Principal Geography Teacher at 

James Young High School 

Out in the Real World 

SAGT Report May 2009 

In a month in which a study stated the outdoors had 

become ‘out of bounds’ to a generation of ‘cotton wool 

kids’ (with fewer than 10% playing outdoors, despite 

81% wishing they could), four schools from around 

Scotland helped the Real World Learning Partnership to 

promote the value of learning outdoors at the Scottish 

Parliament. 

Over three days, MSPs stopped to chat to the pupils, 

teachers and Real World Learning partners. Pupils 

and staff from Beeslack Community High School and 

Caerlaverock Primary School also had the opportunity 

to do presentations at an 

informal lunchtime reception. 

It was a very successful event 

for Real World Learning, which 

has sixteen partners including 

the RSGS. Forty-five cross-party 

MSPs signed up to the Real World 

Learning mission statement 

which is for ‘every young person 

in Scotland, regardless of their 

background to have regular 

access to inspirational and 

challenging outdoor learning. 

Signatories included the First 

Minister, the Cabinet Secretary 

for Education, the Minister for Schools and Skills and 

most of the Education Committee. 

Outdoor learning is proven to help improve a child’s 

social skills, motivation and academic achievement, as 

well as offering ‘real life’ experiences. 

For more information www.realworldlearning-scotland.org.uk 

Each year SAGT has produced its 

Journal which has included a wide 

range of academic articles. These 

provide cutting edge research 

relevant to topics taught in 

secondary schools. 

Last year, for the first time, the 

Journal was produced in CD 

format. This has afforded the 

editors the opportunity to request 

articles not only from these 

traditional, academic sources in 

the first part of the publication 

but also to have a series of 

shorter pieces related to pedagogy 

and resources of direct use to 

school geography in the second. 

This year SAGT decided to have 

a single large pupil Conference in 

March in Dalkeith High School, 

aimed at pupils studying Higher 

Geography. . 

This was a resounding success 

as it helped to kick-start revision 

for the coming diet of SQA 

examinations. 

The British Geological Survey. 

had 40 free seismometers on 

offer to secondary schools willing 

to take part in a countrywide 

project. Bids had to be submitted 

for a cross-curricular project to 

qualify for consideration. Since 

geology, in most secondary 

schools, is taught by members of 

Geography Departments, this has 

caused a flurry of excitement and 

competition. 

And finally, in my role as 

Education Convener for RSGS, 

it is my privilege to try to foster 

even closer links between our 

two organisations. There is a 

very positive atmosphere in our 

organisations, both for their own 

work and for links with other 

groups. 

I hope, therefore, that the mutual 

benefits of my ‘twin-hattedness’ 

will go some way to help achieve 

that potential! 

I would like to record my own 

appreciation for the work done 

by the Education Committee of 

RSGS under the chairmanship 

of the inimitable Jim Carson and 

hope that we can emulate the 

underpinning work so thoroughly 

undertaken by Jim. 

Erica M Caldwell 

Honorary President SAGT, 

Education Convener RSGS 

All change in the Education Committee 

Long serving stalwart Jim Carson has handed the reins of our education committee to Erica Caldwell. Jim won our inaugural Tivy 

Education Medal last year and has given much of his energy to the promotion of Geography in schools and we are very pleased that 

he will remain part of the committee. Erica brings vast expertise, enthusiasm and youth to the role, and as Chair of the SAGT, we are 

hopeful that our mutual links will continue to flourish.

University of Dundee 

Geography at Dundee is delighted 

with the rating it received in the 

most recent Research Assessment 

Exercise. This shows that virtually 

all staff are contributing research 

judged to be of international 

excellence with much work 

considered to be world class. 

Geography and Environmental 

Studies was ranked first equal in 

Scotland with St Andrews in the 

2008 RAE. 

Geographers are also set to play 

a central role in a new universitywide 

research initiative called 

the Centre for Environmental 

Change and Human Resilience 

(CECHR) which will explore how 

science, social science, legal 

and health perspectives can be 

brought together to tackle issues 

of global significance such as 

climate change, vulnerability and 

sustainability. The Scottish Crop 

Research Institute in Invergowrie 

have engaged with this centre in a 

strategic partnership and three new 

interdisciplinary PhD studentships, 

such as ‘drought and food security 

resilience in Malawi’ have been 

funded and will commence in 

September 2009. 

The staff will welcome Dr 

Lorraine van Blerk to a Senior 

Lectureship in Human Geography 

in November 2009 from the 

University of Reading. Lorraine’s 

research expertise focuses on the 

geographies of children and youth. 

University 

of Aberdeen 

A team from Aberdeen University 

have embarked on a project with 

Western Isles Council (Comhairle 

nan Eilean Siar) and funded by the 

Scottish Government to address 

the issue of coastal flooding along 

the Atlantic coast of South Uist 

and Benbecula. During the 11th 

January 2005 to 12th January 

2005 a very severe storm hit the 

west coast of the Western Isles, 

damaging houses, roads and 

buildings. The devastating storm 

led to the tragic loss of life of a 

family of five trying to escape the 

floodwaters. In the aftermath of 

this tragedy, local attention focused 

on the South Ford causeway that 

joins South Uist and Benbecula and 

which replaced the earlier bridge 

structure in 1984. 

A particular concern is Gualan 

Island, a 3 km long barrier island 

to the west of South Ford, which 

suffered significant erosion during 

the storm. There is concern from 

residents that, should it be allowed 

to erode, wave and tidal flows in 

South Ford would become more 

severe and people living on the 

shores could be at increasing risk 

of harm from the effects of future 

storms during extreme high tides. 

The Scottish Government has 

provided £200,000 to undertake a 

hydrodynamic study of the South 

Ford area, to model and simulate 

the effects of floodwater and 

sediment transport for the South 

Ford area linked to scenarios of 

extreme weather conditions. The 

team is led by Professors Alastair 

Dawson and Bill Ritchie of the 

Aberdeen Institute for Coastal 

Science and Management. 

New £12m research hub to tackle 

digital challenges in rural areas 

The University of Aberdeen has 

been awarded £12.4 million 

of funding over five years to 

investigate how advances in digital 

technologies can transform rural 

communities, society and business. 

The funding is the largest single 

externally funded grant to be 

received by the University, and 

will create 60 new jobs and 

studentships. The Rural Digital 

Economy Research Hub will 

conduct research and development 

into digital technologies to 

enhance how crucial services such 

as healthcare and transport are 

delivered in rural areas across the 

UK. It will also investigate how 

new technologies can benefit rural 

economies and communities by 

promoting new forms of enterprise 

in areas such as tourism and nature 

conservation. 

The Aberdeen Rural Digital 

Economy Research Hub is one 

of three such centres in the UK 

focusing on the development of 

digital technologies for the future. 

It is the only centre to be based in 

Scotland. 

Professor C Duncan Rice, Principal 

and Vice-Chancellor of the 

University of Aberdeen said: “This 

is an extremely important research 

award for the University and for 

northern Scotland, and will create 

60 new posts and studentships. 

“It brings together experts from 

different disciplines to exploit 

rapidly-advancing digital technology 

and bring economic, health, and 

quality of life benefits to rural 

communities. This will not only 

harness economic potential but 

also change in very practical ways 

the lives of millions of people 

across the UK and beyond.” 

University of 

Strathclyde 

Creating sustainable communities 

is not easy. Across the UK, and 

indeed much of world, governments 

have been taking a radical 

reappraisal of how communities 

can be supported to improve their 

quality of life. Most agree there is 

a need both to reinvigorate older 

neighbourhoods and to create new 

places where people want to live 

– carbon-efficient, socially cohesive 

and well-connected. 

Over the past year, a research team 

coordinated from the University 

of Strathclyde by Dr Robert 

Rogerson, Head of the Department 

of Geography & Sociology, has 

been investigating how skills and 

knowledge required to create 

sustainable communities can be 

supported and developed. Funded 

jointly by the ESRC and the Homes 

& Community Academy, this major 

£800,000 initiative has involved 11 

research teams across the UK. 

The initial results were launched 

in London in early June to an 

invited audience of key policymakers. 

There, Dr Rogerson and 

his colleagues from Warwick 

and Manchester Universities, 

emphasised the challenges 

which continue to exist in helping 

make places where people want 

to live and experience a high 

quality of life. They outlined the 

need for a new policy approach 

which emphasised the skills and 

competencies already available in 

communities rather than focussing 

only on the skills gap, and 

suggested that clearer definitions 

of what could make a ‘sustainable 

community’ were necessary. 

Further details and project 

summaries are published on the 

Initiative website – 

www.gs.strath.ac.uk/suscoms 

University of Edinburgh 

The initial focus of our research has 

been to carry out a socio-economic 

appraisal of two communities 

situated on opposing borders of the 

Zomba Plateau Forest Reserve and 

to establish the threats which have 

contributed to the degradation of the 

forest areas upon which they depend. 

With these findings we hope 

to make recommendations as 

to how any future REDD policy 

implemented in the forest reserve 

could beoptimally designed so as 

to deliver community co-benefits, 

reduce the leakage of emissions 

from degrading activities into 

neighbouring forest areas and 

ultimately ensure the permanence 

of any emission reductions initially 

achieved. 

The 

14-15 

GeographerSummer 

2009 

University News 

These reports 

are part of 

a rolling 

programme that 

will capture 

other areas 

of research in 

forthcoming 

issues.

Making Connections 

Mary’s Meals 

Mary’s Meals was established by Magnus 

MacFarlane-Barrow who was made a fellow 

of RSGS in 2004. 

Justinia is in the 6th grade at a rural 

primary school in Bomi County, Liberia. 

Every day she receives a hot meal of rice 

and seasonal vegetables. The meal has 

become a fixture in her life. Something she 

can rely on. As a result she is reluctant to 

miss a day of school. She hopes to be a 

doctor when she grows up. 

Her parents saw Liberia torn apart by 

a brutal civil war that left the country 

stripped bare and deprived a generation of 

an education. Now, under the leadership 

of Africa’s first woman president, Ellen 

Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia is enjoying peace. 

People have been rebuilding their lives and 

communities, clearing the bush and 

re-planting their farms. 

With the help of the Mary’s 

Meals school feeding 

programme, more and more 

children are going to school. 

Mary’s Meals is currently 

feeding 15,000 school 

children daily in Liberia. 

This assurance of a meal 

makes a huge difference to 

poor children. For a start, like Justinia, it 

ensures their concentration improves once 

hunger pangs are removed and they are 

healthier. And so, they are enabled to learn 

and gain the education that is their best 

hope of escaping poverty in later life. 

Mary’s Meals has grown rapidly since it 

first began in Malawi in 2002. Today it 

feeds over 350,000 children around the 

world. The charity’s simple but effective 

approach to tackling hunger, and its 

commitment to keeping low overheads, 

has attracted increasing support. Many 

individuals, schools, churches and 

businesses have taken up the challenge to 

sponsor a school like Justinia’s, knowing 

they are helping to educate children like 

Justinia who will be able to play her part in 

shaping the future of her country for the 

better. And it is hard to put a value on that. 

For more information on Mary’s Meals visit 

www.marysmeals.org or call 0800 698 1212. 

What Geography Means To Me 

An insight 

into the 

life of a 

working 

geographer 

Clare Richardson 

RSGS Member of the 

Edinburgh Committee 

I 

graduated with a 

BSc in Geography 

from Kings College 

London and a Masters 

from Cambridge 

University before 

pursuing a diverse 

career which only made 

me more passionate 

about geography. 

At university, nongeographers 

seemed to view 

us as those who studied place 

names and coloured in maps. 

But how can the historical 

geography of capitalism, 

third world political ecology, 

European economics, the 

study of the universe, not 

fascinate? I was part of a 

Medical Research Council 

project in Jamaica studying 

the influence of the socioeconomic 

environment on 

sickle cell patients, leading to 

larger social questions being 

addressed by the Jamaican 

government. Similarly a 

dissertation on the socioeconomic 

impact of a refugee 

camp on the host population 

in NW Zambia, was a 

fascinating field trip. 

For me, this was just the 

beginning of my interest in 

international economics, 

politics and culture and 

it fuelled my passion for 

travel. Further research was 

undertaken by the University 

of Lusaka and the Zambian 

government. Meheba 

Refugee camp was considered 

a huge success story as 

refugees became self sufficient 

and positive contributors to 

the Zambian economy. It 

also introduced me to the 

UN High Commission for 

Refugees and resulted in work 

on the Kenya-Somali border 

in Dadaab refugee camp. This 

in turn led to work with the 

European Commission in 

Brussels promoting economic 

relations between the EU, 

Africa and South America. 

Living and working abroad 

became a part of life. The 

analytical skills developed 

at university became 

increasingly useful. With a 

year’s training in New York, I 

became a commodity trader 

responsible for the Asian 

markets. The commodities 

were minor metals, primarily 

cobalt and cadmium and 

regular trips to the mines 

made interesting field 

trips. A business trip to 

the Gobi desert; watching 

Shanghai develop into 

today’s cosmopolitan hub; 

being present at the naming 

ceremony of a Japanese 

family’s son; delighting in the 

divine Thai culinary creations; 

an insight into politics in 

Korea; experiencing the 

differing approaches to 

business across the region, 

and seeing so many beautiful 

and different landscapes, 

are but a few wonderful 

experiences. 

I now lead a more sedate life 

based in Edinburgh having 

moved into the world of 

finance. 

Geography defined my career 

and is part of me. It taught 

me skills that have shaped my 

career to date. All of these are 

so useful in life and having 

them in my ‘toolkit’ opened 

so many opportunities to see 

the world and experience 

its rich diversity. For me, 

modern geography is an allencompassing 

discipline that 

foremost seeks to understand 

the Earth and all of its human 

and natural complexities—not 

merely where objects are, but 

how they have changed and 

come to be. It is fascinating!

Since the 

awarding 

of the 

first RSGS 

Gold Medal to 

H M Stanley 

in 1890, 

the RSGS’s 

prestigious Medals have 

allowed us to recognise 

outstanding contributions 

to geography and 

exploration. To mark 

the Society’s 125th 

anniversary, the Awards 

Committee has proposed 

two new additional 

Medals, named after two 

of the Society’s most 

illustrious forebears – 

Ernest Shackleton and 

Patrick Geddes. 

Please send any nominations 

for people you would like 

to see recognised to Medal 

Nominations, RSGS, 15-19 

North Port, Perth PH1 5LU, 

or by email to enquiries@rsgs. 

org, to arrive by 14th August. 

Each nomination should 

include up to 250 words on 

why your nominee should be 

considered. 

Scottish 

Geographical Medal 

– the highest accolade, 

for conspicuous merit 

and a performance of 

world-wide repute. 

This is a sort of 

Scottish Nobel Prize 

for geography, and has 

been awarded only 40 

times in the Society’s history. 

Coppock Research Medal 

– the highest research-specific 

award, for an outstanding 

contribution to geographical 

knowledge through research and 

publication. 

Known first as the Research 

Medal, then the Centenary Medal, 

this has been awarded 40 times 

since 1931. 

Livingstone Medal – for 

outstanding service of a 

humanitarian nature with a clear 

geographical dimension. 

First awarded in 1901, 

previous recipients 

include Roald 

Amundsen, Col John 

Blashford-Snell, Neil 

Armstrong, Sir Edmund Hillary 

and Médecins Sans Frontières. 

Tivy Education Medal – for 

exemplary, outstanding 

and inspirational teaching, 

educational policy or work in 

formal and informal educational 

arenas. 

This was awarded for the first 

time in 2008, to Jim Carson. 

Shackleton 

Medal – for 

leadership and 

citizenship in a 

geographical field, 

in particular in 

the fields and current themes of 

most concern to RSGS. 

Geddes Medal – 

for an outstanding 

contribution to 

conservation of 

the built or natural 

environment and 

the development of sustainability. 

Mungo Park Medal – for an 

outstanding contribution to 

geographical knowledge 

through exploration or 

adventure in potentially 

hazardous physical or 

social environments. 

Previous recipients include 

Thor Heyerdahl, Kate Adie, and 

most recently Norman Hallendy. 

President’s Award – to 

recognise achievement and 

celebrate the impact of 

geographers’ work on wider 

society. 

Awarded to any working 

geographer (academic or nonacademic), 

this has been given 

each year since 1989. 

The Bartholomew Globe – for 

excellence in the assembly, 

delivery or application of 

geographical information through 

cartography, GIS and related 

techniques. 

Introduced in 2000, this has 

been awarded only 4 times. 

The 

16-17 

Geographer Summer 2009 

A guide to RSGS Medals 

- and a chance for you to nominate! 

Photo competition winners announced 

This year’s photographic competition winner was Keddie Law of 

Montrose, with this stunning picture of puffins. Other category 

winners included Alistair Guild, with ‘Girl with pencils’ (the People 

category winner), and Innes Ewen with ‘Surf at Sandwood Bay’ ( the 

Scotland category winner). 

The RSGS also 

has a Newbigin 

Prize for an 

outstanding 

contribution 

to the RSGS’s 

Journal or other 

publication, 

and awards 

a University 

Medal to the 

outstanding 

graduating 

honours 

geography 

student in 

each of the 

Scottish 

universities 

as 

recommended 

by heads of 

department.

Book Club 

My Life as an Explorer 

Roald Amundsen 

My Life as an Explorer is a classic of 

Polar literature. Amundsen reveals 

his phenomenal determination to 

become an explorer, from the time 

when as a boy he read about Sir 

John Franklin, and slept with his 

window open to harden himself 

against the Arctic cold. First sailing 

to the Antarctic in the 1899 Belgian 

expedition, Amundsen followed this trip with a journey 

around the top of Canada to prove the existence of the 

North West Passage. Most famously, setting sail for 

the Antarctic a full month or so after Scott, Amundsen 

reached the South Pole before the British explorer, and 

the author describes the angry British reaction to his 

success. He followed these epic journeys by being only 

the second man to travel around the top of Siberia from 

Atlantic to Pacific oceans, then flying over the North 

Pole by airship. 

This is not polar exploration in some remote golden 

age, but in a reality fraught by financial difficulties 

and the violent political upheavals of the day. An 

equally compelling part of Amundsen’s account is his 

protestations against the hijack of his 1926 mission 

by the incompetent captain Nobile, and a glory-hunting 

fascist government at home in Italy. 

The Third Man Factor - 

Surviving The Impossible 

John Geiger 

The Third Man is a riveting combination of popular 

science and adventure. The book explores the human 

capacity to survive and transcend extreme conditions, 

of how people at the very edge of death often sense an 

unseen presence beside them who encourages them to 

make one final effort to survive. This incorporeal being 

offers a feeling of hope, protection and guidance, leaving 

the person convinced he 

or she is not alone. 

Reader Offer - save over 30% 

Canongate Publishing is offering RSGS a special price 

on The Third Man. 

Readers of The Geographer can purchase The Third Man for £8.99 

(RRP £12.99) including p&p in the UK by phoning 01206 255777 and quoting 

Geographer. 

Offer ends 31 August 2009. 

Recommendations 

Last Recommended Book. 

Fixing Climate 

The story of climate science - and how to stop global warming 

by Robert Kunzig and Wallace S Broecker 

This was an easy to read, almost jolly 

personal journey through the last fifty 

years of climate science, through the eyes 

of one of the leading scientists. His stories 

and recollections of his many colleagues 

and acquaintances decorate what is a clear 

explanation of the progression in all the scientific evidence. 

Gail Wilson 

Next Recommended Book. 

Palestine 

by Joe Sacco, ISBN 1-978-56097-844-2. 

“It’s a graphic novel about the day to day 

struggles of existence in the occupied 

territories - the format really draws out 

the everyday geographies of occupation 

well - I thought it might be something a bit 

different. Although it’s over 10 years old now, I think it 

still speaks to the contemporary situation.” 

Recommended by Dr Jo Sharp, Senior Lecturer, 

University of Glasgow 

Please send your reviews of this book to enquiries@rsgs.org 

or to the RSGS HQ in Perth, marked “Book Review”. 

There is a name for this phenomenon: it’s called the 

Third Man Factor. 

Bestselling and award –winning author John Geiger 

has completed six years of physiological, psychological, 

and historical research on the Third Man. He blends his 

analysis with compelling human stories such as that of 

Ron DiFrancesco, the last survivor to escape the World 

Trade Center on 9/11, Ernest Shackleton, and many 

more. 

Printed by www.garthland.co.uk on 9Lives Offset 120gsm paper. 100% FSC certified recycled fibre using soya based inks in a 100% chemistry free process. 

You can help us to make connections between people, places & the planet by joining the RSGS. 

Please contact us at Lord John Murray House, 15-19 North Port, Perth, PH1 5LU, or visit www.rsgs.org

Summer - Royal Scottish Geographical Society

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